Bad Credit Agency

credit repair - VERY hi hospital bill but at time covered by VA - hospital did not chg va?

11/2006 taken by ambulance to nearest facility. The va facility (san diego) was far away and at the time I was not capable of telling the ambulance drivers that I was a vet. I met with a billing representative during my hospital stay, and informed her that I had VA coverage. She said that was all she needed to know and that they would bill the VA. Also she felt due to my condition, the bill would be approved. Fast forward to now and I have an outrageously large bill from the Hospital (well collection agency now). I haven't pulled a credit report in forever..didn't think I needed to..lesson learned. Should I contact the VA first to see if they will accept the bill from the collection agency? Can I just ask the collection agency to bill the VA directly? I really need guidance. This is the only major debt I have, but it's enough to keep me from qualifying for anything worthwhile. Please Help.

Public Comments

1. What was the condition??? There are certain conditions which must be met if the VA is to cover care at a non va facility? itis apparent you have a problem. Call the VA ASAP.
2. When you got the first bill from the hospital, you should have contacted the VA about the bill. Call them now and find out if they will in fact pay any of it. I am sure you will need to get an itemized copy of that bill for the VA. You may as well send the collection agency a letter (certified, return receipt) asking for it. Or maybe the hospital will provide an itemized copy. The VA will not deal directly with the collection agency. You are going to have to be the middle person. Also, don't be too surprised if the VA refuses to pay. It sounds like the hospital may have tried to send them the bill to start with. Maybe you should ask the hospital if they did send the original bill to the VA. If the bill is now in the hands of a collection agency, it is on your credit report.
3. Not sure what you mean by "VA coverage." The VA will only cover certain specific things - you'd better contact them.
4. I agree with the other posters, get involved. A site I've used for info in the past ... http://debt.knowledged.info/credit_card.html Hope that helps.