Consumer complaint received 2023-09-27
Company: Frost-Arnett Company
State: CT
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
I was seen at XXXX Texas XXXX XXXX for a XXXX exam on XX/XX/XXXX. I was initially charged an amount of {$75.00} which I paid off in full, I then continued to check my account to make sure no new charges were added over the next year. All of a sudden on XX/XX/XXXX, more than 22 months after the date of service, a {$120.00} charge was added to my account for the XXXX exam almost XXXX years prior. In going through my previous statements, I found none of them contained this charge or any amount due and that the XX/XX/XXXX statement was the first time I was billed for this and notified. The Texas " Timely Billing '' law ( TX XXXX Practice and Remedies Code CH. XXXX ) requires health care service providers to bill a patient no later than the first day of the XXXX month after services were provided. If the bill is not sent within the timeframe in the law, the health care service provider can not try to collect payment for certain charges. On XX/XX/XXXX I called Ascension to inform them that this bill was sent in violation of the aforementioned Texas XXXX XXXX and likewise dispute, to which they replied that their negotiations with my insurance where why it was charged late and claimed that meant they could still charge for it. The Texas XXXX XXXX makes no such exceptions for insurance negotiations, and when I informed them that they still hadn't given any reasoning to why the bill was still valid despite being sent out 22 months after the date of service ( almost twice the allowed 11 month window ) they said that they would still charge it anyways. Eventually it was sent to XXXX XXXX where I was contacted by Frost-Arnett XXXX I submitted a dispute online on XX/XX/XXXX detailing the above information and asking them to verify that this bill was not sent out in violation of the Texas Timely Billing XXXX. I then received no confirmation messages or emails from them and had to call XXXX times over the next week to verify that it had been received. Once I got confirmation from them that it was being processed I had to wait until XX/XX/XXXX until I received the dispute response, with the letter being dated for XX/XX/XXXX but only postage stamped a week later on XX/XX/XXXX. I had asked that they send any statement showing from the 11 month window after the date of service, however they instead sent me a statement for 25 months after the date of service. This actually provided more evidence that this bill was sent in violation of the Texas Timely Billing Law however for they still listed it as verification and upheld the charge. I then called on XX/XX/XXXX to inquire further and discuss their verification, however nobody picked up and I had to leave a message. As of XX/XX/XXXX I still have not received any response nor has the company been adequately able to rectify the stated issues. As a result I have had no choice but to turn to the CFPB to file a complaint in the hopes of having the charge removed.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation