Business ProfileforThe Levinbook Law Firm, P.C.

I am being threatened by this debt collection agency in an aggressive manner for a bill that the doctor's ****** acknowledged is still being appealed. The ****** manager alerted me the process is automated and that when the bill reaches a certain time frame it will be sent to the debt collectors even if ******** is in the process of reviewing your appeal. The main question of concern is how is it legal for this business to threaten me via an automated process when I am within my rights to appeal a medical bill up to 6 months after it was processed? I have contacted ******** to alert them of this illegal practice and they confirmed this scenario is most likely not legal if the ****** has confirmed and is aware you appealed the bill from March of 2023. I received the debt collection notice about 4 months after receiving my bill (around April/May) from my March 2023 appointment. I am submitting this in hopes to get a better understanding of whether to this is a legal threat and to prevent others from being unfairly threatened and targeted even though ******** allows the appeal process up to 6 months after bill issuance.As mentioned, the ****** confirmed they do not manually send the bill to this debt collection agency and the process is automated which ultimately makes me think this is not legal since there is no manual review.

To Whom It May *********** client, ENT & ****************** provided medical services to the patient, ******************************* on March 30, 2023. ********************** claim was submitted to his insurance company, Cigna and the claim was adjudicated by ***** on April 11, 2023. Based on the adjudication, ****************** was responsible for an in-network deductible of $1,053.94. Our client sent several statements to him which reflected the balance owed. On July 26, 2023, ****************** reached out a representative at ENT and stated that he would appeal the determination by *****. To date, ENT never received any confirmation from Cigna that the original determination was being reviewed or overturned. Given that the balance remained outstanding and the fact that ENT had not heard anything further from Cigna, the account was forwarded to our law firm on September 14, 2023. Contrary to ********************** understanding, the process by which our law firm receives accounts from ENT is not automated; rather accounts are reviewed and must meet certain criteria prior to being forwarded to our office. Upon receipt, our office sent ****************** one collection letter dated September 29, 2023. TO BE CLEAR, OUR OFFICE HAS HAD NO OTHER WRITTEN OR VERBAL CORRESPONDENCE WITH ****************** OTHER THAN OUR COLLECTION LETTER OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2023. As such, our firm has not acted in a threatening nor aggressive manner. Notwithstanding the foregoing and in the interests of trying to resolve this matter, we will cease any further collection efforts until ********************** appeal to ***** is resolved. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at ********************************** or **************. Sincerely,**** Levinbook, Esq.