Question
What is the name of your state? OHIO
My dentists ofc has sent me to collections for a bill they should have filed and didnt. Delta Deltal insurance said they never received a claim or was even called on a follow up by the dentists ofc. Dentla Dental sent me a letter saying they would have paid it had it been submitted in a year time frame. Now my credit will be effected for an error that was not mine.
Should I take the dentist and the collections agency to court? What protections do I have? Is the insurance compant to blame as well?
Answer
If you have any complaint at all it is with the dentist. It is not the insurance carrier's fault that the dentist did not submit the bill on time; nor is it the fault of the collection agency. You have no cause of action against either of them. The insurance carrier has no legal obligation to pay a bill that is submitted after the time limit has expired; the collection agency is only doing its job.
Depending on how your insurance policy is written the dentist MAY have some liability.
The bottom line, however, is that YOU have the ultimate responsibility for all services you incurred. That you may have been able to defray some of that responsibility over to the insurance carrier had the bill been submitted in a timely fashion, does not excuse you from being responsible to pay the bill.