Can a doctors office charge you for bad debt fee?

Question

So went to the Doc office and got a check up. I thought my insurance would cover it but they didn't. A couple of months go by, and I get served some paper work from the attorney general office about the bill. I didn't even know that they had 3 other court cases about this one bill, but I owed the hospital over 2000. The attorney general gave me a option to settle the bill, which I did. I paid the whole thing off. then I get a letter in the mail that I have 2 bills in collections for 210 and 305 from the same doc office. so I called to explain that I had settled and paid it. An every time I call the hospital and the doc office. They either give me the run around, or say that what I paid had nothing to do with there department, or that I may have paid a portion but I never paid for the doctors time. so I asked for a print out of the bill on what they were asking for. I got the bill, the charges are all written out with the product name and price (lab fee, ect swab...) but when you look a

Tim Akpinar · Answer

Check your records to see if you were given a release when you settled the $2,000 bill in full. If you were given a release, review its terms to identify who the releasors were (the medical providers - the doctor, the hospital, the lab, etc.). If you were not released from your obligations on the subsequent $210 and $305 bills, you could reach out to a collections defense attorney to see if you have other viable defenses. Good luck 
 
Tim Akpinar

Q: Can a doctors office charge you for bad debt fee?