r/HospitalBills • u/Both-Caterpillar-512 • Jan 29 '25
Hospital-Non Emergency [WA] How long does the hospital have to bill me?
I see a physical therapist who works in the therapy clinic of our local hospital. I don’t have a copay for the visit, and the entire amount of what I pay goes toward my annual deductible. I have the EOBs for a couple of visits they have not billed me for from March-April 2024. Does anyone know how long the hospital has to bill me before they’re not allowed to bill me anymore? I’m in Washington state.
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u/Lower-Psychology866 Jan 29 '25
The general rule is 365 days
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u/Both-Caterpillar-512 Jan 29 '25
It looks like that’s true for the provider filing the claim with my insurance company, but that’s not what I was asking. It looks like the statute of limitations is six years.
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u/Lower-Psychology866 Jan 29 '25 edited Jan 29 '25
Apologies, I guess I misunderstood. Are you asking how long the hospital has? That is normally 3-6 years
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u/SauvignonBlahhh Feb 02 '25
If the hospital is in network, it’s based on their contract, unless they have a valid reason to be outside of timely filing. Not having the member’s insurance information is usually not reason enough either. My insurance is only six month for in-network providers.
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u/SauvignonBlahhh Feb 02 '25
Also, it doesn’t matter if it goes towards your deductible. They still have to bill your insurance for the deductible to “count.”
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u/11worthgal Jan 29 '25
My small local hospital billed me 14 months after PT visits. They’re terrible! Later, after assuring me that all past visits had been billed, another arrived from 16 months prior. I called. I wrote the ombudsman. They “forgave “ my last bill.
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u/Environmental-Top-60 Jan 31 '25
Remember what happened during that time? Change Healthcare ring a bell? Yeah we’re still cleaning up from that shit.
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u/DoobiGirl_19 Jan 29 '25
The statue of limitation in most states is 3-6 years 😬 I once had a hospital fail to bill my insurance for close to 2 years (they legally have to within 1 year). They then sent me the bill. By that point, my insurance had changed, and my old insurer wasn't going to pay it. I sent their statement to the hospital, and I essentially told them they were shit out of luck.