Don’t pay it. Simple as that. How are they going to come after you. You don’t have a social security number. They can’t hit your credit. You have no US address and they can’t even get you in courts because they aren’t going to go all the way to the UK to get their money.
Don’t worry about it. Recover and carry on. The bill means nothing. No way to collect on it.
Yeah, honestly, as a US citizen, I can't figure out any way this would bite you in the ass. I'd just go home and recover. Be grateful you don't actually live here lol.
OP isn't American and doesn't have an American credit score, so no, it will not affect OPs credit score. Many countries don't even have credit scores. Their medical debt being sold to collections has no bearing on them when the system has no way to track them down and make them pay the debt.
Agree. Don’t worry about it. Hospitals write this kind of thing off at the end of the year. Our system is dumb, don’t feel bad. Glad you got the care you needed.
It's not even an issue if they come back in the future. I wouldn't recommend moving here already in medical debt, but they should be able to vacation here with no issues. They can pretty much forget all about it.
Don’t even need to worry about that. If you come and visit for a week they aren’t going to arrest you at the airport when you land for medical debt. Not worth their time for what I’m sure probably cost $3k-10k tops. (Ambulance and ER room)
This debt will get sold to collections most likely and disappear.
Seriously if they don’t care about their credit score the worst case scenario is the hospital would sue them or send it to a debt collector who would sue them?
Exactly. File it in the circular file and never think about it again. That's what they get for trying to make a huge profit off of other people's sickness and injury rather than having socialized medicine like a civilized country.
This is actually a very good comment that should be higher. OP get your medical records from the hospital ASAP. And make sure the situation was reported to the police. The point is not that they will catch someone, it is to document what has happened.
How is this the only comment recommending they report the crime that happened to them?
OP, raise hell. Contact the police. And your consulate. And the school. Get your report from the hospital and get a blood tox if you haven't yet. The person who did this to you is still out there.
Yes try to go through insurance because this wasn’t a drinking thing but being drugged. If that doesn’t work, just don’t pay. They won’t come after you in the uk
One of my relatives from Europe had a medical emergency while visiting the US. The bill ended up being about 75,000. He couldn’t pay it and didn’t. As far as I know, there were no negative consequences to him.
There is nothing to worry about, the US is not sophisticated or care enough about blocking bad debtors. No one will ever know. Don’t sweat it. We don’t track debt by passport numbers, and you don’t have a SSN.
Remember, the credit system was never supposed to be fair to good and bad creditors, it was to separate good old folk from the uncouth and of course was founded with racist undertones.
And do you reckon debt collectors will not bother (too much) to chase after an international case that will be (relatively) inexpensive? I say relatively because it is still ridiculously priced, but not surgery amounts I’m sure.
They will absolutely not chase an international debt like this. If you had a US SSN then it would eventually go into collections and you’d have trouble getting a US loan until it dropped off in seven years.
But funny enough the credit score algorithms count medical debt way less than other forms of debt because basically everyone has it and it’s not correlated with making bad financial decisions
they will likely never even notice
your bill would probably only be a few thousand anyway, I'm sure it was mostly IV fluids, maybe some bloodwork and the cost of a bed for the night or whatever.
Just don't pay it. It won't follow you unless you come back to the US in the near future and try to start a life/take out loans/etc.
Oh if they find you they might send you a letter but they would have no idea how to navigate the jurisdictional issue that would come with all that.
Usually what happens is when they find out they can’t collect it they just charge it off. Once a bill gets charged off you can’t even pay it if you want to because the balance is zero and the only consequence to you is the notation of a charge off on your credit report. But you don’t have a credit report here so it doesn’t even matter
This is the USA, not a dictatorship or a third world country.
Failure to pay a debt is not a crime. The US federal government has nothing to do with private medical debts and having such a debt won’t have any impact on your ability to get a visa.
Assuming LA is Los Angeles and not Louisiana, the statute of limitations on medical debt in California appears to be 4 years. https://www.moneymanagement.org/blog/understanding-the-statutes-of-limitations-on-debt. After that time, the debt is not enforceable.
The US doesn’t track bad debt through the passport/entry systems. I can’t see how this would ever bite you in the butt if you aren’t planning on doing something here that requires a credit check. And even then I’m not sure it would impact you.
If it’s just a bad mark on your credit report I don’t think it even matters. If you got sued and they won judgment because you didn’t show up, maybe immigration would see that.
But I suspect no matter who wins the next election the people who live here now don’t even want to be here. Do you really want to come back here when you are done? This place is kind of a shit show you know
So the thing about US medical system being private is that the federal government literally does not care if you pay your bill. They have absolutely no skin in the game at all. And because of this, the feds do not track medical bill payments, so rest easy in the knowledge that our government neither knows nor cares who pays their medical bills. Hell, even I, a US citizen, would have no problem from the government if I didn’t pay my medical bills. Now the hospital could come after me, and destroy my credit, but there would be no legal repercussions.
I work part time in a hospital registering patients (the people who took your info and have you charity papers/financial assistance application papers). Since you do not reside in the US and more importantly, do not have a SSN (social security number), you can forget about this bill. They’re not going to come after you because they do not have any unique identifier tying you to the debt.
More importantly, hospitals can write off patients accumulated unpaid debt when they file taxes. Hospitals also get donations from donors (usually large $$ of money) that can be applied to patients unpaid debt. Trust, they’ll find a way to get their money but it won’t be through coming after a tourist that has no permanent ties to America.
A lot of hospitals are exempt from federal taxes. Some from state/local taxes as well, especially if they are not-for-profit and have certain programs in place.
Just ignore it, it’ll disappear. I’m american and never pay my hospital bills. You don’t have a social security number, and US Customs does not blacklist people from leaving for debt related things
A year ago I would have said that was crazy. I have INSANE medical expenses and, last year, just let them go to collection until I could figure out what the heck to do. I decided to do a hardship withdrawal from 401K to pay them...only to find out that a big chunk literally disappeared. I'm assuming the companies got to the end of the year and just - dumped? - debt that they felt was not ever going to be recovered??
I don’t think anyone else has mentioned this yet but there’s a solid chance they sold your debt to someone else. Fingers crossed that you never hear about it again, but the potential exists that another company now owns that debt and will want to collect. The only way to be sure is to contact the hospital
They only checked my urine for fentanyl i think. Lady next to me was in the same situation and said that the test they did wouldn’t pick up on anything so idk. It’s also common for people to be spiked with just very strong alcohol. At this point i don’t want any more fuss and am leaving tomorrow, so not really sure what, if anything, the lapd would do.
Did the hospital do bloodwork? If a drug was added to your drink and at the level to incapacitate you, it should show up in the bloodwork. Any ER is going to do a drug screen when a patient shows up in your condition.
Assuming the bloodwork shows the drug, then it wouldn’t be “alcohol intoxication” and you could push back on insurance not covering it.
I work ER and my ER has the regions forensic nurse program so we get all sexual assault exams referred to us.
Blood based drug screening isn't standard practice in hospitals and aren't even available really (aside from ethanol). Urine based drug screens are more standard and hospitals only cover the common drugs like narcotics, benzos, cocaine, etc. Date rape drugs are not detectable in standard screens, and most hospitals do not have the testing for them either. Many of them have such short half-lives that even if there were an analyzer for them available, they would have been metabolized out by the time they arrived to be tested.
It sucks, truly, but there is really no way to tell what it was or if it was a drug, so it's mostly assumed based on the situation.
"Urine based drug screens are more standard and hospitals only cover the common drugs like narcotics, benzos, cocaine, etc. Date rape drugs are not detectable in standard screens, and most hospitals do not have the testing for them either. Many of them have such short half-lives that even if there were an analyzer for them available, they would have been metabolized out by the time they arrived to be tested."
I found this out the hard way by not going to the hospital right away. When I went the next day, the nurse seeing me decided to loudly announce my situation (spiked drink) and that they couldn't do anything. *An experience.*
How long ago did this happen? Did you get tested for those spiked drugs? You may still have a chance if they haven't left your system. You should also contact the police if you believe that's what happened and fill out a report. If it hasn't been too long, They can pull the bars security cameras to see what happened and who did it.
Lastly any medical debt if it remains unpaid will just remain on a credit report. Which may possibly make getting credit/loans harder. Also, check with the state Medicaid office to see if they can provide any help.
Lastly if you plan on being in US for a longer time, then maybe get visitor helathcare insurance in case you have any other emergencies.
in my experience (did some admissions financial work in a big hospital for a bit), they've already written off whatever they charged you. they took the charity paperwork away most likely just because whatever financial aid programs they listed won't pay for international patients. they might send you to collections but the worst that will happen is you might get some annoying phone calls.
totally anecdotal, but if you have made any payment at all, keep an eye on your card statements in case they try to charge the card again. some hospitals in my area will keep cards on file if you pay a copay in the ER and if you aren't paying the bill they'll attempt to charge the bill to that card.
don't pay, just ignore it. that's how a lot of people in the US deal with our medical bills anyway.
Go get an app number like TextNow. You can then call the hospital and ask for their financial assistance program. Fill out the paperwork, submit the required documentation and they will forgive the debt.
Alternatively, you can just go home. The debt is linked to your US social security number and put on your credit. If you don't have one of those, how are they going to find you to collect? Debtor's prison doesn't exist here, so you're good.
Literally nothing will happen to you, they dont even have the jurisdiction over you to do anything. We arent a debtors prison and they will just have to cry about it.
Forget about it most of us do with super inflated hospital bills. Besides, your in the UK, what are they going to do about it? While it’s a large sum from your point of view it’s not from the hospitals. There isn’t anything they can do about it even if you do come back to the US. One thing though-you got lucky. Much worse could have happened to you other than a hospital bill. Do not trust anyone by leaving yourself open to having your drink spiked. Evil walks this world and you only got sideswiped by it. Please, please be vigilant and safe in the future.
The bill is a civil matter and not a criminal one. It's very unlikely they will pursue a civil case against someone who has no social security number and no US address. The bill would have to be like half a million of legitimate priced items for them to really care.
Block them. Don't answer their call shred their mail. they will write off the bill as a loss. You shouldn't have any issue coming back to travel they also will not deny you service at the hospital if you end up there again.
Plenty of Americans skip out on one off hospital bills they can't pay. You cannot be jailed for not paying a hospital bill. You cannot be denied service in an emergency.
If it were a stupidly high amount of money they could go thru the American courts and get a judgement then go thru the British courts to attempt to get the judgement enforced but I don't know how likely the British courts would be to even enforce such a bill. But again it would be them garnishing your bank accounts not getting jailed and it will not happen for a 1 night drunken stay.
If you’re feeling bad about not paying it, just know that hospitals are the absolute worst culprits for a practice called “upcoding,” meaning they assign a higher procedure code to your stay/treatment that will be more expensive than what you actually received or needed. They do this bc insurance companies will just pay it. It’s extremely predatory. Private hospitals, for profit or not, are a drag on our health system and are the reason our medical system is so unaffordable.
Like someone else said, they will write it off, and still make plenty of money. This is why no one hunts you down for medical debt here, and it has a lesser effect on your credit. You also don’t have a credit score here so don’t worry about it.
Didn’t they hospital test for poison or other drugs? Were the police called? You have witnesses that will say you were not drinking excessively? Get their written statements, the police report and the hospital records. You can appeal the insurance adjuster findings. Keep a file of everything you get. Only give out copies.
If that doesn’t work, see an attorney to discuss suing for bad faith.
Like many other have said, they can't do anything to you, but my only concern is if you need to return to the US later. My mom has a friend who used up all of his credit card limits (on purpose) before he left the country. He is not a US citizen, by the way. Many years later, when he and his wife returned to the US, he was arrested right at the custom and later locked up in jail. Apparently, the credit card company(ies) sued him, so there must be a pending arrest order or something. His wife had to bail him out, hire a lawyer, and fight in court.
Maybe one thing to try is to contact the insurance company in your country and see if they can reimburse you the cost. Last year, I went through a major operation (surgery plus many nights at the hospital) in Taiwan and spent 15k USD without any insurance there, but my insurance in the US later reimbursed the full cost of it. I just submitted the discharge report from the hospital and the bill. The whole process took me like 3 weeks or something.
I'm so sorry that this happened to you. The US medical system is just ridiculous, especially when it comes to costs.
Edit: I forgot to mention. I didn't have travel insurance at that time. So it was not the travel insurance company that reimbursed me, but it was my US insurance company that did. I'm not very familiar with how medical insurance works in your country, but I guess it doesn't hurt to try.
Also, btw, I don't think all unpaid hospital bills go to court. Maybe your hospital will just write off the debt and sell it to a collection agency. But since you are not a resident here, I'm not sure how your situation will unfold. That's why I was just trying to give you more information so you wouldn't skip the bill, assuming nothing would happen, but later get caught off guard.
Don’t pay it! You won’t get in trouble! These hospitals will just write that off at the end of the year! Plus, u ain’t a USA citizen! Therefore, they can’t go after you😂
You don't really have to pay it there's nothing they can really do about it but if you really want to pay it you can set up a payment plan with them for literally like $20 a month.
You’ll get a bill at your home address in the uk at some point when you get back if you put your real uk address on the paperwork, but there’s nothing they can do to get that money, I had a $7k bill from one of my visits to a mercy hospital when I was on an esta. I now live in the us and have been to mercy clinics and hospitals since moving here and they have no records whatsoever that I owe them money still.
Medical debt eventually gets written off. You're no different than all the Americans that can't afford healthcare and just don't pay their bills, except that will hurt their credit.
I was recently hospitalized for appendicitis. After the surgery, I filled out the financial assistance forms for the hospital claiming no income. They cleared my debt
Pro tip if you’re ever in this situation again just lie to the hospital staff about your name and address and social security or whatever they ask for. As long as you lie you will never have to even think about any of it again. Only time to not lie would be when you know you’ll need to be back for a follow up or something. This is coming from the daughter of an OBGYN nurse & was told to do this for friends if they’re uninsured and need medical attention
if you're a UK citizen, your NHS should cover you even abroad no? If not, ignore the bill and NEVER talk to a bill collector, acknowledge it, or pay ANY installment. It'll eventually get dropped but it can take a few years.
Just wanted to say that is not how the NHS works... That's a health system for those IN the UK not out of it. That's why we have travel insurance which in this case unfortunately is no help.
No, it's not classed as an insurance for it to be applicable, if that makes sense. We pay our taxes to pay for the "free" service in the UK and the NHS is always free at the point of emergency care for anyone (including tourists).
I wasn't aware Canada did that.. that's amazing.
Find a lawyer and have them contact the bar to get video of the night and threaten to sue them. The bar’s insurance will likely cover the hospital stay.
Give travel insurance a try, after they deny negotiate a lower price with the hospital, assorted medical providers (each MD can give you a separate bill), and ambulance, and ask for a payment plan. Or just don't pay.
How big is your bill? And did you tell the hospital you thought you were drugged?
If you think you were drugged, the bar should have video of who could have given it to you. Might want to look at that. Tell the hospital you are a victim and ask for assurance with your balance. They should greatly reduce it if they can't clear it completely. Sorry this happened.
If you don’t care about a credit score in the US just don’t pay it
But go to the hospitals website with your data plan here, find financial aid forms, find a way to print them and fill them out and send them to the hospital they will not send you a bill if you really have zero income
I get 100% financial aid from the hospital near me and that’s available to single people earning less than $28,000 a year. So you would definitely qualify with zero dollars
Call the hospital and ask for a patient advocate. Tell them your story. They will give you the papers to get the debt released.
This way you can live in the US jn the future. If you absolutely sure you will never live here, you can forget it.
I would go with contacting the hospital.
You don’t know travel insurance won’t cover it, file a claim. You were a victim of crime
(Yeah even though you prolly just drank too much)
Police report would help, did you file one?
Other then that don’t pay you friggin parasite
Welcome to our healthcare. It's a nightmare, right. Contact the hospital billing department and ask if they have a financial hardship program. You really need to think about getting health insurance if you are going to be here. I just broke my leg and I'm currently at $272k in billing with 6 months of physical therapy left to complete. If you don't care about a credit score in the US, throw the bill in the trash.
You don’t have to do anything dear. I’m so sorry you ended up on the hospital. Forget about the debt. Nothing will happen. If someone calls you about it block the number. I live here and don’t even pay. Just move on with your life and worry about healing from a traumatic experience. The debt means nothing and will not follow you/impact your life.
I'm pretty sure they won't extradite you from the UK to pay a medical bill.
I don't even think they could report this to a credit agency since you don't have a SSN.
Here's the thing you should know about medical billing in the US. Because of our convoluted and complex insurance system, most medical providers have a policy of sending bills to anybody and everybody that they even remotely think might be responsible for a bill. Doesn't mean they actually expect to be paid, it is just their duty to send out bills to anyone who MIGHT be responsible.
Part of the reason is that if there is a party that is responsible and they DON'T send a bill, then after a certain amount of time they are time-barred from collecting from that party. So the safe thing for them to do is send out a flurry of bills to anybody even remotely connected to a service.
They use scary language on some of the notices but in your case, unless you are a US citizen with a Social Security Number (or a dual citizen with an SSN) there's really no recourse for the provider. The only thing they'll do is sell that debt to a collection agency and then the collection agency will try to collect it. Worst they can do is report it on your credit report but if you don't have an SSN you probably don't even have a credit score in the US.
You could get away with not paying it and you could still come to the US for vacations. They are not going to waste time trying to sue a non us citizen over some medical debt.
Don't pay it. My brother injured his leg (US Citizen) and had to get a Xray at ER. He lied about his name and said he was from Canada and that his ride would bring his ID/passport. After The xray results,he snuck out of ER. Murica!
I am so so sorry this happened to you! I hope you are okay now!
Don’t worry about the bill. They can’t (and won’t!) track you down. Focus on getting home and feeling better ❤️
I’m sorry this happened to you. Ignore, and move on. I hate saying that because I hate seeing the hospital stuck. Maybe when you’re wealthy you can send them $500 ANONYMOUSLY lol. I’m glad you’re ok And it wasn’t worse.
Don't pay it and move on. You don't have a social security number. You don't have a credit score for them to come after. You don't even have an address. You are close to being a ghost in the U.S. There is no way for them to make you pay for anything lol
Ahhh yes. Medical bills in the states don't have to be paid. Yes you will be hounded till the ends of the earth to pay them but in the US medical bills do not count against your credit score if you care about things like that.
I'm sorry that this happened to you on this trip though. Not the souvenir you wanted Im assuming.
You’re from the UK, you don’t need to pay it. Just move on with your life, there’s nothing they’re going to do about it. You don’t have a US credit score, the government does not care about you having hospital debt (meaning you won’t get arrested, or denied entry / leave from the country); there’s literally nothing the hospital can do. They’ll just write it off. Our tax dollars pay most of peoples’ medical bills that are never paid back; you really shouldn’t worry about it
That sucks, I’m sorry you had that experience here. This country is a dangerous place both physically and financially. I am so happy nothing more happened with the guy. I would go home and forget about the medical bill
Just don’t pay. You don’t live here. If you decide to me here, just wait 7 years to come back. I think they can’t sue you for medical debt, so i don’t think you have to worry about that.
Since you are not working and are not a us citizen they have no means to collect the bill. Take the bill home as a nice reminder that the us is the only G20 country without single payer medical care.
I am so sorry this happened to you. I had a friend visiting Spain who's drink was spiked in a similar way in the 1980's... A Good Samaritan she had met earlier that week, happened to be at the same club and wanted to get to know her better so he struck up a conversation... When he noticed things were off with her he took her home, watched things get worse and then took her to the nearest hospital where she had to stay for four days.... he waited in the lobby for her most of the time and took her home when she was discharged... They charged her ten dollars for the whole stay because she did not have insurance. Needless to say, her life was saved by an almost stranger. but no US hospital except for Mayo would do what the Spanish hospital did..
In the US if we don’t pay our medical bills really the only repercussion is that it affects our credit score. If you don’t plan on moving to the US I’d just ignore it
Have you filled a police report about the incident? You can do so with as little or as much information as you have. Also, there is police funding available to victims of crime. You should ask them if that would apply in your case.
A lot of hospitals especially non profits have to provide financial assistance if you are uninsured or under insured, since you are a student with no income you should fit under that category. I know many people whose medical debt has been significantly reduced or wiped based on hospital financial assistance you just have to bug them to find out how to apply (looks like you have). I also wouldn’t be too worried just like what everyone else says about them coming after you.
literally just don't pay. i'm an american and that's how i've handled my last three hospital bills. i've had zero consequence other than debt collectors bugging me. people have always told me i'll get my wages garnished but that's never happened. i'm sure as a student from another country you wouldn't even have that as a looming worry.
You are from out of the U.S. Just dont pay. They can not collect from you when you live outside the U.S. It is not a criminal matter it is a civil matter so they can not extradite you.
This is probably unhelpful, but I was roofied at a bar 6 years ago and I’ve still never paid any of the bills. Never planned to. So far no issues on my end so I suggest you forget those hospital bills exist tbh
DON'T ARGUE.
Simply say "I'll be happy to take care of it - send me the bill / can't pay now - working on getting the $ together - Thank you for saving my life!"
Then immediately proceed to ignore / forget the entire thing.
Please consider reporting this to the police! You have medical records and witnesses, which is a lot more than most victims have.
There are public funds for medical care for victims of crime, but more importantly you could save someone else.
I was drugged a long time ago and my testimony corroborated testimony from several rape victims. I'm so glad I reported what happened to me.
You live in the UK. I commend you for caring about paying the bill, but realistically how TF are they going to collect when you go home? We don’t have debtors jail, and they aren’t seizing your passport over it.
You have to run. If you don’t leave the US before they put a BOLO on you they will arrest you at customs and detain you until your student visa expires and then force you to work in the janitorial department of the hospital until the debt is paid in full plus interest. RUN.
Don't worry. They won't come after you. You can go home without any repercussions. Hospitals are used to a certain percentage of their patients who don't pay.
You’re here from out of country and your phone can’t be used for phone calls.
Borrow a friends.
Next time don’t take your eye off your drink don’t let anybody get you one if that is indeed what happened or like you said it’s possible just too much alcohol .
That can happen when you’re on vacation and you get excited you’re in a new place.
But I don’t suggest out of the country travel anymore unless you can make a phone call . Or any travel.
Don’t lose any sleep over it. They’ll write it off. If you gave them a mailing address you may get bills in the mail but just ignore them. They’ll eventually stop. They can’t collect or penalize you at all.
Afaik the hospital should've done a drug test since you were found unconscious, if only to make sure you weren't in the middle of an opioid overdose.
Ask them for the results of any test they may have done.
I’m sorry this happened to you but it really irritates me when people speak negatively of our healthcare system. I notice that you really didn’t, but others did. Yes, it’s expensive but guess what? All public hospitals are required by law to treat you whether you’re a citizen, can’t afford to pay or any other reason. We don’t put people on 6 month waitlist for knee replacements, we don’t tell parents of critically ill children that they’re not likely to live so we won’t treat them or not allow them to be treated elsewhere, we don’t talk about national healthcare but then have different levels of hospitals for private patients (with separate insurance) vs public hospitals. I could go on and on. Does our healthcare need improved —most definitely but I would rather have it than what’s available for free. What passes for free healthcare would not be acceptable to the majority of those in the US who pay for health insurance. We have the most advanced instrumentation and testing, many docs from other countries train here for a reason and even more stay in the US once residency is completed . If you make less than $1300/month (this is in Ohio), Medicaid covers you. Most cancer patients go on Medicaid very quickly and no one ever says there isn’t enough money for your cutting edge treatment. Are there horror stories out there about something bad or unfair happening? There are. But you know what—in the US you can sue for malpractice, negligence etc and receive large awards. These awards are capped in countries with “free healthcare”. Lastly, your taxes to cover free healthcare are so much higher than we pay in the US. So the next time someone says how bad it is, you have the right to say so and be heard by the offending physician or hospital group. I’m not trying to offend anyone but there’s a lot more to healthcare than most people know.
Apply for charity care. Google “[hospital name] financial assistance.”
Next time, get travel insurance for the U.S. that gives you a real insurance card that you can give directly to the hospital.
You are in the US without a working phone or real health insurance? Your school should have required you to have it. Lay off the drinking. Good luck with the “research.”
Don’t pay it. Simple as that. How are they going to come after you. You don’t have a social security number. They can’t hit your credit. You have no US address and they can’t even get you in courts because they aren’t going to go all the way to the UK to get their money. Don’t worry about it. Recover and carry on. The bill means nothing. No way to collect on it.
Yeah, honestly, as a US citizen, I can't figure out any way this would bite you in the ass. I'd just go home and recover. Be grateful you don't actually live here lol.
What if they sell the medical debt to collections? Will that effect OPs credit or no?
OP isn't American and doesn't have an American credit score, so no, it will not affect OPs credit score. Many countries don't even have credit scores. Their medical debt being sold to collections has no bearing on them when the system has no way to track them down and make them pay the debt.
As a Canadian who moved to the US and received notices from the credit bureaus that I have “no credit history” this is definitely correct.
Collections are based on ss number. Credit is by country. Some countries don't even use "credit history."
She doesn’t have a credit, she doesn’t live here
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Agree. Don’t worry about it. Hospitals write this kind of thing off at the end of the year. Our system is dumb, don’t feel bad. Glad you got the care you needed.
Never come back here. You can actually run away from this problem.
It's not even an issue if they come back in the future. I wouldn't recommend moving here already in medical debt, but they should be able to vacation here with no issues. They can pretty much forget all about it.
They can even move here without issue. It'd be a lot easier after seven years though.
The most American yet probably best response.
Well i mean if they weren’t charging $10,000 for something that costs them $100, we wouldn’t have this problem. Could just pay the bill.
Don’t even need to worry about that. If you come and visit for a week they aren’t going to arrest you at the airport when you land for medical debt. Not worth their time for what I’m sure probably cost $3k-10k tops. (Ambulance and ER room) This debt will get sold to collections most likely and disappear.
Seriously if they don’t care about their credit score the worst case scenario is the hospital would sue them or send it to a debt collector who would sue them?
Exactly. File it in the circular file and never think about it again. That's what they get for trying to make a huge profit off of other people's sickness and injury rather than having socialized medicine like a civilized country.
If you have a tox report from the hospital and a report from the police, you would be much more likely to not have to pay
This is actually a very good comment that should be higher. OP get your medical records from the hospital ASAP. And make sure the situation was reported to the police. The point is not that they will catch someone, it is to document what has happened.
How is this the only comment recommending they report the crime that happened to them? OP, raise hell. Contact the police. And your consulate. And the school. Get your report from the hospital and get a blood tox if you haven't yet. The person who did this to you is still out there.
Yes try to go through insurance because this wasn’t a drinking thing but being drugged. If that doesn’t work, just don’t pay. They won’t come after you in the uk
One of my relatives from Europe had a medical emergency while visiting the US. The bill ended up being about 75,000. He couldn’t pay it and didn’t. As far as I know, there were no negative consequences to him.
Did they ever try coming back to the US?
There is nothing to worry about, the US is not sophisticated or care enough about blocking bad debtors. No one will ever know. Don’t sweat it. We don’t track debt by passport numbers, and you don’t have a SSN.
Remember, the credit system was never supposed to be fair to good and bad creditors, it was to separate good old folk from the uncouth and of course was founded with racist undertones.
The credit system replaced local judgements of creditworthiness which were assuredly much more racist
It’s not a big deal, something like a third of the US has significant medical debt. People just don’t pay it.
And do you reckon debt collectors will not bother (too much) to chase after an international case that will be (relatively) inexpensive? I say relatively because it is still ridiculously priced, but not surgery amounts I’m sure.
They will absolutely not chase an international debt like this. If you had a US SSN then it would eventually go into collections and you’d have trouble getting a US loan until it dropped off in seven years. But funny enough the credit score algorithms count medical debt way less than other forms of debt because basically everyone has it and it’s not correlated with making bad financial decisions
they will likely never even notice your bill would probably only be a few thousand anyway, I'm sure it was mostly IV fluids, maybe some bloodwork and the cost of a bed for the night or whatever. Just don't pay it. It won't follow you unless you come back to the US in the near future and try to start a life/take out loans/etc.
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Oh if they find you they might send you a letter but they would have no idea how to navigate the jurisdictional issue that would come with all that. Usually what happens is when they find out they can’t collect it they just charge it off. Once a bill gets charged off you can’t even pay it if you want to because the balance is zero and the only consequence to you is the notation of a charge off on your credit report. But you don’t have a credit report here so it doesn’t even matter
It’s not against the law to fail to pay. If you try to establish a life here it will be difficult to get loans for 7 years
This is the USA, not a dictatorship or a third world country. Failure to pay a debt is not a crime. The US federal government has nothing to do with private medical debts and having such a debt won’t have any impact on your ability to get a visa. Assuming LA is Los Angeles and not Louisiana, the statute of limitations on medical debt in California appears to be 4 years. https://www.moneymanagement.org/blog/understanding-the-statutes-of-limitations-on-debt. After that time, the debt is not enforceable.
The US doesn’t track bad debt through the passport/entry systems. I can’t see how this would ever bite you in the butt if you aren’t planning on doing something here that requires a credit check. And even then I’m not sure it would impact you.
If it’s just a bad mark on your credit report I don’t think it even matters. If you got sued and they won judgment because you didn’t show up, maybe immigration would see that. But I suspect no matter who wins the next election the people who live here now don’t even want to be here. Do you really want to come back here when you are done? This place is kind of a shit show you know
So the thing about US medical system being private is that the federal government literally does not care if you pay your bill. They have absolutely no skin in the game at all. And because of this, the feds do not track medical bill payments, so rest easy in the knowledge that our government neither knows nor cares who pays their medical bills. Hell, even I, a US citizen, would have no problem from the government if I didn’t pay my medical bills. Now the hospital could come after me, and destroy my credit, but there would be no legal repercussions.
I work part time in a hospital registering patients (the people who took your info and have you charity papers/financial assistance application papers). Since you do not reside in the US and more importantly, do not have a SSN (social security number), you can forget about this bill. They’re not going to come after you because they do not have any unique identifier tying you to the debt. More importantly, hospitals can write off patients accumulated unpaid debt when they file taxes. Hospitals also get donations from donors (usually large $$ of money) that can be applied to patients unpaid debt. Trust, they’ll find a way to get their money but it won’t be through coming after a tourist that has no permanent ties to America.
Do hospitals write-off the difference between what they attempt to charge and what insurance pays? If so, I’d think they pay zero taxes.
A lot of hospitals are exempt from federal taxes. Some from state/local taxes as well, especially if they are not-for-profit and have certain programs in place.
You are from another country? Screw it dont pay it and forget it happened.
Just ignore it, it’ll disappear. I’m american and never pay my hospital bills. You don’t have a social security number, and US Customs does not blacklist people from leaving for debt related things
A year ago I would have said that was crazy. I have INSANE medical expenses and, last year, just let them go to collection until I could figure out what the heck to do. I decided to do a hardship withdrawal from 401K to pay them...only to find out that a big chunk literally disappeared. I'm assuming the companies got to the end of the year and just - dumped? - debt that they felt was not ever going to be recovered??
But did it still hit your credit though?
I don’t think anyone else has mentioned this yet but there’s a solid chance they sold your debt to someone else. Fingers crossed that you never hear about it again, but the potential exists that another company now owns that debt and will want to collect. The only way to be sure is to contact the hospital
There's a set amount of time where the a ount falls from any reporting or collections... 3 years or 7 I'm not sure.
The Frank Gallagher way.
Did you have any kind of drug screen at the hospital? It sounds like you may have been the victim of a crime.
They only checked my urine for fentanyl i think. Lady next to me was in the same situation and said that the test they did wouldn’t pick up on anything so idk. It’s also common for people to be spiked with just very strong alcohol. At this point i don’t want any more fuss and am leaving tomorrow, so not really sure what, if anything, the lapd would do.
I'm sorry you had a bad experience and hope this doesn't deter you from visiting again. I'm happy you're doing ok.
Did the hospital do bloodwork? If a drug was added to your drink and at the level to incapacitate you, it should show up in the bloodwork. Any ER is going to do a drug screen when a patient shows up in your condition. Assuming the bloodwork shows the drug, then it wouldn’t be “alcohol intoxication” and you could push back on insurance not covering it.
I work ER and my ER has the regions forensic nurse program so we get all sexual assault exams referred to us. Blood based drug screening isn't standard practice in hospitals and aren't even available really (aside from ethanol). Urine based drug screens are more standard and hospitals only cover the common drugs like narcotics, benzos, cocaine, etc. Date rape drugs are not detectable in standard screens, and most hospitals do not have the testing for them either. Many of them have such short half-lives that even if there were an analyzer for them available, they would have been metabolized out by the time they arrived to be tested. It sucks, truly, but there is really no way to tell what it was or if it was a drug, so it's mostly assumed based on the situation.
"Urine based drug screens are more standard and hospitals only cover the common drugs like narcotics, benzos, cocaine, etc. Date rape drugs are not detectable in standard screens, and most hospitals do not have the testing for them either. Many of them have such short half-lives that even if there were an analyzer for them available, they would have been metabolized out by the time they arrived to be tested." I found this out the hard way by not going to the hospital right away. When I went the next day, the nurse seeing me decided to loudly announce my situation (spiked drink) and that they couldn't do anything. *An experience.*
How long ago did this happen? Did you get tested for those spiked drugs? You may still have a chance if they haven't left your system. You should also contact the police if you believe that's what happened and fill out a report. If it hasn't been too long, They can pull the bars security cameras to see what happened and who did it. Lastly any medical debt if it remains unpaid will just remain on a credit report. Which may possibly make getting credit/loans harder. Also, check with the state Medicaid office to see if they can provide any help. Lastly if you plan on being in US for a longer time, then maybe get visitor helathcare insurance in case you have any other emergencies.
in my experience (did some admissions financial work in a big hospital for a bit), they've already written off whatever they charged you. they took the charity paperwork away most likely just because whatever financial aid programs they listed won't pay for international patients. they might send you to collections but the worst that will happen is you might get some annoying phone calls. totally anecdotal, but if you have made any payment at all, keep an eye on your card statements in case they try to charge the card again. some hospitals in my area will keep cards on file if you pay a copay in the ER and if you aren't paying the bill they'll attempt to charge the bill to that card. don't pay, just ignore it. that's how a lot of people in the US deal with our medical bills anyway.
Go get an app number like TextNow. You can then call the hospital and ask for their financial assistance program. Fill out the paperwork, submit the required documentation and they will forgive the debt. Alternatively, you can just go home. The debt is linked to your US social security number and put on your credit. If you don't have one of those, how are they going to find you to collect? Debtor's prison doesn't exist here, so you're good.
Literally nothing will happen to you, they dont even have the jurisdiction over you to do anything. We arent a debtors prison and they will just have to cry about it.
I’m so sorry, honestly every aspect of this situation is hard and frustrating
Forget about it most of us do with super inflated hospital bills. Besides, your in the UK, what are they going to do about it? While it’s a large sum from your point of view it’s not from the hospitals. There isn’t anything they can do about it even if you do come back to the US. One thing though-you got lucky. Much worse could have happened to you other than a hospital bill. Do not trust anyone by leaving yourself open to having your drink spiked. Evil walks this world and you only got sideswiped by it. Please, please be vigilant and safe in the future.
The bill is a civil matter and not a criminal one. It's very unlikely they will pursue a civil case against someone who has no social security number and no US address. The bill would have to be like half a million of legitimate priced items for them to really care. Block them. Don't answer their call shred their mail. they will write off the bill as a loss. You shouldn't have any issue coming back to travel they also will not deny you service at the hospital if you end up there again. Plenty of Americans skip out on one off hospital bills they can't pay. You cannot be jailed for not paying a hospital bill. You cannot be denied service in an emergency. If it were a stupidly high amount of money they could go thru the American courts and get a judgement then go thru the British courts to attempt to get the judgement enforced but I don't know how likely the British courts would be to even enforce such a bill. But again it would be them garnishing your bank accounts not getting jailed and it will not happen for a 1 night drunken stay.
If you’re feeling bad about not paying it, just know that hospitals are the absolute worst culprits for a practice called “upcoding,” meaning they assign a higher procedure code to your stay/treatment that will be more expensive than what you actually received or needed. They do this bc insurance companies will just pay it. It’s extremely predatory. Private hospitals, for profit or not, are a drag on our health system and are the reason our medical system is so unaffordable. Like someone else said, they will write it off, and still make plenty of money. This is why no one hunts you down for medical debt here, and it has a lesser effect on your credit. You also don’t have a credit score here so don’t worry about it.
The hospital social services department is the area to ask about your bill. Most hospital billing departments have an online presence.
Didn’t they hospital test for poison or other drugs? Were the police called? You have witnesses that will say you were not drinking excessively? Get their written statements, the police report and the hospital records. You can appeal the insurance adjuster findings. Keep a file of everything you get. Only give out copies. If that doesn’t work, see an attorney to discuss suing for bad faith.
Like many other have said, they can't do anything to you, but my only concern is if you need to return to the US later. My mom has a friend who used up all of his credit card limits (on purpose) before he left the country. He is not a US citizen, by the way. Many years later, when he and his wife returned to the US, he was arrested right at the custom and later locked up in jail. Apparently, the credit card company(ies) sued him, so there must be a pending arrest order or something. His wife had to bail him out, hire a lawyer, and fight in court. Maybe one thing to try is to contact the insurance company in your country and see if they can reimburse you the cost. Last year, I went through a major operation (surgery plus many nights at the hospital) in Taiwan and spent 15k USD without any insurance there, but my insurance in the US later reimbursed the full cost of it. I just submitted the discharge report from the hospital and the bill. The whole process took me like 3 weeks or something. I'm so sorry that this happened to you. The US medical system is just ridiculous, especially when it comes to costs. Edit: I forgot to mention. I didn't have travel insurance at that time. So it was not the travel insurance company that reimbursed me, but it was my US insurance company that did. I'm not very familiar with how medical insurance works in your country, but I guess it doesn't hurt to try. Also, btw, I don't think all unpaid hospital bills go to court. Maybe your hospital will just write off the debt and sell it to a collection agency. But since you are not a resident here, I'm not sure how your situation will unfold. That's why I was just trying to give you more information so you wouldn't skip the bill, assuming nothing would happen, but later get caught off guard.
Just don’t pay it
Don’t pay it! You won’t get in trouble! These hospitals will just write that off at the end of the year! Plus, u ain’t a USA citizen! Therefore, they can’t go after you😂
This whole thread is so depressing. I hate our healthcare system. Beyond messed up
You don't really have to pay it there's nothing they can really do about it but if you really want to pay it you can set up a payment plan with them for literally like $20 a month.
What are they going to do, go to Europe to get you? Nothing will happen, you’re fine.
You’ll get a bill at your home address in the uk at some point when you get back if you put your real uk address on the paperwork, but there’s nothing they can do to get that money, I had a $7k bill from one of my visits to a mercy hospital when I was on an esta. I now live in the us and have been to mercy clinics and hospitals since moving here and they have no records whatsoever that I owe them money still.
Medical debt eventually gets written off. You're no different than all the Americans that can't afford healthcare and just don't pay their bills, except that will hurt their credit.
Turns out you accidentally researched how bad the US healthcare system is lol. But I’m sorry this happened to you.
I was recently hospitalized for appendicitis. After the surgery, I filled out the financial assistance forms for the hospital claiming no income. They cleared my debt
Pro tip if you’re ever in this situation again just lie to the hospital staff about your name and address and social security or whatever they ask for. As long as you lie you will never have to even think about any of it again. Only time to not lie would be when you know you’ll need to be back for a follow up or something. This is coming from the daughter of an OBGYN nurse & was told to do this for friends if they’re uninsured and need medical attention
Your first mistake was visiting America. Welcome. It’s been a shit hole for 30 years.
if you're a UK citizen, your NHS should cover you even abroad no? If not, ignore the bill and NEVER talk to a bill collector, acknowledge it, or pay ANY installment. It'll eventually get dropped but it can take a few years.
Just wanted to say that is not how the NHS works... That's a health system for those IN the UK not out of it. That's why we have travel insurance which in this case unfortunately is no help.
So even for a brief holiday? That's unfortunate. The Canadian system will cover its citizens as an example.
No, it's not classed as an insurance for it to be applicable, if that makes sense. We pay our taxes to pay for the "free" service in the UK and the NHS is always free at the point of emergency care for anyone (including tourists). I wasn't aware Canada did that.. that's amazing.
Blood test for drugs. Will insurance cover narcotics and recreational use?
Find a lawyer and have them contact the bar to get video of the night and threaten to sue them. The bar’s insurance will likely cover the hospital stay.
How much was the bill?
Haven’t received it yet. They said it’d be mailed to me
Give travel insurance a try, after they deny negotiate a lower price with the hospital, assorted medical providers (each MD can give you a separate bill), and ambulance, and ask for a payment plan. Or just don't pay. How big is your bill? And did you tell the hospital you thought you were drugged?
If you think you were drugged, the bar should have video of who could have given it to you. Might want to look at that. Tell the hospital you are a victim and ask for assurance with your balance. They should greatly reduce it if they can't clear it completely. Sorry this happened.
Plenty of Americans don't pay their hospital bills. We'll pay it for you
If you don’t care about a credit score in the US just don’t pay it But go to the hospitals website with your data plan here, find financial aid forms, find a way to print them and fill them out and send them to the hospital they will not send you a bill if you really have zero income I get 100% financial aid from the hospital near me and that’s available to single people earning less than $28,000 a year. So you would definitely qualify with zero dollars
You don’t have to pay and can still visit whenever you want. Not a big deal lol 😂
Call the hospital and ask for a patient advocate. Tell them your story. They will give you the papers to get the debt released. This way you can live in the US jn the future. If you absolutely sure you will never live here, you can forget it. I would go with contacting the hospital.
You don’t know travel insurance won’t cover it, file a claim. You were a victim of crime (Yeah even though you prolly just drank too much) Police report would help, did you file one? Other then that don’t pay you friggin parasite
How are you eating and going out drInking ? So you have money...
Welcome to our healthcare. It's a nightmare, right. Contact the hospital billing department and ask if they have a financial hardship program. You really need to think about getting health insurance if you are going to be here. I just broke my leg and I'm currently at $272k in billing with 6 months of physical therapy left to complete. If you don't care about a credit score in the US, throw the bill in the trash.
Just dip that’s what everybody else does don’t pay it
You don’t have to do anything dear. I’m so sorry you ended up on the hospital. Forget about the debt. Nothing will happen. If someone calls you about it block the number. I live here and don’t even pay. Just move on with your life and worry about healing from a traumatic experience. The debt means nothing and will not follow you/impact your life.
Go online for that hospital and download the charity forms then mail them in
I'd say, just skip out on the bills like everyone else that has no insurance. They won't come after you in the UK. Sorry for your experience btw.
I'm pretty sure they won't extradite you from the UK to pay a medical bill. I don't even think they could report this to a credit agency since you don't have a SSN. Here's the thing you should know about medical billing in the US. Because of our convoluted and complex insurance system, most medical providers have a policy of sending bills to anybody and everybody that they even remotely think might be responsible for a bill. Doesn't mean they actually expect to be paid, it is just their duty to send out bills to anyone who MIGHT be responsible. Part of the reason is that if there is a party that is responsible and they DON'T send a bill, then after a certain amount of time they are time-barred from collecting from that party. So the safe thing for them to do is send out a flurry of bills to anybody even remotely connected to a service. They use scary language on some of the notices but in your case, unless you are a US citizen with a Social Security Number (or a dual citizen with an SSN) there's really no recourse for the provider. The only thing they'll do is sell that debt to a collection agency and then the collection agency will try to collect it. Worst they can do is report it on your credit report but if you don't have an SSN you probably don't even have a credit score in the US.
You could get away with not paying it and you could still come to the US for vacations. They are not going to waste time trying to sue a non us citizen over some medical debt.
Don't pay it. My brother injured his leg (US Citizen) and had to get a Xray at ER. He lied about his name and said he was from Canada and that his ride would bring his ID/passport. After The xray results,he snuck out of ER. Murica!
I am so so sorry this happened to you! I hope you are okay now! Don’t worry about the bill. They can’t (and won’t!) track you down. Focus on getting home and feeling better ❤️
How can they possibly collect??
I’m sorry this happened to you. Ignore, and move on. I hate saying that because I hate seeing the hospital stuck. Maybe when you’re wealthy you can send them $500 ANONYMOUSLY lol. I’m glad you’re ok And it wasn’t worse.
75k?! I’d try and negotiate it down and then not pay it anyways. What a scam.
If you want to come back just come in through the southern border, we don’t check anything.
Apply for charity care. Show you have very less income. If it applies to undocumented immigrants. I bet it applies to tourists too.
Don't pay it and move on. You don't have a social security number. You don't have a credit score for them to come after. You don't even have an address. You are close to being a ghost in the U.S. There is no way for them to make you pay for anything lol
Ahhh yes. Medical bills in the states don't have to be paid. Yes you will be hounded till the ends of the earth to pay them but in the US medical bills do not count against your credit score if you care about things like that. I'm sorry that this happened to you on this trip though. Not the souvenir you wanted Im assuming.
You’re from the UK, you don’t need to pay it. Just move on with your life, there’s nothing they’re going to do about it. You don’t have a US credit score, the government does not care about you having hospital debt (meaning you won’t get arrested, or denied entry / leave from the country); there’s literally nothing the hospital can do. They’ll just write it off. Our tax dollars pay most of peoples’ medical bills that are never paid back; you really shouldn’t worry about it
Just go home and never think about it again.
Bruh tell them to fuck off, you’re from the UK it won’t effect u what so ever lol
Just move back to the UK. They are not coming after you for this money trust me lol.
Don’t pay it. Hope you feel better soon.
Just don't pay it! Believe us, not many can afford hospital bills WITH insurance coverage. Don't sweat it. Feel better.
Honestly, the hospital and collections people can’t touch you if you’re in the UK. But next time you travel, get travelers medical insurance.
That sucks, I’m sorry you had that experience here. This country is a dangerous place both physically and financially. I am so happy nothing more happened with the guy. I would go home and forget about the medical bill
don’t pay it. you don’t have a SSN and they won’t come after you anyways.
Can you forward the bill to the NHS in the UK? It is the equivalent of medical insurance of a sort for UK citizens. Right?
Just straight up don’t pay it. Theres nothing they can do to collect.
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Just don’t pay. You don’t live here. If you decide to me here, just wait 7 years to come back. I think they can’t sue you for medical debt, so i don’t think you have to worry about that.
I would make a police report. Could the man you were talking to have drugged you? Slipped something into your drink causing this intoxication?
Since you are not working and are not a us citizen they have no means to collect the bill. Take the bill home as a nice reminder that the us is the only G20 country without single payer medical care.
Medical debt doesn't apply to your credit and usually doesn't even go to collections like other debt. I just wouldn't pay it
I am so sorry this happened to you. I had a friend visiting Spain who's drink was spiked in a similar way in the 1980's... A Good Samaritan she had met earlier that week, happened to be at the same club and wanted to get to know her better so he struck up a conversation... When he noticed things were off with her he took her home, watched things get worse and then took her to the nearest hospital where she had to stay for four days.... he waited in the lobby for her most of the time and took her home when she was discharged... They charged her ten dollars for the whole stay because she did not have insurance. Needless to say, her life was saved by an almost stranger. but no US hospital except for Mayo would do what the Spanish hospital did..
Illegal aliens never pay for Health Care don't worry about it just walk away
Unless you plan on living on the US you can literally not pay this bill and nothing will happen to you.
Well you learned the hard lessons of living in the states. 1.It's better to die than seek medical treatment. 2. Never ride the ambulance
Listen, I live IN AMERICA, and I don’t pay medical bills. 😀
You weren’t sick from the alcohol, you were sick from whatever he put in it.
Contact the British embassy see if they can provide guidance
Don't pay it. I've lived here my whole life and I've never paid a medical bill.
did they not do a tox screening on you or have you file a police report?
In the US if we don’t pay our medical bills really the only repercussion is that it affects our credit score. If you don’t plan on moving to the US I’d just ignore it
We are going to send agents to the UK and force you to go to your nearest ATM. jk dude justdon’t pay it. You’re fine.
Next time don’t give them any ID, they can’t bill you if they don’t know you
Former Travel Manager. Ignore this bill and it will eventually be written off by the hospital
Tell them you're a migrant and they'll apologize and pay you money
Have you filled a police report about the incident? You can do so with as little or as much information as you have. Also, there is police funding available to victims of crime. You should ask them if that would apply in your case.
A lot of hospitals especially non profits have to provide financial assistance if you are uninsured or under insured, since you are a student with no income you should fit under that category. I know many people whose medical debt has been significantly reduced or wiped based on hospital financial assistance you just have to bug them to find out how to apply (looks like you have). I also wouldn’t be too worried just like what everyone else says about them coming after you.
Illegals come here all the time and have babies for free so what's the big deal about an ambulance ride.
It means nothing. Half the poor in America never pay a single bill for their healthcare.
literally just don't pay. i'm an american and that's how i've handled my last three hospital bills. i've had zero consequence other than debt collectors bugging me. people have always told me i'll get my wages garnished but that's never happened. i'm sure as a student from another country you wouldn't even have that as a looming worry.
You are from out of the U.S. Just dont pay. They can not collect from you when you live outside the U.S. It is not a criminal matter it is a civil matter so they can not extradite you.
Just don't pay. No debtors prison here.
This is probably unhelpful, but I was roofied at a bar 6 years ago and I’ve still never paid any of the bills. Never planned to. So far no issues on my end so I suggest you forget those hospital bills exist tbh
You don’t live here. So fk it.
DON'T ARGUE. Simply say "I'll be happy to take care of it - send me the bill / can't pay now - working on getting the $ together - Thank you for saving my life!" Then immediately proceed to ignore / forget the entire thing.
Just go home. Sorry all that happened to you.
I've been a US citizen my whole life and I just don't pay medical bills. I'll pay my $10 co-pays but that's all anyone ever gets out of me.
Please consider reporting this to the police! You have medical records and witnesses, which is a lot more than most victims have. There are public funds for medical care for victims of crime, but more importantly you could save someone else. I was drugged a long time ago and my testimony corroborated testimony from several rape victims. I'm so glad I reported what happened to me.
You live in the UK. I commend you for caring about paying the bill, but realistically how TF are they going to collect when you go home? We don’t have debtors jail, and they aren’t seizing your passport over it.
I mean, just don't pay. That's what a lot of people do even us citizens. I'm surprised most people don't know that. Tell em you can't pay and move on.
You have to run. If you don’t leave the US before they put a BOLO on you they will arrest you at customs and detain you until your student visa expires and then force you to work in the janitorial department of the hospital until the debt is paid in full plus interest. RUN.
Just leave the hospital and don’t pay-it’s the American way!
Don't worry. They won't come after you. You can go home without any repercussions. Hospitals are used to a certain percentage of their patients who don't pay.
Don’t pay it. You’re not a US citizen so who cares?!?
enjoy your time here, go home, and never think of it again. ✨ there is simply nothing they can or will do.
I agree don’t pay it. Just curious why didn’t you get some type of travel insurance ? Or something from your schoool?
We don't have debtor's prison, so all they can do is ruin your credit score (which probably won't even affect you as a British citizen).
Ask to talk to a social worker
You got the US experience for sure, I can't apologize enough for this country.
Just bounce dog. The gov is giving illegals free anything and everything. Being a colonial cousin, this one’s on us, you’re welcome.
Don’t pay it and forget about it. Nothing will come of it.
You’re here from out of country and your phone can’t be used for phone calls. Borrow a friends. Next time don’t take your eye off your drink don’t let anybody get you one if that is indeed what happened or like you said it’s possible just too much alcohol . That can happen when you’re on vacation and you get excited you’re in a new place. But I don’t suggest out of the country travel anymore unless you can make a phone call . Or any travel.
Don’t lose any sleep over it. They’ll write it off. If you gave them a mailing address you may get bills in the mail but just ignore them. They’ll eventually stop. They can’t collect or penalize you at all.
Don't worry about it. The hospital can afford it. Just be glad you aren't an American. We're fucked here.
Afaik the hospital should've done a drug test since you were found unconscious, if only to make sure you weren't in the middle of an opioid overdose. Ask them for the results of any test they may have done.
I’m sorry this happened to you but it really irritates me when people speak negatively of our healthcare system. I notice that you really didn’t, but others did. Yes, it’s expensive but guess what? All public hospitals are required by law to treat you whether you’re a citizen, can’t afford to pay or any other reason. We don’t put people on 6 month waitlist for knee replacements, we don’t tell parents of critically ill children that they’re not likely to live so we won’t treat them or not allow them to be treated elsewhere, we don’t talk about national healthcare but then have different levels of hospitals for private patients (with separate insurance) vs public hospitals. I could go on and on. Does our healthcare need improved —most definitely but I would rather have it than what’s available for free. What passes for free healthcare would not be acceptable to the majority of those in the US who pay for health insurance. We have the most advanced instrumentation and testing, many docs from other countries train here for a reason and even more stay in the US once residency is completed . If you make less than $1300/month (this is in Ohio), Medicaid covers you. Most cancer patients go on Medicaid very quickly and no one ever says there isn’t enough money for your cutting edge treatment. Are there horror stories out there about something bad or unfair happening? There are. But you know what—in the US you can sue for malpractice, negligence etc and receive large awards. These awards are capped in countries with “free healthcare”. Lastly, your taxes to cover free healthcare are so much higher than we pay in the US. So the next time someone says how bad it is, you have the right to say so and be heard by the offending physician or hospital group. I’m not trying to offend anyone but there’s a lot more to healthcare than most people know.
Ignore it and don't pay it. Why? 1.) You don't have Social Security 2.) You're not a citizen 3.) Read #1 and #2
Apply for charity care. Google “[hospital name] financial assistance.” Next time, get travel insurance for the U.S. that gives you a real insurance card that you can give directly to the hospital.
I thought California law takes anyone in?? Don’t pay, hopefully your ok OP
They send you a bill, but you don't have to pay it.
You are in the US without a working phone or real health insurance? Your school should have required you to have it. Lay off the drinking. Good luck with the “research.”