What does it mean when 800-823-2318 calls?
When 800-823-2318 shows up on caller ID, it is a call from Medicredit Inc. These calls are almost always about a medical bill that the hospital has turned over to Medicredit for collection. But this is the part that most people don’t hear: That phone call does not mean that you actually owe this company any money. And it definitely does not mean you need to return the call.
Medicredit is not a hospital. They are not your doctor’s office. They are a debt collection company. And their entire business model relies on one thing: Getting you to react without understanding your rights.
The thousands of people who have reported this number to complaint databases like 800Notes, EveryCaller, or Clark Howard tell a very consistent story of robo-calls, pressure to give personal information, and demands for payment.
Who is Medicredit Inc?
Type of company: Third-party debt collector focused exclusively on medical debt
Industry: Healthcare Industry and medical billing only
Corporate office: 111 Corporate Office Drive, Suite 200, Earth City, Missouri 63045
Parent company: Wholly owned by Parallon, which is a subsidiary of HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital chain in the US
Call centers: 15 locations across the US
Monthly consumer contacts: Estimated 200,000 calls per month
Year founded: October 5, 1977 in Missouri (48 years in business)
Better Business Bureau rating: A accredited company, but only 1.21 out of 5 stars from BBB consumer reviews and a formal Pattern of Complaints alert
Also known as: Cogent Financial Group, Revenue Cycle Point Solutions, The Outsource Group
What does Medicredit’s history tell us?
If you feel like the calls from this number are too much, you are not imagining things. Medicredit has already paid out nearly $12 million in class action settlements over alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for robo-calling and recording consumer calls without permission.
In one case, a class-action lawsuit against Medicredit alleged that the company robo-called 627,642 different cell phone numbers without consent. That case settled for $5 million.
In a second class-action lawsuit, Medicredit was accused of recording calls with California consumers without their knowledge or permission. That case settled for another $5 million.
In a third case, Medicredit agreed to a $1.95 million settlement over robo-calls made to about 303,600 different phone numbers between 2017 and 2022.
These are not isolated incidents. They are a pattern.
Why is Medicredit calling me?
The hospital connection that most people miss
Medicredit only exists to collect money on medical bills that the hospital or healthcare provider could not collect on their own. Because Medicredit is owned by HCA Healthcare, these calls are almost always connected to a visit to one of HCA’s 186 hospitals across 20 states.
Complaints have specifically mentioned Rose Medical Center in Colorado, HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball in Texas, and HCA Florida Trinity Hospital, among dozens of others.
What makes this arrangement particularly confusing is that many people do not realize the hospital where they received care and the company now calling them are actually part of the same corporate family. The debt has not been sold to a complete stranger. It has been passed to an in-house collection company with a different name.
You may not actually owe this debt
A surprising number of people who report calls from 800-823-2318 say they do not owe any money on a medical debt. Others say the bill has already been paid by insurance, or that they are already making payments directly to the hospital.
One poster on 800Notes perfectly captured the frustration: I make monthly payments to the hospital and I have no idea who Medicredit is, nor do I owe them a dime.
A second poster on EveryCaller reported that after a month of robo-calls, they sent a certified letter demanding proof of the debt and informing Medicredit that they could not call again. After mailing that letter, the calls completely stopped. I never received a response in the mail and nothing ever showed up on my credit report.
The lesson here is simple: When forced to prove that the debt is real, collectors often go away.
What is Medicredit counting on?
They are counting on you to panic and pay
The psychology behind aggressive collection calls is not that complicated. These collectors are counting on the idea that eventually the calls will wear you down and force you to pay just to make it all stop. They are counting on you to treat the call as an emergency rather than what it really is: A business negotiation where you have more power than you think.
Here is something that most people never consider: Bad debts are a commodity. They get bought, sold and traded between companies like baseball cards. The emotional burden you assign to a medical bill is not shared by the company that is trying to collect it. To them, your account is just another line item on a spreadsheet.
Changing your mindset about that relationship is the first step to changing your approach.
They are hoping you never ask for proof
One of the top tactics people report from Medicredit agents is a demand for personal information full name, date of birth, Social Security number, mailing address before they will tell you anything at all about the supposed debt.
One poster on 800Notes described it this way: I asked them why they were calling and the girl said because of HIPAA they could not tell me anything until I provided that information.
This is a high-pressure tactic to get you talking before you start thinking. The phone number printed at the bottom of a collection letter or left on a voicemail is not there so you can call to set up a payment arrangement. It is there so you can call to request written verification of the debt.
Under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), you have the right to demand that any collector prove the debt is real, that the amount is accurate and that they have the legal right to collect it. And until they do that in writing, you do not owe them anything.
How can you protect yourself starting today?
Your credit report is the real battleground
While Medicredit is calling your phone, the real action may already be happening on your credit report. A collection account can hurt your credit score and remain on your report for as long as seven years. That can affect your ability to qualify for a house, a car or even a job.
But here is what collectors do not want you to know: The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) are not just shields for consumers. They are offensive weapons that provide real leverage if you know how to use them.
Every item on your credit report must be accurate, verifiable and in compliance with federal law. If any collection account fails that test, you have grounds to dispute it and possibly remove it. That is not a loophole. That is the law working like it is supposed to.
Do not give them what they want
Collectors like Medicredit make their money when consumers engage on the collector’s terms. That means calling them back, giving personal information over the phone, agreeing to a payment plan without first seeing it in writing or simply reacting out of fear. Every one of those reactions plays directly into their hands.
One poster on Clark Howard Community Forum offered advice that resonated with others: Articles I found regarding Medicredit said do not call them back.
A second poster on WhoCallsMe described Medicredit as a continuous nuisance: Even after I told them the bill had been paid months ago, they became more aggressive, rude and demanding.
The consistent lesson across hundreds of complaints is that direct engagement with this company tends to escalate the problem rather than resolve it.
Why do these calls feel so urgent?
The illusion of legal authority
Debt collectors understand something fundamental about human psychology: People tend to defer to perceived authority figures. When a voicemail says this is a communication from a debt collector and mentions a hospital by name, it is designed to evoke the same response you would have getting a call from a government agency or a court.
But Medicredit is none of those things. They are a private company trying to make money.
The Better Business Bureau’s formal Pattern of Complaints alert against Medicredit notes that consumers report negative credit reporting without prior notification, collection attempts against the wrong person and failure to honor cease-and-desist requests.
Those are not the actions of a company that is operating with legitimate authority. Those are the actions of a company that relies on the appearance of authority to pressure people into reacting.
Wrong numbers, wrong people, wrong debts
The complaint history reveals a troubling pattern of Medicredit contacting people who have no connection whatsoever to the underlying debt.
One poster on 800Notes reported getting calls from this number on a brand-new pre-paid cell phone that had only been activated days earlier.
Another described a call from Medicredit to a family member’s cell phone seeking information on a relative’s medical bill, despite the fact that the family member’s phone number was not associated with that patient in any way.
A ConsumerAffairs reviewer described an even more disturbing scenario: Medicredit called my younger sibling’s cell phone asking for my older sibling. My younger sibling’s number is not on any of the documents related to the bill.
When a debt collection company is calling people who have zero connection to the debt, that raises serious questions about whether their information is reliable on any level.
Taking back control
What can you do right now?
If 800-823-2318 is ringing your phone, you need to understand you are dealing with a company that has already paid out nearly $12 million for the exact calling practices you are experiencing.
You are not powerless here. You are not alone. And the law gives you specific tools to hold collectors accountable when they go too far.
Do not call them back. Do not give out personal information over the phone. And do not assume you owe the debt just because someone is leaving you voicemails saying you do.
Instead, focus your energy on your credit report, where the real damage is being done and where the real opportunity for relief is.
Get a free case review from FightCollections.com
A free consultation with our experts at FightCollections.com costs you nothing and commits you to nothing. It is just a chance to have someone review your situation, look at what is being reported on your credit and lay out the options that federal law provides in your situation.
Think of it as risk-free intelligence gathering. You walk away with a clear understanding of where you stand and what your choices are going forward.
The collectors are hoping you will never take that step. They are counting on confusion, urgency and isolation to keep you reacting instead of strategizing.
A free case review is how you stop playing their game and start playing yours. Visit FightCollections.com today to get started.