Texas Medical Bill Debt Laws & Attorneys | DebtStoppers (2024)

FAQs

What is the law on unpaid medical bills in Texas? ›

Under Texas laws, the statute of limitations on medical bills debts is 4 years. This means that if your healthcare provider does not initiate a lawsuit within 4 years, they cannot sue you to recover your unpaid balances.

If you believe you've been wrongly billed, you may contact the federal No Surprises Help Desk at (800) 985-3059 or the Texas Department of Insurance at (800) 252-3439. Visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers for more information about your rights under federal law.

The statute of limitations on debt in Texas is four years.

However, under Texas wage garnishment laws, your pay can only be garnished for child support, spousal support, federal student loans, and other federal debts, like taxes. Creditors can't garnish your wages for the repayment of consumer debts, such as credit card balances, medical bills, or car loans.

As of January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act (NSA) protects you from surprise billing if you have a group health plan or group or individual health insurance coverage. The NSA is a federal law that prohibits balance billing for out-of-network, self-pay, and uninsured patients from certain surprise medical bills.

When you receive your personal injury settlement, you will have to repay the agency that paid for your medical care.

What is the affirmative defense in Texas debt collection? ›

Note: An affirmative defense is an independent reason that the Plaintiff should not win the lawsuit. If an affirmative defense is successful you could win the lawsuit, even if what the Plaintiff says is true. If you file an answer and do not claim an affirmative defense, you may not be able to claim the defense later.

If the creditor or debt collector wins the lawsuit, they will obtain a judgment against you. That judgment can then be enforced in a variety of ways unless you do not have any money or assets that the creditor could claim. This is commonly called being "judgment proof."

A hardship letter is a formal letter that you write to your healthcare provider or insurance company to request assistance or a payment plan. The letter should explain your situation, provide evidence of your financial hardship, and explain why you are unable to pay your medical bills.

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan (ARP), states, counties, and cities are canceling an estimated $7 billion in medical debt for up to nearly 3 million Americans, including: Arizona is using ARP funds to relieve an estimated up to $2 billion in medical debt for up to 1 million Arizonans.

2, even though it's true that in most cases, other kinds of debt, especially credit card debt, can do more damage to your credit score than medical debt can. If the medical debt is the one in collections, deal with it first. But then make sure your credit card debt doesn't wind up in collections, too.

How long does medical debt stay on your credit? Medical debt is not reported to credit bureaus as long as it remains with your healthcare provider. If you don't pay the bill for at least three months, however, your provider may sell it to a collections agency. That's when it can ding your credit score.

This bill, later codified as the Texas Medical Liability Act, made sweeping changes to the way in which medical malpractice cases, also called health care liability claims, can be brought before a court of law.