Still getting Bills

[jade73]

We're still getting medical bills from a dr that was included in out Chap 13 plan. Isn't this contempt of court or am I wrong?

[Nicollette]

We're still getting medical bills from a dr that was included in out Chap 13 plan. Isn't this contempt of court or am I wrong?

To settle everything, give the bills that you are still receiving to your attorney, and let he/she handle it.

[lrprn]

We're still getting medical bills from a dr that was included in out Chap 13 plan. Isn't this contempt of court or am I wrong?

First, I'm assuming that this doctor was on your creditor's list when you filed. Did the doctor's office file a claim for what you owed them on filing day?

If the bills are for medical services you received BEFORE you filed, then the doctor's office is in violation of your automatic stay and your lawyer needs to be notified right away so he/she can send out a threatening letter telling them to immediately stop collection efforts on those included services.

However, if the bills are for medical services you received AFTER you filed, then you do have to pay those bills in full. If the post-filing bills are significant enough to impact your disposable income for a long time, then you can work with your lawyer to amend your current plan to accommodate paying them.

[jade73]

First, I'm assuming that this doctor was on your creditor's list when you filed. Did the doctor's office file a claim for what you owed them on filing day?

If the bills are for medical services you received BEFORE you filed, then the doctor's office is in violation of your automatic stay and your lawyer needs to be notified right away so he/she can send out a threatening letter telling them to immediately stop collection efforts on those included services.

However, if the bills are for medical services you received AFTER you filed, then you do have to pay those bills in full. If the post-filing bills are significant enough to impact your disposable income for a long time, then you can work with your lawyer to amend your current plan to accommodate paying them.

No this bill is from when I had surgery in April which was 3 months before we filed.

[lrprn]

No this bill is from when I had surgery in April which was 3 months before we filed.

Then if the doctor was notified about your filing by the court, he/she is most definitely violating your automatic stay. Get your lawyer on this immediately. If your lawyer says it's ok, you can contact the office directly and give them your case number. That should stop the billing attempts.

Sometimes the office staff in doctor and dentist offices just don't understand how bankruptcy works. If the contacts and requests for payment continue after a direct contact, then your lawyer can send a nasty letter threatening legal action if they don't stop contacting you immediately.

We included a medical bill when we filed, and about six months later I got a bill from the doctor's office demanding payment. With our lawyer's ok, I called them directly. Turns out the office staff person thought that because since they hadn't been notified we'd been discharged, she assumed our bankruptcy had been dismissed and they could demand payment again.

When I carefully explained that we were in Ch 13, not Ch 7, and our case was still active and would be for some years to come, she said she had never heard of Ch 13, I was trying to get out of paying the bill, and said in a very snippy tone that she would be speaking to her supervisor. About 15 minutes later, our phone rang with her supervisor apologizing to me profusely, telling me the office person was new, had made a bad mistake, and would be "reoriented" about bankruptcy so it would never happen again. Haven't heard a peep since!

[jade73]

We have a meeting with him on Wednesday about our objections so I'll bring it up then. Thanks!