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wessex464 t1_itt0142 wrote

Reply to comment by Sleuthiestofsleuths in Help needed from finance people by Appropriate_Toe_2770

That's not true at all. I don't know where you got that story, but its entirely not accurate. The hospital can easily verify that you were seen and what the bill is and it happens every day. You may have gotten lucky with an incompetent debt collector, but that doesn't mean everyone will have the same result.

Edit: Here's HHS saying the same thing:

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/268/does-the-hipaa-privacy-rule-prevent-health-care-providers-from-using-debt-collection-agencies/index.html

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Sleuthiestofsleuths t1_itt0q1e wrote

Yes, of course the hospital can. But the hospital cannot share that information with any collection agency. Therefore, if the debt is challenged after it's been sold to collections, the agency cannot prove it's owed because they cannot tell you what it's for. Facts.

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wessex464 t1_itt147y wrote

Check my edit. HHS literally says that's not accurate. When you tell the debt collector to go verify it they can be provided with the minimally necessary information to validate the debt.

You got lucky with an incompetent debt collector, stop giving out garbage advice.

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Appropriate_Toe_2770 OP t1_itt8ppa wrote

Please don’t take this as me arguing just curious here. Minimum necessary requirements…. Ok… like? Encounter date? A revenue code to me sounds like it’s privacy.

Also how could we also confirm this is specific to guarantor billing

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wessex464 t1_itt9ggj wrote

You are providing some amount of consent when you ask them to go verify. You are telling them to minimally verify that the bill belongs to you, that's what asking them to validate the debt means and hospitals are explicitly allowed to share this information just like they do with your employer for workers comp issues, insurance agencies for payment, etc etc etc.

Health privacy is not some magic button that shuts everything off. The hospital isn't going to say they saw you for jock itch and nurse Esmeralda dingled your berries, but they absolutely can share that they saw you for a specialty exam, billing code 123, on date 12/12/12, they verified it was you, billed your insurance and that their records show you never paid the remaining balance. That's a verified debt for the purposes of proving that you owe money.

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Appropriate_Toe_2770 OP t1_itt9wxt wrote

I think the designated record set sums up everything you said. Thanks for providing that link.

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