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DISCLAIMER: This article is based on a complaint. The defendant has not responded to the complaint to present its side of the case. The claims mentioned are accusations and should be considered as such until and unless proven otherwise.
A collector is facing a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act class action lawsuit in New York because it mentioned on the back of a Model Validation Notice that consumers can call the collector with insurance information, and then allegedly refused to accept the plaintiff’s Medicaid insurance.
The Background: The plaintiff incurred a debt to a healthcare provider. The debt was placed with the defendant for collection, and the defendant sent the plaintiff a Model Validation Notice.
- On the back of the notice was a disclosure that read:
IF YOU HAVE INSURANCE COVERAGE
We have specialists trained to help you obtain payment from your insurance company. Please call us at ###-###-#### with your insurance information. [The defendant] will work with your insurance company to file your claim.
- The plaintiff allegedly contacted the defendant to provide her Medicaid insurance information, but the defendant allegedly refused to accept it. The complaint does not include any additional details about how or why the defendant refused to accept the plaintiff’s insurance information.
The Complaint: The defendant is accused of violating numerous provisions of the FDCPA – Sections 1692e(2)(A), 1692e(10), 1692f, and 1692f(1) for making false representations by providing insurance coverage instructions and then refusing to accept the coverage.
- The plaintiff has standing to sue, in part because she expended time by calling the defendant as she was instructed to do to provide her insurance information.
The Class: The suit seeks to include anyone living in New York who received a communication from the defendant, seeking to collect on a medical debt, for which the individual had already provided Medicaid insurance.
