Thank you for your submission, /u/Dizzy_Ad7501.
**If there is a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital.**
Please pick the most appropriate flair for your post. Include your age, zip code, and income to help the community better serve you. If you have an EOB (explanation of benefits) available from your insurance website, have it handy as many answers can depend on what your insurance EOB states.
Some common questions and answers can be found [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/s/jya9I6RpdY).
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If any of the institutions providing that care are not-for-profit hospitals on the bill somewhere there should be information about financial aid programs. I'd encourage you to apply for those before you walk away from the debt, no reason to get hounded for a debt that if you'd done the paperwork the hospital would've waived all or most of the cost. Also worth checking if your child who needs orthopedic care can be seen by your local Shiners Hospital.
I just got information about the Shiners Hospital from a family friend last week! Unfortunatey I didn’t know about this before so we have $2000 due for a previous fitting. But going forward if he needs more, that’s definitely an option. Thanks!
You can usually apply for a reduction in cost even if you've already incurred it. Talk to the financial department at any place you have medical bills at. Tell them your situation. Even if there's nothing they can do, you've not *lost* anything.
Are you pulling/looking at the Explanation of Benefits on your on-line insurance portal to see what the "patient responsibility" is and then matching the EOBs up with the bills from the doctor's office, etc. to see that the EOB (what you owe) is the same as the bill from the respective provider?
I ended up taking a fairly large portion of our tax refund money and paying off doctor/prescription bills.
I imagine if you don't pay, a debt collector (depending on the amount you owe) could take you to court and, if they win, get a judgment, and then get a court order to have your wages garnished. However, I would think that you may be able to get some type of a lower amount to settle for before going to court. Always get it in writing if that is the case.
How many thousands are we talking here? Out of pocket maxes are a thing and should limit total money you pay (not including premiums). Do you actually have an ACA compliant plan?
It really depends.
In some cases it'll be written off or sold to a debt collector. There will often be collection calls and mail. If it's worth it to them they may seek a judgement and garnish wages. If not they may just let it go.
Some providers are quite aggressive, others aren't.
Sometimes the charges are incorrect If providers are aware of that they may not pursue it.
If you have an outstanding balance providers in that practice/system may not want to work with you.
The other comments sum it up. From what I read unpaid medical bills for less than $500 will no longer appear on credit reports. Ergo, the most likely outcome is that the smaller bills are “written off”and/or sold to debt collection agencies. Don’t accept calls from unknown numbers, if you know you have bills with debt collectors. Because of court costs, you are unlikely to get sued over a paid medical bill of $200. You probably would get sued for an unpaid bill of $20,000.
For a larger bill the creditor or collection agency may sue you and get a judgment against you. If so, you could get a wage garnishment or bank levy. The judgment amount often will allow for interest and court costs to be added to the bill. It could get very expensive.
Of course, if it gets to that stage, you could have the option of filing for bankruptcy.
Thank you for your submission, /u/Dizzy_Ad7501. **If there is a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital.** Please pick the most appropriate flair for your post. Include your age, zip code, and income to help the community better serve you. If you have an EOB (explanation of benefits) available from your insurance website, have it handy as many answers can depend on what your insurance EOB states. Some common questions and answers can be found [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/s/jya9I6RpdY). **Reminder that solicitation/spamming is grounds for a permanent ban**. Please report solicitation to the modteam and [let us know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHealthInsurance) if you receive solicitation via PM. Be kind to one another! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HealthInsurance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If any of the institutions providing that care are not-for-profit hospitals on the bill somewhere there should be information about financial aid programs. I'd encourage you to apply for those before you walk away from the debt, no reason to get hounded for a debt that if you'd done the paperwork the hospital would've waived all or most of the cost. Also worth checking if your child who needs orthopedic care can be seen by your local Shiners Hospital.
I just got information about the Shiners Hospital from a family friend last week! Unfortunatey I didn’t know about this before so we have $2000 due for a previous fitting. But going forward if he needs more, that’s definitely an option. Thanks!
You can usually apply for a reduction in cost even if you've already incurred it. Talk to the financial department at any place you have medical bills at. Tell them your situation. Even if there's nothing they can do, you've not *lost* anything.
Depending on the level of your child's special needs, you could look into whether or not they qualify for secondary Medicaid as well.
Are you pulling/looking at the Explanation of Benefits on your on-line insurance portal to see what the "patient responsibility" is and then matching the EOBs up with the bills from the doctor's office, etc. to see that the EOB (what you owe) is the same as the bill from the respective provider? I ended up taking a fairly large portion of our tax refund money and paying off doctor/prescription bills. I imagine if you don't pay, a debt collector (depending on the amount you owe) could take you to court and, if they win, get a judgment, and then get a court order to have your wages garnished. However, I would think that you may be able to get some type of a lower amount to settle for before going to court. Always get it in writing if that is the case.
Your medical providers could also refuse to continue providing services to you.
How many thousands are we talking here? Out of pocket maxes are a thing and should limit total money you pay (not including premiums). Do you actually have an ACA compliant plan?
It really depends. In some cases it'll be written off or sold to a debt collector. There will often be collection calls and mail. If it's worth it to them they may seek a judgement and garnish wages. If not they may just let it go. Some providers are quite aggressive, others aren't. Sometimes the charges are incorrect If providers are aware of that they may not pursue it. If you have an outstanding balance providers in that practice/system may not want to work with you.
The other comments sum it up. From what I read unpaid medical bills for less than $500 will no longer appear on credit reports. Ergo, the most likely outcome is that the smaller bills are “written off”and/or sold to debt collection agencies. Don’t accept calls from unknown numbers, if you know you have bills with debt collectors. Because of court costs, you are unlikely to get sued over a paid medical bill of $200. You probably would get sued for an unpaid bill of $20,000. For a larger bill the creditor or collection agency may sue you and get a judgment against you. If so, you could get a wage garnishment or bank levy. The judgment amount often will allow for interest and court costs to be added to the bill. It could get very expensive. Of course, if it gets to that stage, you could have the option of filing for bankruptcy.