Patients Confused by Healtcare Provider, Debt Buyer

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

If one were to reduce the story involving some Ohioans, some old medical debt, and Premium Asset Recovery Corp. (PARC) to a common denominator, that denominator would be: a mess.

According to a story running in the Tribune Chronicle, recently, Ohio residents have received collection notices from PARC requesting payment from past-due bills ? bills that are anywhere from 3 to, allegedly, 11 years old.

Most of the people contacted by PARC, a Florida-based collection agency, were sure that their insurance had covered the bills, and had no idea they were past due. In the meantime, Forum Health, among other Ohio health care providers, sold their uncollected or bad debt to PARC. When PARC tried to recover the debts ? well, that?s when we go back to: a mess.

Nothing has been resolved as of yet. PARC offices have closed due to weather threats, and hospitals are not allowed to discuss patients? billing.