My Dr. just sent me a bill from a visit on 7/06 he says was never paid. Do I have to pay this 1.5 years later?

The statement I received was dated in late October 2007, and they are trying to say that I did not pay my $30 copay from July 2006. I have no proof that I did pay this, (I honestly cannot remember that long ago) but I don't understand why they didn't send this through to me much sooner then if it wasn't paid?! Is there some sort of limit on the time they have to send me an invoice for payment (like 1 year)? I am not just trying to get out of paying this, but I feel like they are taking advantage of their position and trying to get more money... if I don't pay it then, I am afraid they will send it to collections... I have great credit so I don't want to jeopardize that, but I also don't just want to give into something I don't believe is right!

Please help, thank you!

some doctors wont let you come back

yes

or he can sue u

Pay it. Keep your good credit. It's not worth the $30 to lose the good rating.

Yeah that doesn't sound right. That should have came way before a year. All or most Doctor offices do monthly reviews of things like that. So I think they are trying to pull one on ya, and don't be surprised if it's true. Call a Lawyer, or ask for a free review.

You should start making calls and looking back on your bank statements (if you wrote a check for the copay). You should investigate before paying anyone anything.

You could check with your insurance company, but if you cannot find any evidence that it was paid, then, yes, unfortunately, you will have to pay it. Sometimes things "fall through the cracks" or they catch it when they balance the books, etc. I know it's frustrating, but it has to be done. Sorry.

call your insurance company to see if you paid it or not. then call your doctor office to let them know.

dont be poor and pay him before he takes you to court and he stealls all ur college fund foo stop triping homie

Yes, the deadline is 1 year. What probably happened is you didn't pay because the secretary forgot to bill your insurance, and she didn't realize until now, so they're trying to bill you. Call your insurance and ask if they received a bill from your doctor for that day. If not, it's the doctor's offices' fault. If your insurance DID receive that claim, then you have to pay :-(

you need to check with your insurance company they keep records better than the dr's office most times and they will know if you paid it or not because they had to pay some on it too

I believe they have a five year window to collect from you. Is there interest on the bill? If not, bring it in and ask what it is about, or simply say you paid it in cash, but since it has been this long you can't find your receipt.

are you kidding? Did he perform a service for you? Can you prove that you did pay it? Wow, you might wanna read the question before you type it.

you should have records of whether or not you paid this co pay to your doctor. See if your insurance provider has any information the docs office will usually bill the insurance company and let them know whether or not you paid your co-pay...and based upon that, if you did not pay it...you need to pay it...if you already paid it...provide proof to your doc and ask them to stop sending you notice of collections.

Legally, it depends on the laws in that state. He could take you to Small Claims Court, and depending on the Statute of Limitations pertaining to suing someone, he may win the case, and you'd be stuck paying the $30.00 plus court costs, which usually run between $30-75.00. You may want to see if you can work something out with him, and maybe pay 1/2, and get him to give you a receipt showing "paid in full"

Try calling them and asking them why did they take so long to do this and try to go into your records and see if you have a reciept of some sort saying that you did pay the co-payment of 30 dollars on your bill.

IDK, but the same thing is happening to me. i have a monthly 4:30 appointment and the secretary always shuts down her stuff at 4:15. i owed for 3 co-pays but the first one the Dr. wrote off. so i owe for two and haven't got a bill. also, i did get another co-pay bill from a different office in the same medical group (Kaiser) for something i was not supposed to pay for around the same time??? You could ask the Dr. to write it off since it was so long ago??

The statue of limitations on a debt collection ranges from state to state but it is generally around 4 years. If they have the proper documentation to show the ammount owed then you do need to pay it. It the amount is a large sum then you may want to speak to an attorney to negotiate with the office and perhaps set up a payment plan.

Tell him you would have paid sooner, but that Staph infection you picked up at his office spread like wild fire through your whole family nearly wiping out all financial resources.

same thing happened to me, except mine was $110.00. They never sent the bill and I forgot about it, but I just sent the money so I will not mess up my credit over a little thing like that. I will watch closer from now on though .

If you look through your credit card and checking account statements from July, 2006, and you can't find a record of a payment to your doctor, then there's a strong likelihood that you didn't make the payment. His billing office probably has better things to do than whomp up fake bills. (Sure they can make mistakes, but so can you. So can all of us.) Instead of complaining that they're trying to pry $30 out of you, congratulate yourself on having been able to carry the debt interest-free for more than a year. Paying up is probably the right thing to do ethically, and when you think about preserving your good credit rating, it's certainly the right thing to do pragmatically.

Did he treat you on that day? Yes? Then pay the bill!