Urgent Care sent my bill to collections after 2 weeks without even billing me

I visited my local Urgent Care last month, and the front desk told me my visit would be processed through insurance, followed by a bill. I never received the bill, but this morning I got a collection notice from Medicredit for $20, saying the payment was due on June 24th. I checked my mail on June 27th before leaving town, and the letter hadn’t arrived yet. It looks like Urgent Care sent my bill straight to collections instead of billing me first.

I’m really upset because this is my first time dealing with collections, and it could hurt my credit. Aren’t there rules about waiting before sending bills to collections? Shouldn’t they contact me or send a bill first?

The office is closed today, and I’m worried. What should I do?

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Since it’s just been two weeks, it’s more possible that the emergency room simply utilizes that firm as their billing agency, even if they are a collection agency. Or perhaps there was a mistake that sent it to collections. In any case, don’t worry; simply give the ER a call on Monday to find out if you should pay them directly via the office or via a third party.

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I experienced the same issue; it turns out that the supplier misread my address, preventing me from ever receiving the bill. After the provider resent the bill to the right address, I paid the payment and informed the collection agency of the situation, and everything went well.