<prompt> Human: Here is my original post. I resubmitted the claim to my insurance. They got back to me and said they paid their max on it. I received the letter from collections shortly before I left the country for vacation I left July 16 and when I returned last week, I had an updated invoice from the nurses billing office dated 626 saying I only owed 88.93 because they reduced the bill to 210.98 and my insurance paid 158.23. The math isnt quite right but I was excited! When I called the billing office to pay, they said it had already been longer than 30 days and so it was with collections and I could only deal with the collections agency now. In their nurses billing letter it stated that if I did not pay the 88.93 within 30 days, I could be held liable for the full amount almost 4000. I called collections and they said they would settle with me and asked how much Id be willing to pay. I told them 88.93 and they said no. Im not understanding now how the nurse sent an invoice dated 626 for 88.93 and collections sent a letter asking for 3998.49 on 713. My attorney advised me to send a check for 88.93 to the nurses billing office and write full and final payment on it. I have done this, but Im concerned about the collections company reporting it to the credit bureaus. They gave me until August 5 to pay, but my attorney said he got it extended. I dont know what I should do now and I dont know how collections can demand 4000 for a bill that was adjusted to 88.93. What can I do about collections if paying the 88.93 to the nurses office doesnt work? How do I protect my credit?Here are the two letters: page 2 Assistant: Fortunately, the 3 major credit bureaus instituted a new rule a few years ago; their rules now require a 180-day waiting period before medical debt gets added to consumer credit reports. While this doesnt negate the surprise billing that happened due to the out of network provider, it does mean that if you pay this off soon enough, it should not affect your credit.In the meantime, look into your states regulations and resources regarding surprise medical billing. Some states have protections in place to prevent or mitigate some of these issues. And contact your insurer to appeal the out-of-network charges. You or your attorney may be able to negotiate with them to get this treated as an in-network visit instead.Human: It sounds like their adjustment was down to in network costs; they reduced it from 4000 to 210. Im frustrated that my 88 balance was sent to collections before 30 days was even up. I didnt know I had the option to pay that amount, as collections always told me it was 4000. I dont understand how collections can demand 4000 for an 88 bill. Assistant: Well, theyre doing exactly what the nurse said they would do, which is hold you accountable for the full amount of the bill when you didnt pay the smaller amount within 30 days. In all likelihood, the billing information given to the collection agency was for charges totaling 4000, so theyre simply trying to collect the amount they were contracted for. Im not suggesting its fair, but thats how they can demand it. For now, Id just wait to see if that 88 check you sent ends up being deposited. Your lawyer can best advise you what to do ifwhen the check clears your bank. But if I were in your shoes, Id contact the hospital once the check clears, ask for an updated statement showing the current balance hopefully 0 and present that statement to the collection agency to dispute the charges. And Id hang onto it, since I might need to dispute through the credit bureaus later on. Now, if the check doesnt get deposited, then its safe to say the hospital has washed its hands of the whole thing, and likely your only option is to deal with the collection agency. As unfair as the whole thing is, theyre not technically doing anything illegal by requiring a payment closer to the amount of the balance that the hospital provided them. Youll have to negotiate like crazy, Im sure, but just get them to go as low as possible which is likely much more than 88 and settle the debt before its reported to the credit bureaus.Human: I dont have checks, so I sent a cashiers check. Is there a way for me to see when that is deposited?  <response>: Youll have to contact the bank that issued the check to find out. 