Yes, unless it is an emergency. Nobody can force you to do business with someone you don’t want to do business with, unless you’re trying to discriminate against a protected class. Debtors are not a protected class. So yes, doctors can refuse to see you for routine or pre-planned services if you have not paid them. Likewise, dentists and veterinarians can hold your puppies and gums hostage to their demands for money.
The big exception to this rule is for medical emergencies. If you’re shot and rushed to an ER at a hospital that you owe money to, they have to treat you. This is why so many poor people go to the ER. They don’t have health insurance or money to pay a normal doctor, so when they get sick, they just wait until it gets bad enough and becomes an emergency and then they go to the ER.
There is another, smaller exception: they cannot withhold your medical records for nonpayment of bills. They can charge you a small fee for printing copies of your records, but that’s all they can charge you. So here’s an example:
Susannah is a cancer survivor, but her insurance hit a lifetime maximum in 2011, and she had to file bankruptcy in 2012 because her medical bills were over $200,000. She still owes Greedy Oncology, PC $2,000, and she needs to see another oncologist for a follow up appointment. She found someone who will see her, but she needs the records from Greedy Oncology. The regular fee for her records is $15. When Susannah asks for her records, they can charge her $15 to provide the records, but they cannot charge her $2015, or anything beyond $15.
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Can bill collectors contact your doctor and instruct them to refuse to see you because you owe a bill to a different doctor from 10 years ago? My doctor refuses to see me because the bill collector told them I promised to pay them $20 a month when I didn’t. They claim the bill was for 2009 when I wasn’t in Alabama in 2009. Then they claimed it was for 2008. It was actually for 2002 and I disputed the bill. Now I can’t get any doctor to see me until I make payment arrangements on a bill I disputed!
Deb,
That sounds like some awful and definitely illegal conduct there. Who is doing this? What is the name of the collector? A debt collector is not allowed to make any false representation to any third parties, and even true statements to third parties are very regulated. If what you’re saying is true, I’d be willing to bet money that they’re breaking the law. The question is: can you go after them for it? It could be a scam that doesn’t really exist and therefore cannot be sued. But, it could also be a real entity that you can take to court for damages.
JEC
A heart dr refered me to have a sleep study but I would have to see another dr for the study. The nurse call to to set up the appointment and said the dr wouldn’t see me until I set up a payment plan on a debt from a GI dr I saw 3 years ago. That poked a hole in my colon and ended up having a foot of my colon removed. I am on medicaid and very low income. I have had nothing but fits with my stomach after this and I am unable to work now. I don’t know what to do.
Angela,
That sounds really difficult. I’m not sure why a doctor would care about some medical bill from a different doctor 3 years ago. But unfortunately, unless you show up at an ER, I don’t know of any law requiring a doctor to treat you. Unless they’re refusing you for an illegal reason like race, sex, disability, marital status, religion, etc.
You may just have to find a different doctor.
If a patient owes some money on past due bills and request a copy of a UB04 to file to their cancer policy for reimburse can the hospital refuse to give the patient the UB? I feel we can’t refuse to give to the patient but my manager thinks we can? Can you help us with this discussion. Thanks
I live in Fl I made an appointment to see an orthopedic dr for a knee issue turns out its the same dr who operated on my broken wrist 11 years ago they just called me said I can’t be seen until I pay 600 that I owe from that surgery 11 years ago I don’t even remember what insurance I had with my employer at the time to find out why it was never paid can they refuse to see me and make me pay this bill
I recently had an emergency appointment with an ophamologist whom I hadn’t seen since 2013 for cataract surgery. They set me up for a follow-up appointment, including tests. Today, they called and said I owed an old bill from 2013 for $260.00, and they wouldn’t offer me further care until I paid it. I was shocked. It seems unethical as they’re the only local ophamology clinic, and I’m legally blind and can’t drive. I didn’t even remember owing a bill as I thought the insurance I had at the time had paid it. Nevertheless, I went ahead and paid it today as I need that appointment.