Health insurance \ hospital bill question

Blue Eyed Boy

This is a bit long winded so please bear with me. I have a question regarding a situation that has arisen with my health insurance. In April 2012, I stayed overnight in hospital for tests following a referral from my doctor. It was a one night stay and from what I can recall, I filled out all forms regarding my insurance at the time. Fast forward to today and I have just received post for my old housemate from the house that I was living in at the time. This included two identical letters from the hospital requesting my signature on two forms - one being the standard insurance claim form for my insurance company and the other is an inpatient / day visit application form. Both of these were sent in November 2013, 19 months after my hospital stay.

The insurance form is standard and is just requesting the dates that I first suffered symptoms and first visited the doctor with symptoms and my signature. However, looking back through letters, I've found that the date I first visited the doctor is from before my insurance policy began. Will I be covered for this if the date of GP visit and initial referral actually precedes the start date of my insurance policy?

The other form - inpatient / day visit application form - appears to be one that you would fill in prior to a hospital visit rather than after. It's asking if I want to be treated in a private or public capacity and talks about the hospital reserving the right to move me from private or semi private into public accomodation. I'm sure I filled this in at the time and I'm hesitant to fill it in again as I'm not sure of the full implications of it.

The third thing is that the letter says if I don't respond within 14 days, they will pass it on to a debt collection agency (I believe they use Intrum Justitia). The letter was sent in mid November and I only received it now due to me being at a different address, so three months have passed at this stage. The hospital have my health insurance number, my old address and my contact number. If they pass this on to the debt collection agency will they be able to retrieve my current address from the health insurance provider?

So my two questions are basically this. Will my insurance cover me for something that took place while I had insurance but I was referred for before my insurance began? And if my insurance won't cover it or if I'm too late returning the insurance forms at this stage three months later, where do I stand with the debt collection agency coming after me?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Not being smart but have you asked your insurers?

Blue Eyed Boy

Deandre Hallowed Stockade wrote: »

Not being smart but have you asked your insurers?

I do intend to. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of this so I'd know what I might be up against if they refuse to cover it or if it's too late and the hospital have already passed it on to the debt crowd.

Oryx

Generally, preexisting conditions are not covered. But the only ones who can say for sure are your insurerers. If you also give the hospital a call, they should be able to fill you in a bit more on where you stand re the bill.

emeldc

I think it's laughable that the hospital sent you forms to fill out 19 months after your stay.
I also think that had your flatmate not forwarded your post to you, you would know nothing about the forms.
I don't think any debt collectors will have the right to ask your insurers for your new address (data protection sh1t), either way I wouldn't engage with them.
I don't think your insurance will cover something when technically you weren't insured.
If it was me I'd ignore the forms and wait and see what happens. Why should you be responsible for some pen pushers inefficiency. But that wont go down well with some of our more upstanding posters :rolleyes:

dudara

emeldc wrote: »

If it was me I'd ignore the forms and wait and see what happens. Why should you be responsible for some pen pushers inefficiency. But that wont go down well with some of our more upstanding posters :rolleyes:

No it won't.

Anyway, moving this thread to the Banking & Insurance & Pensions forum as it relates to health insurance.

OP - start with the hospital and ask why you were sent the forms. I remember when I had my eye surgery I received paperwork many months later. Bureaucracy seems to move at a very slow pace in some hospitals.