SAN ANTONIO — Inflation is hurting many households, and forcing some to put off paying bills. In this Verify, we look into one set of bills after receiving a question from one of our viewers. That set of bills, they can get very high, medical bills. Tonight's Verify claim was submitted by KENS5 viewer Sandra Wrase.
THE QUESTION
What is the statute of limitations on collecting medical bills?
THE SOURCES
- Laurence Schneider, an attorney with Larson, Larimer, Schneider
- Dr. Jean Cirillo an attorney with JustAnswer.com
THE ANSWER
TRUE
WHAT WE FOUND
Schneider says there is a statute of limitations and the length depends on the state.
"As we all know, the American way of doing things will different than the rest of the world. And everyone wants their money right now. And so one of the things we're seeing is that those who we see first ambulances, hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent cares, they want their money and they want it now," Schneider said.
Dr. Cirillo says the statute of limitations on medical bills goes under contract law of the state in which the bill was incurred.
"In Texas, the statute of limitations for filing a breach of contract claim is four years from the date of the breach. This applies to both written and oral contracts," Cirillo said. "The statute of limitations is a firm deadline, and missing it by any amount of time means you can't sue."
So yes, it is true. There is a statute of limitations on hospital bills, and in Texas that is four years.
So if your healthcare provider does not initiate a lawsuit within four years of when you were treated, they can no longer come after you for any unpaid balances.