I'm afraid that, for practical purposes, the answer is "yes." You're probably not legally obligated because of its age. However, the problem is your credit rating, which is important for numerous reasons. Several years ago, I was sent a bill for $370 for a hospital stay where an attempt was made to place a heart artery stent which failed. Since I have Medicare A, B, and C, I normally have zero to pay. Never had before this bill; never have since. When I contacted the hospital, the answer I got was that BC/BC didn't cover that amount - no reason given. I called BC/BS and their answer was "ask the hospital." I know now that I could have disputed it with Medicare and I will in the future. However, being an attorney, I told them to go on and file suit and I'd like to hear them try to get the court to buy that claim, that they'd have to come up with what it was for, which they obviously couldn't do. Bad move. It went on my credit report as a collection action, which give a big ding. It's still affecting our credit rating. I'm entitled to lodge a statement with all three major agencies, telling my side of it, but that doesn't really help that much. I don't know the size of your bill. Obviously, that would play into it. If it were just a nuisance amount, my advice would be to pay it...
