Hospitol bill

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Anyone that has had a large hospitol bill with no health insurance, please give me some advice. I am self employed. Had no health insurance and had to go to ER twice in a week. THey admitted me and ran a bunch of test. Got the bill for $7,000 dollers. There is no way I can pay this bill. I know you can neg a payment plan, but I was wondering if anyone has had experience with dealing with hosp, and what my best course of action is. I do not own a home.
 
Put them on the $5/month payment plan. Since you're uninsured, you can negotiate a lower fee. If you were insured, but not covered, you could not (odd, isn't it?).

You can skip ..but you may need them again and will only ever get emergency services.
 
What he said.
I got insurance but I still have ~$1500 periodic copays for those darn shots in the spine. They get payments as best I can.
 
My sister inlaw is an RN at a hospital, worked in the ER for years and she tells me that many people will check in under a fake name and social security number. The hospital is obligated to render care for an uninsured person.

But if they send your bill to a collection agency and since you are self employed, can't pay the $7000 bill
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, don't own a house.... they will just have to accept your $5/month payment plan.
 
Yes, you certainly can negotiate. First though, if your income is low, a financial program called the "Hill-Burton" Act may help. The hospital will know of this. Years ago, two men with the last names of Hill and Burton created a bill which passed. This assists people with medical expenses, unable to pay them. Please remember, it is only for people of limited financial means. If you do not qualify for this, find out what is the LEAST amount they will accept on a weekly, monthly basis and either make arrangements to pay this way OR ask if they will negotiate for a lower cost IF you can pay in cash, all at once. Most hospitals do not want to work with piddly payments so they may negotiate. IF they don't, then by making the least amount, you are honoring your obligation, thus not hurting your credit history. The hospital would much rather work with you than have to pay 50% to a collection agency. The easier you make it to work with them, the easier it will be.
 
I don't think it will go to collection if he starts paying $5/month directly to the hospital. They can't refuse your offer of payment. Even if they refer all 90 day old bills to some agency, I'd still continue to send the $5/month to the original provider ..if for no other reason to stifle the collection agency's cut.

One appliance clown charged more than the insurance paid for. He somehow fell outside the norms of agreed to fees when accepting insurance. He was a real jerk. We showed up at the appointment time (8am) and sat. No one was there (it was a shared building with an open rotunda and open waiting areas to offices). No one was there. Eventually, the office staff started shuffling in. Come to find out he was piddling around in the back just leaving us sitting there for a half hour. It wasn't his office, he just used that office to do his fitting when he was serving that area. When I said that our appointment was at 8am, he asked, "Who gave you that appointment!" making it sound like someone had the nerve to do that. When I got the card (from the car), he then laughed and said that he was just in the back ...

besides taking everything in me not to grab him by his tie and make him meet a hard place ..it also took 4 years for him to collect his fee ..@ $5.01/month. The $0.01 was to inconvenience whomever had to enter the amount on the deposit slip and/or accounting ledger. Every month ..all generated automatically for me via Checkfree (now BillPay) ..and as annoying and labor intensive as possible for his office.

4 years with a monthly reminder of how much of a "...." he is ..and how passive aggression is the best revenge.
 
Set up meeting to go and talk with them to negotiate. Take your information with you (pay stubs, previous tax returns, bank statements, bill statements, etc). Usually they'll work with you to reduce your bill and set you on a payment plan.

While this is something new to you, they deal with it all the time, so it's normal to them.

Anyways, hope everything is alright
 
The Hill Burton act was a hospital building program, not a financial program. In return for federal funding for hospital construction, the hosptial agrees to provide discounted or free care to those without insurance. What constitutes the amount of free care was never well defined. There has been no hospital construction since the 80's with Hill- Burton funding, so your hospital may have no obligation to you.
If the hospital takes Medicare, you are entitled, and I use this term literally, to a medical screening examination to detect a medical emergency. If you do have a medical emergency, the hospital has the duty to treat you the same as if you had insurance, regardless of your ability to pay. Unfortunately, people abuse this by saying their smokers cough is difficulty breathing, or that their back ache is unbearable.
 
Yes, they will negotiate since he's uninsured..but the amount of the payments will surely be more than $5/month.
 
well, Im 42 and had a thing with chest pains, shortness of breath, dizzy, that kind of thing. The took blood, xrays, ekg and had to do a Nuclear stress test. I haven't recieved the bill from the ambulance yet for there ride in. And I think I could qualify for a low income programs. I just finished my first year of being self employed, didn't make a lot of money. I will contact them and see what I can work out. Thanks guys, for the help. And everything turned out ok, all test came back normal, except that I learned I have acid reflux and too much stress in my life causing anxiety issues
 
It's good to know the hospital won't send some guy named Bubba, who'll put you back in the hospital.
 
Originally Posted By: GROUCHO MARX
In any case, investigate some catastrophic health insurance.


In my opinion, the type of health insurance most people have is sufficiently catastrophic.
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Negotiate by seeing if they will accept what Blue Cross or other managed care companies would have said the allowable charges were. They are usually 50% of the published charge which is what you were billed. Still a large amount but payment plans or other options also available
 
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
..@ $5.01/month. The $0.01 was to inconvenience whomever had to enter the amount[...]

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Originally Posted By: crinkles
god bless public healthcare. god bless australia!

Yeah, it's stiffling the economy here. Lots of potential small business never open just because the would be proprieter can't afford health insurance so they stay at their miserable job for the minimal (if any) coverage.
 
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Put them on the $5/month payment plan. Since you're uninsured, you can negotiate a lower fee. If you were insured, but not covered, you could not (odd, isn't it?).

You can skip ..but you may need them again and will only ever get emergency services.


I find it to be the opposite. You have health insurance and get coverage in network, the hospital charges the insurance company almost HALF what they'd charge an individual with no coverage!
 
Sure ..but you're probably talking elective services. For emergency services a self pay is a no-pay. They do "bill" for the fake "full price" of services ..but will, if coaxed, accept way less.

If, however, you ARE insured but NOT COVERED .. you will not get them to budge one dime. They will not set precedence by allowing you to pay exactly what the insurance or agency pays ..even though they perform those services routinely at that rate of compensation.

Neurologist subscribed to my PPO ..100% ...sent me to a outfit that accepted Independence BC/[censored] ..but not Capital (Phila vs. Harrisburg) ..same coverage ..same level of compensation. My cut $450 of pure bilking and not one written response to my request to pay the same as DWP, Medicare, BC/[censored], etc.

I started getting my $5.01 checks returned before the bill got paid due to the practice being liquidated (assumed to have moved/reformed elsewhere).
 
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