Consumer complaint received 2021-12-27
Company: MiraMed Revenue Group LLC
State: AR
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
I was contacted by a collection agency, MiraMed about a colonoscopy that was performed by XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/2020. They had purchased what XXXX XXXX 's office sold to them as a bad debt. His charges for this service were {$1600.00} I have no dispute that these services were rendered, but I did inform MiraMed that XXXX XXXX 's receptionist demanded the {$1600.00} the day I showed up to get the results of a biopsy that was performed on a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and his office advised that they wouldn't give me the results of the biopsy until I paid them the {$1600.00}. It was the first I had heard of any denial by my insurance company, and since my last visit to XXXX XXXX 's office I had incurred hospital charges as well for that procedure, and if they had told me when they were denied initial visit charges, the problem could have been handled long before it became a {$1600.00} mess ( or potentially a {$10000.00} mess with possible hospital charges for all I knew at that point ). I immediately contacted my insurance company and they told me that I was fully covered for the procedure. In fact, they had already paid the hospital in full. My insurance company told me that XXXX XXXX 's office had been denied because they filed my insurance wrong. They filed it as the wrong XXXX type of insurance, and they couldn't pay the doctor 's office until they resubmitted the charges correctly. I contacted XXXX XXXX 's office to explain the problem. Now, in the weeks that followed, XXXX XXXX 's office in XXXX XXXX, Missouri refused to file my insurance correctly as well as refused to forward those biopsy results to my regular doctor 's office. All they have done, in so far as I am aware, is to sell this completely unnecessary debt to a debt collector. 
Now, when I told MiraMed this, they immediately contacted XXXX XXXX 's office with my dispute to the debt so that they could answer my concerns, and three days ago MiraMed contacted me with their answer. MiraMed has officially informed me that XXXX XXXX 's office did render me services ( something I have never denied ), and therefore, I owe MiraMed {$1600.00}. They did not address the fact that XXXX XXXX 's office never filed my insurance correctly or that I was fully covered for the XXXX as a routine screening procedure. All MiraMed did was to advise me that I should make arrangements to pay MiraMed the {$1600.00} in the next 10 days or they will " proceed '' whatever that means. 
I am NOT paying MiraMed XXXX cents let alone {$1600.00} under any circumstances. This is a matter of principle. XXXX XXXX 's office could have been paid in full more than a year ago. All they had to do was click the right sequence of numbers on a screen and punch send, but they chose to sell this debt to a collection agency instead. I don't know if XXXX XXXX 's billing worker was badly trained or if someone in that office is just too lazy to file my insurance, but I do know that it was never filed properly. The doctor 's office simply chose to not get paid, and in spite of this refusal, XXXX XXXX 's office ended up selling my debt to a company that spent my XXXX sending me badly veiled threats if I don't pay up now. 
Now, I don't know what you can or can not do for me, but I am going to fight. It is not right. It is not right for them to hit my credit report or write me or call me or threaten me over a debt that could have already been paid. This is not how we heal patients. This is how we stress people out. I mean it was enough that I never got the biopsy report, but this is ridiculous. 
There has got to be something I could do. I am not paying XXXX because they purchased this unnecessary debt. This bill should already be paid. My insurance company did not deny the charges for any other reason than an incorrect filing. All they ever had to do was file it correctly.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation