"officially retarded"? Are you serious? SMH

I just received one of these letters for a hospital visit for my husband. They didn't even spell my husband's name right and have no claim or ID numbers from the insurance company, so I'm assuming they are fishing for information. I am certainly not going to call them or give them anything. If the insurance company wants information, they can contact me. Otherwise this is being forwarded to my lawyer.

Anonymous IS one of THEM!
I have ignored a few letters from Healthcare Recoveries and Gibson & Sharps. Nothing happened......Big scary "SECOND NOTICE".
The Insurance has hired them! How often have you tried to resolve a 'issue' with insurance and they give you the run around or don't call you back? This is your chance to get them back. Don't answer letters or calls.
They are not your friend!  They can turn on you if you say the wrong thing.
If everybody they call or write a letter to dosn't  communicate with them it will be cost prohibitive. And they will stop.
BY BY Healthcare Recoveries and Gibson & Sharps

I received a letter which I first began to call back on -- then I realized hey wait, I deal directly with my insurance, who is THIS?  I called my insurance and this is NOT a scam.  It turns out that what this company does is help the insurance company by helping to get money from sources when it is due.  For example say you had a car accident and an MRI.  Well if that car accident was someone elses fault, or if there is another insurance involved, this company called "healthcare recoveries" helps the insurance company to get their money back.

from the letter:
PO Box 34576
Dept. 39628388
Louisville, KY  40232-4576

So I called BCBSIL to ask about this letter.  they said they DO actually work with them as a third party.

We have the same situation.  I called BCBS, rep. told me they are not affiliated with Healthcare Recoveries and just ignore the letter.

From my experience, if you get into a car crash and try to get checked up by your doctor or an urgent care clinic and you tell them you had an accident, they won't accept your insurance, supposively due to law.  You have to pay cash up front and have the car insurance companies or guilty party pay for it when you are later compensated.  I suspect that blue cross has legitimately contracted Gibson and Sharps to call you and to determine if your injury was indeed a car accident or workplace injury and if you tell them on the record, then blue cross might come for you later and bill you for services already covered.  Beware!!!

?Informed customer? I agree!
My daughter and I went to a friend?s house. She hurt her ankle and we went to the ER. She told the story to the ER nurse. A few months later, after the insurance paid the claim, guess who I get a letter from. That?s right, Healthcare Recoveries. So being the good citizen I am, I call the number. It was busy and I wasn?t on my game. Blab, blab, blab. Then one thing leads to another and I?m trapped. I have to divulge my friend?s name and address that I just blabbed.
Needless to say he?s not my friend anymore due to his insurance rates going up after they attacked his homeowners insurance.
I have Blue Cross Blue Shield and live in the North East.

DO NOT ANSWER HEALTHCARE RECOVERIES!

To: "The Real Truth": Chill out. I never said Healthcare Recoveries was not legit. Furthermore, I never signed up for healthcare insurance, because I didn't have any--and the healthcare facility where I was treated was informed of this UP front, when I was admitted. But, what did they do?: They attempted to bill an old insurance carrier anyway, even after I specifically told them I no longer had coverage or worked for the group's employer. And, though I did not call Healthcare Recoveries, I wrote and told them
"I have no healthcare insurance and there are no secondary payers involved with this claim. Thank you".
Is that clear enough for you?

To: "Informed Consumer": I have to agree with you, for insurance companies are not looking out for your
"best interests" as they claim. They are looking out for themselves. Period.

I DO NOT AGREE WITH CALLING PEOPLE DUMBASSES! Subrogation is usually proved by some bit of information the consumer supplied to the INS CO. They get this information when people talk to places like Healthcare Recoveries (work for BCBS). DO NOT RESPOND TO THEM!

How many times have you tried to contact your INS CO and they have given you the run around and WASTED YOUR TIME. Get them back by not answering them! If you make the mistake of answering the phone, put them on hold.

Healthcare Recoveries is trying to get money out of you! Even if the INS CO has paid the claim they can still try to recoup their money. Example: If you fell at your mothers house they would try to sue your mothers homeowners INS CO. Nice, now her INS rates go up.

Lets address keeping costs down....... These are the most common healthcare scams; Phantom Treatments, Double billing, Shoddy Care, Unneeded Care, Identity Theft, Rolling Labs and Runners. Subrogation isin't on most heathcare scam lists. The fact is, it's easier for the INS CO to just ask you a few questions and then take your money or money from your mothers INS CO than to go after the real crooks.

DO NOT ANSWER HEALTHCARE RECOVERIES!!!!!!!
DO NOT ANSWER HEALTHCARE RECOVERIES!!!!!!!

Check out this court document about Healthcare Recoveries. They are looking for money that you may have recived from a settlement. This person went to COURT TWICE. the first time they found in favor of the person who got in the accident. The INS appealed it and it was overturned. The courts found in favor of THE MAN (big business). Whats INS for? The INS paid the bills then wanted their money back when the client got a settlement check for pain and suffering. Health care cost are not high because of this. Look up health care fraud and see what the top 5 are.
http://www.lexisone.com/lx1/caselaw/freecasel ... g=y&l1loc=FCLOW

ARE YOU BRAIN DAMAGED??? CLEARLY YOU HAVE NEVER WORKED FOR HEALTHCARE RECOVERIES?????

this is a legit company. all of you are officially stupid. subrogation is utilized to keep the cost of premiums down. everyone of you who received a letter and never called or bitched at people you called into are officially retarded. do you research because you dumbasses agreed to subrogation terms when u signed up for your health insurance. so if you are going to call in on a letter, dont be an a**. get it,take care of it, and shut up!

That's what I figured. I used to work in the healthcare industry and they are looking for secondary payers on behest of the healthcare provider who treated me and has already been told there are none, in addition to the fact I have no income or health insurance.

Thanks for your helpful post. Needless to say, I will not be calling them.

8/15/08
I received a letter asking about a procedure my son had received a couple of months earlier. I called BCBS and they said the call was from one of their sub units and connected me to Brand R. She wouldn't provide me with a last name. I also asked for the name of her supervisor ---Cathy R.
She said she was inquiring to see if there were any other responsible parties for the injury. She also asked if I had retained a lawyer and were they any lawsuits pending.
I told her it was broken arm that has taken a year to heal. It happened int he course of being a 15 year old boy.
She said, "This has been taken care of. Disregard the letter."
Who knows, but I don't think I've heard the last of these guys.

EC, I have the same suspicions!  Thanks for your post.  Did you ever contact them back?  Or did you just ignore it?  I don't see how they can legally do anything to me.  I am not REQUIRED to contact them.

Did anything ever come of your situation?  Thanks so much for your thoughts on this!

Tony--I also just got a second letter from HealthcareRecoveries asking about a procedure that was done by Kaiser Permanente.  Approved by Kaiser, done by Kaiser, and covered by Kaiser.  I paid my co-pay, fair and square.  It is a done deal.  Now I am afraid to contact HealthcareRecoveries back because I am afraid that they will use anything I say to them to claim that the surgery was done to correct a "pre-existing condition"--and will then come after me and sue me to pay for the surgery that they already agreed to and performed!!

Well, to my mind, they should have determined it was pre-existing BEFORE they gave me treatment!!  How can they come back after the fact and demand me to pay for it??  I am so wary of this; I am afraid to contact them because they will use any information and really screw me over.  

Tony, did anything ever come of your situation?  Did you actually talk to them?  Am I even legally required to contact them?  I just want to ignore it.  I do not owe them anything!  What's done is done, and it was all done fairly.  If they wanted to deny the procedure, they could have denied it BEFORE they did it.  I did not give Kaiser false information.  It's done.  I want nothing more to do with them.

You are being paranoid.

^Probably a representative from Healthcare Solutions- if someone tells you to believe this BS, don't listen to them!!

Be careful, they may own this website and are using it to monitor people's thoughts on their scam.

I used to work for Healthcare Recoveries.  You DO NOT and should NOT call them.  What they are wanting to do is to take money from you when you settle your accident claim.  Several years ago they were exposed by me and other for taking money when they had no right to do so.  If you have an accident and your health insurance carrier pays for your medical bills and at a later date you either sue or settle with the person who caused the accident Healthcare Recoveries is going to hound you saying that you owe all or a portion back to your insurance carrier.  DO NOT coperate with them and if you have a lawyer tell him about this as soon as posible and its's called subrogation and it's a hard concept to explain but in many cases Healthcare Recoveries doesn't have the right to seek any payment or money from you.

I received the same letter and called my health plan to verify that this was a legitimate company it is. They handle subrogation-- review paid medical claims and if it is related to an accident where there is another insurance involved they get the health plan reimbursed. This helps keep health insurance costs lower because you health insurance is not paying for claims they are not responsible for.

it is clear you work for them.  go troll somewhere else.

sorry , it was not event reminder , event number, saying they represent bcbs
"needs info with the calim referenced above.

yes, i found you after i call !!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
it's gibson & sharps .
8008563882
i gave them all my info !!!

Okay, here is the solution to take care of these annoying ambulance chasers and get them to stop pestering you: You are going to have to talk to them once. Make everything up, names, places, details of the events in question, do not provide one factual statement. After they go chasing down the rabbit hole, they will get the message full on, and will leave you alone.

Hi all-
I've been with BCBS for almost three years and have had to have two major procedures during this time.  Neither procedure was due to anything other than good 'ole wear and tear on my body but, because of the cost of the procedures (and I'm pretty sure because of the plan-I had Zero out of pocket expenses both times) I too received letters requesting I call in.  I called in the first time and refused to give them any information until they gave me my telephone number and the last four of my ins. ID #.  I then provided my DOB and address for them.  The second time around I knew who they were and why I was receiving the letter so I had not problem talking to them.  ***Fair warning***I do Not work for Healthcare Recoveries or BCBS but I do work for an insurance company which is why I had zero qualms about demanding them giving me partial information before I gave them the information they were asking for verification.  Verification CAN work both ways!

They seem to be doing the same thing under a different number: 1-800-696-4573 (check it for yourself). This time ostensibly "representing" BCBS of Texas. In no way do I plan on responding, particularly if, as others posted, they're asking for personal information....why would they possibly want your address if' you've given them their "event number" via a letter they sent you in the mail?.......and why in the world should they need your birthdate (this can do a lot of damage in the wrong hands); your name and the "event" number as well as, perhaps, the date of service (which is printed in the letter), should be sufficient. In the past, I've occasionally received similar requests, but they have always been directly from BCBS and NOT a third party.

I pay for my own insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois) and I had surgery over a year ago.  During the past couple months I have repeatedly received letters and phone calls (I don't answer numbers II'm not familiar with) from "Healthcare Recoveries" out of Louisville, KY telling me I need to IMMEDIATELY call them (1-800-696-4573) & provide details of my treatment.  I paid my part over a year ago so who are these people?!  Do I have to call them?!  What are they going to ask me and why is it any of their business in the first place?!  The letters claim they're representing Blue Cross, so I'm worried if I don't respond Blue Cross will drop my coverage.  Please help!!!

I got a letter also, and i thought that maybe some one was trying to cover there but.I feel that something went wrong in my surgery because while i was under i could hear the nurses talking,I also think because the way the letter was worded with the doctors name and date of surgery that they trying to find out what they feel i know already,The insurance company already knows that my reasons for surgery had nothing to do with any one else.can you give me yr idea on this,if any of you got letters from a lawyer and this letter i would look into it.maybe yr surgery was not what you think,

This is the way insurance companies try to recoup expenses on health care costs that are the responsiblity of another party. It is completely legit (but check with your insurance company to be sure before you call or respond to them). I got kicked by my neighbor's horse that had gotten loose and came onto my property. I had a large amount of medical bills. I got a letter from a similar law firm or company about recoving the medical bills if they were caused by someone else. I gave them all the information and they got the medical payments back. I got all my out of pocket expenses reimbursed (about $400) and my health insurance company got their money back too (well over $4,000).

This means the person responsible for the medical bills are paying and I didn't even have to hire my own attorney. Plus, I didn't have to get in an argument with my neighbor because it was a third party going after her. If you can verify from your insurance company that they have hired the third party firm or company, I would say give them them information and help them out. It worked well in my situation.