Bankruptcy lawyers for Health Diagnostic Laboratory have hired a collections agency to pursue outstanding patient accounts for blood work services, some of which occurred seven years ago, reports Wall Street Journal.
Richmond, Va.-based Health Diagnostic Laboratory filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2015 after agreeing to pay $50 million to settle allegations by the Department of Justice that it paid physicians to send blood samples.
Lawyers responsible for settling the lab's debts have enlisted a Florida collection agency to chase down payments from more than 9,000 outstanding accounts, according to court documents obtained by WSJ. Some patients have received collections notices for services performed as far back as 2009.
Altogether, the accounts total more than $50 million.
True Health, the company that purchased Health Diagnostic last year, is not the responsible party for the collections actions. Bankruptcy lawyers retained the rights to collect on outstanding accounts, and settle the company's debts, during the transaction with True Health.