Some estate help from my friends.
Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 7:54 pmAny advice out there?
My mother died in Dec 2014, some 25 months ago. About 6 months prior, she fell and broke her hip (which ultimately led to her death) about 90 miles from home, just across the border in rural Oklahoma. She spent a night in that country hospital and then was transferred to a major medical center in Dallas due to her complex medical history and the severity of injuries. Over the next several months, multiple bills came in and Medicare paid most, her supplemental paid a lot and some was her responsibility to pay (or me as her POA and then Executor). In all but a few cases, the bills were auditable and the Medicare and Supplemental insurance explanations of benefits matched provider statements. In all but one of the other, I was able to determine that they had not billed Medicare properly and able to resolve them in a reasonable period of time.
That leaves one. Late in the process, the hospital in OK hits me with a not insignificant bill. Medicare processed their bill, the supplemental processed it and the finale EOB showed a zero balance due to the provider. I made multiple calls asking for them to provide a detailed invoice showing billed amount, allowed amount, Medicare and Supplemental so that I could ascertain the accuracy of the bill. Started responding to bills with a letter asking the same info. Got the typical "we are just the billing service. How do you want to pay?" Sent a registered letter to the CEO of the hospital holding company providing the EOBs and asking for the same info. Got a call from a flunky telling me "the bill is valid. You need to pay it." Repeated the request for the detailed invoice and told them "no data. No pay." Got a "we will send you the info". Never heard from them again.
Now, more than 2.5 years after the treatment and more than a year since the last discussion, I have received a collection notice adddressed to her. Obviously, an assimilator of written off bills bought the paper for pennies on the dollar and wants to collect. Moms had no probatable assets and what cash, investments and insurance she had have long been distributed to her beneficiaries.
As Executor, I have a fiduciary responsible to settle legitimate claims but feel I went over and above to try to confirm the validity of this one with no cooperation from the biller and also have a responsibility to the beneficiaries of the estate to not pay unsubstantiated bills. Bill is less than $2,000 but I'd have to go the the beneficiaries to get the money and I still have not seen a detailed invoice.
Naturally her Medicare records and supplemental insurance records have been closed although I still have the correspondence and EOBs from the saga above.
Is there any reason for me to respond with other than "she's still dead" and "there are no estate assets to address any 2.5 year old debts".
My mother died in Dec 2014, some 25 months ago. About 6 months prior, she fell and broke her hip (which ultimately led to her death) about 90 miles from home, just across the border in rural Oklahoma. She spent a night in that country hospital and then was transferred to a major medical center in Dallas due to her complex medical history and the severity of injuries. Over the next several months, multiple bills came in and Medicare paid most, her supplemental paid a lot and some was her responsibility to pay (or me as her POA and then Executor). In all but a few cases, the bills were auditable and the Medicare and Supplemental insurance explanations of benefits matched provider statements. In all but one of the other, I was able to determine that they had not billed Medicare properly and able to resolve them in a reasonable period of time.
That leaves one. Late in the process, the hospital in OK hits me with a not insignificant bill. Medicare processed their bill, the supplemental processed it and the finale EOB showed a zero balance due to the provider. I made multiple calls asking for them to provide a detailed invoice showing billed amount, allowed amount, Medicare and Supplemental so that I could ascertain the accuracy of the bill. Started responding to bills with a letter asking the same info. Got the typical "we are just the billing service. How do you want to pay?" Sent a registered letter to the CEO of the hospital holding company providing the EOBs and asking for the same info. Got a call from a flunky telling me "the bill is valid. You need to pay it." Repeated the request for the detailed invoice and told them "no data. No pay." Got a "we will send you the info". Never heard from them again.
Now, more than 2.5 years after the treatment and more than a year since the last discussion, I have received a collection notice adddressed to her. Obviously, an assimilator of written off bills bought the paper for pennies on the dollar and wants to collect. Moms had no probatable assets and what cash, investments and insurance she had have long been distributed to her beneficiaries.
As Executor, I have a fiduciary responsible to settle legitimate claims but feel I went over and above to try to confirm the validity of this one with no cooperation from the biller and also have a responsibility to the beneficiaries of the estate to not pay unsubstantiated bills. Bill is less than $2,000 but I'd have to go the the beneficiaries to get the money and I still have not seen a detailed invoice.
Naturally her Medicare records and supplemental insurance records have been closed although I still have the correspondence and EOBs from the saga above.
Is there any reason for me to respond with other than "she's still dead" and "there are no estate assets to address any 2.5 year old debts".