Statute of Limitations on Medical Bills

A couple weeks ago I received three envelopes in my mailbox from a collection agency. This fact itself was not shocking as invoices of mine have been sent to medical collections several times since I became ill. The shock came when I realized they were for Dr. appointments I'd had before I even became ill and while pregnant with my daughter.  Due to my low income at the time, I'd qualified for Medi-Cal which is medical coverage that's subsidised by the state of California. Many low income women in California qualify for this program (which incidentally, ends one month after your child is born). It's a great program but, like so many others, has it's definite flaws.  The invoices totaled over three thousand dollars for services that took place in 2009, almost exactly three years ago.

At first I thought, "how can they be demanding money for something that occurred so long ago"? I did some research and found that there is a statute of limitations on the collection of medical bills. It varies from state to state but typically falls into the three to four year range. California has a four year statute of limitations on the collection of medical bills. When I discovered this, I felt beaten for sure. I dusted off my pre- Fibromyalgia/ME/CFS medical files which are in with the rest of my life's paperwork. When I became ill I had to start storing all of my medical records that delt with these new illnesses in their own box since they took up about as much space as all of the other paperwork combined. Though I'm normally pretty good about filing important documents, I'd apparently cleaned out my files from my pregnancy because I couldn't find the invoices in question.  So silly of me to think that since the invoices had been paid three years ago, it was a done deal.  Lesson learned...don't throw away invoices even if they've been paid in full and the accounts have supposedly been closed.

My story does have a happy ending through, I think.  I collected all of the information I had and made appointments with the advocate I'd worked with during my pregnancy and a representative from the billing department.  I also contacted my bank, Medi-Cal and the billing service my doctor's office uses and asked for copies of records to be sent.  I finally convinced the billing department to drop the case - I think.  The last time I spoke with someone there, I was told they had recommended the invoices be "written off".  I haven't heard anything but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if next month I get the same invoices from the collection agency.  It seems nothing ever gets done correctly the first time.  That's been my experience anyway.