{"id":32643,"date":"2023-07-07T10:31:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T14:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/news\/hounded-by-medical-debt-collectors-heres-how-you-can-protect-yourself\/"},"modified":"2023-07-07T10:31:11","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T14:31:11","slug":"hounded-by-medical-debt-collectors-heres-how-you-can-protect-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=32643","title":{"rendered":"Hounded By Medical Debt Collectors? Here\u2019s How You Can Protect Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nearly anyone who\u2019s run up some medical bills in the U.S. knows this experience: Being harassed to pay up.<\/p>\n

This happened to me last year when a hospital started calling my daughter every day to pay an emergency room bill that was billed to my insurance, but hadn\u2019t even been processed by my insurer.<\/p>\n

Naturally, I wasn\u2019t happy, but I knew what to do. This is a growing problem in the U.S., where health-care providers are hiring third parties to collect debts and even taking people to court. The debt collectors can be overly aggressive and obnoxious.<\/p>\n

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, \u201c43 million consumers had medical bills on their credit reports and that, all together, American families owed around $88 billion in medical bills.\u201d Yet these debts can be damaging in so many ways \u2014 especially if they are not owed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMedical debt affects people\u2019s ability to access affordable credit, find quality housing, or even obtain a job,\u201d the CFPB reports. The agency found that \u201cmany consumers report that the medical tradelines on their credit reports are not accurate. When inaccurate or false information is furnished to consumer reporting companies, it can be a form of coercing patients and their families into paying medical bills and debts they do not owe.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What can you do to protect yourself? You have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:<\/p>\n

When a debt collector communicates with you, they\u2019re required to provide certain information about the debt. When the information is provided in writing or electronically, it is called a \u201cvalidation notice,\u201d and it will generally include information like:<\/p>\n