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People hear the words "COLLECTION AGENCY" and they immediately get a negative almost ominous feeling.  Our industry has it's share of disreputable operators and the horror stories abound of foul mouthed, condescending collection agents harassing people in a rude and unlawful manner.  That does not and will not happen at Healthcare Collection Specialists, Inc.  We collect our client's bills in a legal, ethical and businesslike manner.   One of our greatest accomplishments is that on a regular basis people refer to us as the nicest collection agency they have ever dealt with.  


We understand that the person that ends up at our agency could be someone that's never had a collection problem in their entire life.  The type of work that we do is very different than that of an agency that collects on retail debt in that no one wakes up in the morning with the intention of incurring medical bills through an accident or illness.  With that, we try to make the process as smooth and straightforward as possible.  This web site is a reflection of our debt collection philosophy in that we'd much rather educate and assist the debtor on how to resolve the debt than to take collection action against them.


Healthcare Collection Specialists, Inc. strictly adheres to all laws relating to our business practices.  In that our focus is on health care related services the privacy of all information supplied to us is of paramount importance.  The sensitive nature of our business prohibits us from communicating with third parties unless we have proper authorization from the patient or a parent if the patient is a minor.


Healthcare Collection Specialists, Inc. supplies credit information to one and only one of the major credit bureaus and that is Experian.  We submit new and updated information to Experian once a month, usually on the last business day of each month.

  • ORIGINAL LISTING WITH EXPERIAN

Accounts that are not paid in full or otherwise resolved that meet the credit bureau's criteria to be reported will have a "Collection Account" submission sent to Experian after they become credit reporting eligible.

  • CHANGE IN BALANCE AFTER ORIGINAL LISTING

If a payment is received on your account after it has been listed with Experian an updated balance will be sent to them with our next monthly submission. 

  • CHANGE IN BALANCE AND STATUS UPON RECEIPT OF PAYMENT IN FULL

Upon receipt of payment in full, or settlement in full, our next monthly submission to Experian will advise them of same.  Effective 07/01/2022, the three major credit bureaus will remove paid medical collection accounts from consumer’s credit reports.


Payment in full is requested on all accounts placed with us for collection and payment in full directly to the agency before your account becomes credit reporting eligible, is the best way keep the debt off your Experian credit report.  The "Pay Your Bill" page has information on the forms of payment we accept and a link to make a secure payment with a major credit card.

  • PAYMENT ARRANGEMENT GUIDELINES

There are certain instances where we are authorized to allow you to pay off your bill in installments.  Payment arrangement guidelines vary from client to client and are based upon the specific circumstances of the bill and the services rendered.  PLEASE NOTE, if you enter into a payment arrangement approved by the agency, even though we will send you courtesy reminder emails (if you so choose), it is your responsibility to make sure that we receive the installment payments as agreed.  Payments received on accounts without an approved payment plan will be posted to your account, but the account will not be removed from the active collection cycle and will still be subject to additional collection action unless you enter into an approved payment plan.

Some of the factors that determine if we can offer you a payment plan are as follows:

  • Insurance 

If an insurance check was sent to you and not turned over to the doctor, you would not be considered for a payment arrangement until that amount is paid and may be considered for a payment arrangement only on the remaining balance.

If you have additional insurance coverage that has not processed your claim due to lack of cooperation on your part, you would not be allowed to enter into an approved payment arrangement until the insurance coverage was resolved one way or the other.

  • Financial Ability to Pay

When you ask us to consider a monthly payment plan we almost always have to perform a financial review of your assets and credit report to assess your ability to pay the amount that is owed.  If that review shows that you have the ability to pay the bill in full and simply are choosing not to, a monthly payment plan will not be authorized.

  • Dollar Amount of the Bill

The dollar amount of the bill will enter into the decision to offer a payment plan.  We very rarely offer payment plans on small dollar accounts and for large dollar accounts the time it will take to pay the debt off completely is usually the determining factor.

  • Our Client's Position on Payment Arrangements

Some of our clients are flexible on what we can offer to their patients and other have strict guidelines that we must follow.


If your account has been listed with Experian and in the course of trying to obtain credit, the lender requires that you pay that bill and present them with a "Letter of Satisfaction" (or what we call a "PIF" letter) from us, you must follow the procedure below:

You must send either a certified check, bank check or money order  that includes your HCS reference # to:

HCS

P.O. Box 306

Waldwick, NJ 07463

To receive your letter, you must include a note that includes the name and fax number or email address of where you want your letter sent to.  If you want a copy via the mail you must send a self addressed stamped envelope with your payment.  Expedited service is available via the phone during regular business hours.  Fees and conditions may apply.


Legal action review is considered on a case by case basis using guidelines given to us by our clients.  It is primarily based upon the dollar amount and circumstances of the account.  Should your account enter into legal review status, an in-depth review of your finances will be performed.  The results of this review will determine how we advise our clients to proceed.  Should we recommend legal action on an account, the final decision to forward the account to an attorney to initiate legal action rests with our client and not the agency. If our client chooses to place the account with one of their attorneys, any and all inquiries from that point forward will be directed to the law office that is handling the case.

The content of this page is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice.  Further, the content of this page covers our policies in general and may vary in specific situations.

 
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