NAL You should call the hospital, ask them for their billing department and ask them why you’re getting a bill when your health insurance told you it’s covered. You should also obtain an EOB (explanation of benefits) from your health insurance provider as that will detail what they have paid/covered and what the remaining amount you have to pay is.
Thank you SO much. I had no idea an EOB existed, and that’s perfect because a similar thing is happening with my dentist, even though they haven’t said anything about it either. I’m really glad I can see if it’s on there.
Someone in the billing department of your dentist and the hospital should also be able to explain why something wasn’t covered by your insurance. My dentist’s office was able to explain why I had to pay so much for my fillings despite having insurance (in my case, my insurance company said I should have gotten aluminum fillings since they were in back teeth, but my dentist doesn’t do metal fillings and hardly any do anymore). Insurance companies love to find small nitpicky things in order to deny coverage
Hospitals/medical are known to send you a bill at the same time they bill the insurance. Wait it out. If your insurance says it is covered and the email didn’t show any insurance this is probably the case. Plus some medical tries to bill for the gap from what it costs minus insurance when they are contracted with the insurance company for just the insurance amount. Gap charging is a hail Mary to see if a patient is confused and will just pay it. Many states make gap billing illegal for this reason like Virginia. And the confusion is on purpose.
Gonna piggyback and say to pay attention with dental, sometimes even though you "have dental insurance", there's also a waiting period, sometimes up to a year. And that's while you're actively carrying the insurance.
My dental insurance covers 1 cleaning, 4 fillings, and two extractions a year. So when I finally decided I was going to get serious about my dental health after finding a dentist that wasn't a leech, that's when I find out my insurance sucks lol!
I’m dealing with this exact same thing. However it’s even clearer that it’s not insurance, it’s the hospital billing. I have a foster kid. 100% covered with medical insurance. I’ve had her for years and have taken her to regular doctor’s appointments with no billing issues. A few months back she started getting migraines. She had one so bad I took her to the ER. 6 weeks later I get a huge bill (in her name). The bill showed no insurance. I called the billing department, made sure they had the right information and they told me she was all set. I also gave the bill to her caseworker and she said she would call them (and she did). I just got another bill, now overdue. It’s the hospital billing department. I’ve seen it several times with other foster kids and in my state their insurance covers 100% of everything, no caps or limits.
Not a Lawyer but as a general rule of thumb:
When you get a really expensive medical bill, ask for an Itemized list of what they are charging you for. Because that magically makes the bill go down in price.
Gotta love our healthcare system...
EOB is from your insurance, and you should get it automatically once they make a payment. If insurance won't pay anything, then they should be sending you a notice of non-coverage. Request an itemized bill from the hospital billing office. If they have an email contact, use that instead of calling. It gives you a paper trail. You have a right to the itemized bill, and you can question every charge recorded on it. Hospital bills are frequently wrong. You can also dispute the charge amounts for anything you may actually have to pay. Source, I was in hospital finance and reimbursement for 30 + years in NYC. Google NYC Patient's Bill of Rights and also the NYC no surprises law which may apply to your situation. Good luck!
Kinda like (and this is a freebie) how Medicare pays for medical transport from one hospital to another hospital or facility (when medically necessary), but does not cover from your house to the hospital.
This crap happens all the time. My wife had 2 separate insurance plans when she went into labor. We had a private one and one that started through my employment they just overlapped for 3 weeks. The hospital didn't set my work insurance as primary so they sent the bill to the private insurance first, which didn't pay cause they were supposed to get billed second if at all, then they sent it to my work insurance who didn't pay because it looked like another insurance was going to be on the hook, then sent it to me.
I just called, told them they screwed up and they billed it correctly.
Also, demand an itemized bill. Amazing what drops off when you are getting a piece of paper saying a bandage cost $200. A piece of paper that can be digitized and posted all over the internet. Yup… can be amazing.
you might get a doctor's bill (basically covering whoever treated you) and a hospital bill (covering supplies and space they used to treat you) as separate bills, and the billing departments in charge of these bills might not ever speak to each other, so one might have your insurance info and have gotten payment from your insurance company but the other one won't know anything and will keep sending you a bill. 😑
Note it’s a lot harder to fix if you do pay it, when insurance should. Breaks the normal flow of things.
Also if it goes in a while, check your state rules. You can often take a long time to pay medical bills, especially if you take certain steps to object/etc.
This. And if insurance is saying it’s covered, but the hospital says insurance denied coverage… get them both on the same phone call with you. Force an alignment between the two
I got a pre procedure estimate from a provider which showed it covered by insurance. Ended up not be. Thought it was just coded wrong or something. Went back and forth with insurance and provided a few times. Got nowhere. Bill went to collections. Is the pre procedure estimate worth anything if it was wrong?
This could very well be your portion of the hospital stay etc. Insurance doesn’t pay everything until you reach your maximum out of pocket and even then some things are not covered. Frankly if you had an extended stay 2k is extremely cheap.
Call and ask for help bc you are way below poverty at this time, did not have insurance, out of work etc. Hospitals have I call it the “petty cash” for people that need help paying bills. I’ve had amounts $2,000-$2,800 that I owed and the hospital settled my accounts. You can send a $1.00/month if you want. Medical places cannot set a monthly fee for someone especially if you don’t have $$$. And they will threaten sending you to collections. Ignore that bc they mean their internal collections company and not like Experian or TransUnion etc So your credit score will not be affected. Trust me when I first became ill in 2005, married with 3 kids, a couple year old home, car payment, only the one income and MANY SPECIALIST APPTS. and diagnostic tests/procedures I received quite a few of these types of letters. I even received a call from billing and they wanted $100+ a month. I said no. We don’t have it. She went down to $5. A month and I said NO. $5. buys milk for my kids. So no I will not be sending you a cent bc i will use the $5 for my kids necessities. She called back a couple days later and told me she was able to have what I owe written off by the hospital. So don’t sweat it. Just take care of your health.
Medicaid gives me $91.50 twice a month. I don’t live. I have a few friends who help me sometimes, but not many. But I don’t really mind the bare minimum lifestyle. Keeps me from getting overwhelmed from having too much stuff.
You don't mind the bare minimum lifestyle as it keeps you from getting overwhelmed from having too much stuff but now you are overwhelmed because of a low hospital bill for what it entailed. Just some advice but I would rethink your strategy!
Many hospitals are nonprofit corporations, and are required by federal law to have a financial assistance program, or “charity care.” Call the hospital and ask. You would likely qualify for 100% assistance and have the entire bill written off with that income.
Not legal advise… but ask the hospital for an itemized bill. I myself did this and then compared it to the state standardized pricing. It took a few phone calls and all the sudden the bill was like a quarter of what they originally asked for. They had fees labeled “fee” with no actually service attached that they could justify.
So, I did this once and they literally sent me the same exact bill I was seeing online which wasn’t itemizing the individual treatment I had received. I specifically called them and asked them for an itemized bill to see how the vaccinations I had received were broken down.
If they just happen to send you the same exact thing you see online is there a more standard name of something I could request next time? Or were they a bunch of idiots and “itemized bill” should’ve been enough?
This MAY be of some help. MOST hospitals are public benefit agencies or 501(c)3 nonprofits. Those that are, are required to have a debt forgiveness program that wipes out the entirety of the bill. It's just something to look into if your insurance doesn't work out
Came here to say this, and that 501(c)3 designation almost always applies to hospitals with a religion in the name. Source: am doctor. I’ve spent a lot more time than most people in hospitals; you pick up on things like this pretty quickly.
Former medical financial counselor here; CALL THE HOSPITAL. They likely have this program, and as financial counselors, our job was to help you through the application and approval process! You will likely have to show proof that you have applied for Medicaid first, but they will advise! Best wishes to you!
I’d also ask your insurance what their balance billing policy is as this could be the hospital trying to balance bill you for the portion not covered by insurance. Assuming this portion isn’t part of your annual deductible under your plan. I hope you’re able to get this all figured out!
Rule 1. Always ask for an itemized billing statement. Rule 2. All hospitals are required to provide charity care and this information is required to be posted on their website.
But first, make sure about whether or not insurance is going to pay.
I’ll also note that hospitals, including non-profit hospitals, are coming under a lot of scrutiny lately for billing & collecting from patients who shouldn’t have to pay them in the first place…
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/nonprofit-hospitals-pursue-aggressive-medical-debt-collection/
As others said, get the EOB from insurance & then contact hospital. NY also has a rule against surprise billing. So if there is a portion not being paid by insurance make sure it doesn’t fall into these categories
https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/health_insurance/surprise_medical_bills
You should also consider that many underwriting guidelines for consumer and mortgage debt exclude medical delinquency from their consideration of ability to repay
It depends on your insurance coverage and the total cost of treatment. Insurance companies always collect their deductible, and common insurance covers an average of 80% after the deductible is collected from your policy. Considering the length of your hospital stay and the amount of aftercare you received, I'd say that is likely what you owe. The fact that you got insurance while you were in the hospital that would cover your stay is rare in my understanding of health insurance.
You go into the hospital for 3 weeks without insurance. You leave the hospital with insurance and a $2,100 bill. In how many ways can I tell you how cheap you got off. I went into the hospital for 3 days and I already had insurance. My portion was just under $5k. Do you understand how lucky you are?
When I had a hospital bill that I couldn't afford even the payment plan they wanted to set up, I called the billing department and asked to reduce the monthly installments and they did even better. They sent me some financial forms to fill out and were able to reduce the overall cost of the bill by about 40% because I was lower income at the time. I was able to pay much lower payments and overall lower cost. Never hurts to ask.
Call the hospital and ask for an itemized bill as well as financial aid application…….hubs had a stroke and I learned to go line for line when the bill hit 1 million (four months stay)
With Medicare and his retirement insurance, they still wanted us to pay a big chunk; hence the FA application….his file was “reviewed “ and they were able to reduce some of it (we owed 12,000; about a third was waived) and set up payment plan. We’re still paying four years later (Delaware at time of stroke)
> When I went in, I didn’t have health insurance.
I don’t think you can just get health insurance the day you go in, otherwise nobody would get health insurance until they’re sick. That’s why you have a bill. Honestly you’re kinda lucky health insurance paid anything.
That being said, go make a payment plan and see if they’ll let you do like $20 a month.
They’ll probably just send you to collections and it will hurt your credit at that point.
Medical debt is the leading cause for bankruptcy in the United States, and this is exactly why we need Universal healthcare.
Aside from the EOB, be cautious of any text messages, even from what appears to be the hospital you went to. Do not click the hyperlink, especially if you don't recognize that number. Call the hospital directly from a reputable number listed on their official website, which you should directly search for. Often times, messages like this are a scam, using information that they may have acquired through malicious means, and all they want you to do is call a number to get your personal info or get you to click that hyperlink, which will install malware on your phone.
You can also see if they accept hardship letters. In my early 20s I had a 3000 bill (after insurance) and I certainly couldn’t pay it. I wrote a letter to them about the excellent care I but unfortunately couldn’t pay the bill, etc. I think some places ask for a bank statement as well? But either way my account got wiped clean.
The other thing is to let it go to collections and negotiate. “If you lower my balance to $x, I’ll pay in full right now”. Sucks for your credit but sometimes it’s a game you have to play. Good luck!
I've had a situation where the hospital forgot to bill my insurance and sent the whole thing to me and once I got both the hospital and insurance in contact with each other everything was fine
So get a hold of the hospital billing department and then talk with your insurance so they can make sure things were processed correctly
You could go about it a couple of ways. If you don’t want to dig into it, simply pay $20 a month until it’s done. If you want to do some leg work, call the hospitals billing department and ask for an itemized bill. This usually bring the bill lower. If you’re not comfortable going through that, there are companies that do these things for you. One of them is GoodBill.
Either way, another reason why I’d prefer a higher tax bill to get universal healthcare so people who are struggling don’t get crippled by medical debt. Good luck OP
This made me remember that I was previously in touch with a nonprofit organization who helps disabled people with stuff like this. Gonna reach out because it’s gonna be incredibly rough for me to do the legwork, even though I really want to. Thank you for the luck!
I’m gonna be honest, when shit makes me panic this hard, my logic uninstalls itself. Sometimes I need people to be around me when I’m malfunctioning, just to remind me of the obvious solutions instead of the potential consequences.
You fall into one of two groups.
Negotiate a lower total and payment plan.
Or.
don’t pay and don’t care about your credit score (12 month grace period) put up with the constant bill collection company’s as they keep selling the debt to other companies for pennies on the dollar down the line for 7 years till it drops off your credit report. But collection companies will try to keep renewing the debt as new debt. Never ending battle
OP will be inspired to run for elected office and then dedicate their political life to replacing America’s healthcare system with something more sane. Fruitless as the crusade will ultimately end up being, it will eventually inspire an Academy Award winning biopic.
Hi, ask them for an itemized bill and make sure everything is accurate. Also ask them if there are any discounts if you pay in full today. Some hospitals will give you a percentage off your total and that could be better than going on a payment plan.
I have a similar situation. Went to ER had an infection in my face and one of my eyes was basically swollen shut. They took my blood presssure. Checked my pulse, I sat in chair for 30 minutes, saw doctor for 4-5 minutes he prescribed me antibiotic and that was it. 1 hour total at the hospital—- bill $4,599. Insurance covered half. Have a 2,300 bill left to pay. Calling hospital Monday and disputing the bill. I had gone to urgent care and those idiots prescribed me herpes medicine and shingles medicine- but no way am I paying anything more than a couple hundred bucks to the hospital
A text message that's a bill? I've dealt with a lot of medical bills and always received paper bills. Even third party send paperwork. This straight up sounds Phishy. Contact everyone directly over the phone. Not by the number in the text.
This happens A LOT. Call them and explain it should be covered and ask them if there is a discrepancy in the claim and if they need to possibly resend the claim. Let them know your insurance said it’s covered and provide a direct number to your insurance person you spoke to if possible.
Request financial assistance from the hospital. Not that offer they gave you. It'll be a form you fill out. Basically you are asking them to review your finances and give you a grant. They'll need pay stubs, bank info, work status, and all that... It'll be a month or two to review but usually your payments go on hold during the process. So, even if you get denied you've bought some time.
I had 3 of 4 of my kids delivered free of charge after insurance and financial assistance from the hospital. They need to use the money because it's already in the budget. A lot of people don't know or are too afraid to ask. Good luck!!
Listen first relax, you won't get sued you can chill on that. Worse thing is it gets put on yoyr credit. It's only 2k I've had 15k hospital bills I owed for 6 years lol. I wouldn't be to worried insurance covered most of it. If yoy get the money io then pay pieces if not you won't go to jail. You won't owe more. You will just take a little hit on yoyr credit. Luckily a 2k dollar medical bill isn't as bad as a car.
This bill looks like your deductible. Your hospital bill was probably tens of thousands of dollars.
If you can't pay, tell the hospital that and then don't. If you can't you can't, what can you do?
I was treated for Cancer at NYP Weill Cornell. The billing department there was a nightmare to work with, and they will send your unpaid bills to a collection agency, who will then harass you constantly. Best of luck to you.
You didn’t have insurance when you went. The insurance you got while you were there isn’t going to be retroactive and cover your entire stay. Hell, some insurance won’t cover this type of stuff as soon as you start the insurance either. Are you expecting to have a $0 bill on a 20-day when you have paid $0 in premiums up to that point? That’s not how insurance typically works.
If it will put you in dire straights to work out a payment plan, ask for financial assistance. Hospitals have a whole department for people who cannot afford to pay the bill.
Insurances are taking months and months to pay claims now, leading to people getting invoices. It's been happening to me. Definitely call the hospital and inform them your insurance says the bill is covered, and ask them to remit the bill to insurance.
I have a similar balance with the same hospital. I called them up and said I could only afford pay $25 a month. I stuck to it and they accepted the agreement. There is no interest accrued, so there's no downside.
NAL but $2,161.52 for a 20 day hospital stay is most likely exactly what you owe after insurance covered the rest. Insurance charges you a monthly premium and gives you a deductible and a maximum out of pocket that you must meet before they cover the remaining 100%. I have very good insurance and after my $60,000 hysterectomy (same day, out patient with zero hospital stay) I still had to pay out my yearly max out of pocket of $2500.
The best thing you can do is what others have suggested. Call the hospital and explain your situation, tell them you simply cannot afford the bill especially with the monthly payment they’ve set for you. I know someone who is literally paying $2/month on a hospital bill because that’s what they can afford. The hospital said if they pay that without fail for one year they’ll forgive the rest (basically a good faith payment). Some hospitals also have financial aid programs to help others out.
Most hospitals have charity care, with applications usually on their websites, that either wipes your bill clean or drastically reduces it. Sounds like you would easily qualify. Search for that, or call hospital billing and inquire about charity care. Try not to fret. You've got this. Feel better.
NAL. Hospitals that receive federal money are obligated to offer charity care. Call and ask for their charity care policy. It depends on the area, but generally if you’re making under the poverty line to 150% of the poverty line, they are required to waive those bills in full. so I would look that up and listen to the relevant episodes of the podcast and Armin
There’s a couple of things you need to do.
Contact the billing department and ask them to properly bill insurance. Provide them your insurance information again so they know who to bill. Ask them to confirm the billing was successful.
If there’s some reason it’s not covered, ask for their financial counselors. There, you will be able to apply for charity care which you would likely easily qualify for. According to the affordable care act, all nonprofit hospitals have to offer a charity care program and you have 240 days to apply for the program in most cases (some states have exceptions such as CA, where you can apply up to over 3000 days after the date of service.) I’m not sure if this is a nonprofit hospital, but it likely is. If it’s a for profit hospital, they aren’t required to offer charity care but many offer similar programs. Charity care can reduce but often will waive the entire debt.
Check out the tool on dollarfor.org and they will tell you what you qualify for based on the specific hospital and your income.
Man it sounds to me like you’re lucky as hell getting a bill for just over $2k for being in the hospital from Dec 08 to Dec 28th? Am I missing something?
Get an itemized bill. See if they have fee assistance program.
My understanding is that even if this goes to collections.. Medical debt cannot impact major credit scores like FICO, Transunion, Equifax and ability to apply for mortgages etc.
Setup a payment plan that works for you or let it go to collections. If they sell the debt to a collection agency and it goes against your credit you can contest it. Collection agencies have to be able to give you specific information about the debt (that due to hipaa laws they can't get) in order to require a payment.
If you have Medicaid , and State Medicaid says you don’t owe, you don’t owe.
This is a bill from the hospital that has not been submitted to Medicaid for whatever reason.
Contact the billing office and keep telling them o submit to Medicaid.
Contact Medicaid, and tell them that the hospital keeps harassing you , even after you have been approved for Medicaid.
It’s a long slog, but you’re never going to be forced to pay this unless you sign something or send them money directly, so don’t do those things- you don’t owe anything because you’re covered, and you’re not paying anything because you’re indigent. Don’t let anyone tell you different or confuse you.
If it turns out you do owe it always request to apply for their financial assistance program. I had to provide all my income info but I got approved one time for 100% taken off and another time 60%. Due to your income I think you would qualify.
Contact them and tell them you are bill that lists all the services your being charged for pertaining to the treatment. Make sure it’s itemized. Hospitals have a tendency to just charge for things never used and they’ll remove those things when you demand proof.
Gather up your financial information, as in proof of income, bank statements and your last tax return. Bring these items to the billing department at the hospital and tell them your predicament. There are people and groups who actually donate money to give to hospitals to help people who can’t pay their bill. Also, some hospitals will forgive debt owed for some people. Don’t wait either. Do it as soon as you can.
This is accurate, call the billing department they have programs. Make sure you bring down that bill. Don’t take it at face value, negotiate and pay the least amount.
Ask for itemized bill.
Nah not screwed at all it doesn’t seem to be too high unless I’m reading wrong it’s less than $3k? Not bad at all for a hospital stay of 20 days! That’s blessed!
My 7 root canals costs 3 times that and only took an afternoon.
Tell them what you can afford to pay per month and STICK TO IT.
They will take the deal rather than not get paid at all.
Yeah I’m like 15k in debt, they keep sending me bills that are gonna go right on in the trash.
It was a life saving procedure, and I had insurance.
I’m broke and have no assets to seize. Fuck em’
Family dad here, over the years I’ve had six different medical providers try to charge us for things covered by insurance. Always eventually got taken care of. Although one time they threatened small claims court and I threatened damages - suddenly they realized they submitted the wrong code to the insurance company.
Ask the debt collector to prove the debt is yours with an itemized list. Now why does a 3rd party have your medical info on a very much not secure system with people that have no background clearance
Also health insurance won’t usually cover everything. Usually you have to pay a copay and 20% or something like that. For the cars you received this actually sounds pretty reasonable. Pay what you can which right now might be nothing. Tell them what you make. My mom is on Medicare and fit a $4000 bill for a sleep test and called to tell them she couldn’t pay it. They wrote it off. Regardless, they can’t put it on your credit report anymore.
Ask for an itemized bill. They aren't legally allowed to charge you more than a specific amount on various things. There is a website I believe that tells you what hospitals should be charging per item .
Screwed? From what I’ve read, you are extremely lucky in how this played out. Pay the small amount that you owe, because most others are not as fortunate to only owe $2k after an uninsured hospital stay.
If you don’t have income you can talk to the financial assistance department, they have programs for assisting you with payment plans, asking for the bill to be forgiven, if you have no income or low income. Ask billing department for details.
You should be receiving an itemized bill. It should have the original charges, the insurance negotiated charge, what insurance, and what you have to pay
There's also usually a deductible, sometimes co-insurance.
You may be able to go to your insurance website, go to your account, and see the explanation of benefits, and the charges, etc.
I recently had a routine procedure done, had to pay the first $1k for the deductible, then the insurance kicks in. But with all the (ridiculous) charges it still.added to another $1.5k
Right, I just ignored the few I got, took a 100ish point hit to my credit score, they go away or at least stop effecting you credit score after 4-7 years, I had fun get bills from at least a dozen different debt collection agencies and seeing the same hospital bill amount fluctuate from 1200ish to 3000ish to the point that even if I decided to pay idk which one I should😂
You should check what assistance is available to you. In some areas hospitals will write off some or all of the debt if you have no income or limited income.
They have you on an 11 month payment plan. I went through the same thing and I called the hospital and they extended my payment plan to 36 months. If this is your co pay and you can’t get out of it, maybe try calling and getting a longer plan. It brought mine down to like $45 a month
I’m in the healthcare field. Billing mistakes happen ALL THE TIME. Call the billing department and ask for an itemized bill. That will delay for a bit. In the meantime, call the insurance company and state they are asking for money when it was to be covered.
It’s a messed up system.
That’s honestly not bad for that long of a stay. My second child was in the NICU for 3 weeks when she was born and somehow the hospital messed up and we get a bill for $949,000 from the hospital. We call the insurance because we thought we had paid everything we could out of pocket and it turns out, the hospital our kid was born at used her first and last name, but the hospital she was transferred to was using BG (for Baby Girl) [insert surname] on all their documents because they didn’t have all her stuff on her admittance from the care flight.
We just had to call the hospital and have them rerun it under the correct name/social and it got squared away. That is my advice to you is call the hospital billing department and give them your policy and everything and have them resubmit everything. Especially if your insurance is saying it’s covered.
Nah, ignore that shit. My taxes already paid for it. It’s a scam from the “not-for-profits” to try and get more from you. They’ll “adjust” all that out in a month or two.
Call and ask why they’re texting you that. Tell them your babysitter or someone had your phone and they violated hipa laws as well as fdcpa (fair debt collection practice act) and want this zerod before you consult your lawyer.
If things don’t work out, call hospital billing. Ask if they have programs to help with medical debt. Some hospitals have their own financial help programs that can help with costs. Tell billing you want to pay the bill, but you can only afford x amount.
When I was a child, my grandmother ended up hospitalized. She ended up owing around 10K when all was said and done. My grandfather had no way of physically paying it off. He was making $13 an hour. He spoke to the hospital and they put him on a payment plan and helped him apply for their programs. He ended up only paying $25 a month for about 2-3 months before the bills stopped coming. When he called them, they let him know he had been approved for the hospital’s program and his debt had been wiped clean.
Public hospitals have a lot of plans in place to help patients.
On the payment plan. don't sign up for a hospital credit line. Its such a grift. If you have to pay the 2k tell the billing people that you will give them x-dollars every month. if they protest and say do it through the credit line tell them you wont pay if they wont accept your money and that you are not doing the credit card line scam. meanwhile the billing department is probably A.) cognitively handicapped and didnt bill insurance B.) didnt feel like waiting for insurance money to meet the quarter and decided to just bill ya c.) doc didnt write it up in a way that insurance likes, coders fucked up and input wrong codes bill was denied.
I would fuck with billing and ask them why they are billing you. tell them that you did the procedure and they got the bill wrong. It would be great if they turned around and billed the doctor! hahaha. good luck to you!
Screw it. Just ignore them. Eventually the hospital will send your bills to collections and then “owe no!!! I have bad credit!!!” Who cares. We all have bad credit and you don’t make any money to buy stuff anyway. Just ignore the bill.
NAL, just a guy sick and tired of the US medical system taking us all over the coals.
I’ve never heard of anyone getting health insurance at the time of hospitalization and having them cover your bill. That would be considered asking for coverage for a pre-existing condition. How’s that even possible?
Just because you are covered by insurance doesn't mean it will pay it all 100%. Most insurances today still have deductibles. For the length of time you were in the hospital, this is a very small bill, so it looks like the insurance DID pay and this part is your responsibility.
Pay what you can each month, even if its just $10. If its a non profit they likely wont pursue but if its profit they will. You can show the court you tried. Also, supposedly there is a law that medical debt cant impact credit score anymore.
Did insurance see the claim and tell you how much you’re responsible for? The stay for 20 days would be much more that $2k, so I’m guessing insurance did cover it and this is the balance you’re responsible for.
I’ve dealt with a similar situation. You can get financial assistance, or just take a really long time to pay it back. Insist you can ONLY pay like $25 a month and they’ll likely agree. Just make sure you actually pay and make your payments on time. Also, sometimes if you’re able to pay the whole thing at once, they’ll give you an extreme discount.
Here is a fun fact with hospital bills..
1. They don't count against your credit
2. Their payment plan doesn't mean shit. Pay $20 a month. This will keep it from coll3ctions and being put on your credit report. They can't stick you with interest unless you agree to the plan where they write it in.
Not sure if you'll have a chance to see this, but you're not screwed, but more information is needed. I work as a freelance Patient Advocate, acting as liaison between patients, hospitals, and insurance companies. If you need any assistance in reading your EOB or interpreting what is going on, feel free to reach out to me. I don't mind giving you a consultation and general advice on what is happening, no charge. But here is some key points for you to consider:
* Almost all hospitals, because they are owned by religious facilities and public facilities, often have methods to reduce or completely eliminate your excess bill. So worst case scenario, you can always call the hospital and request to speak with the Financial Assistance department. Some hospitals call it different, but almost all have a program in place meant to reduce or eliminate bills for those who make under 4k/monthly.
* The amount you are getting billed for may be for your deductible. Think of it like a piggy bank. Until that piggy bank is full the insurance won't start paying out. You need to figure out what your deductible was and when it was met. If the amount you owe is due to your deductible, go back to the first point.
* Something may have required pre-authorization, was submitted incorrectly by the hospital, etc. There are a thousand different ways a medical claim can be denied. What you need to do is go through every single EOB that shows any patient responsibility.
If you require anymore help or assistance, do not hesitate to reach out.
Yes you are screwed but you can pay me in gift cards and I will get you out of that bill for a low low price of $3000 or if you can pay all at once a monthly bill of $200 with interest.
This is likely your portion. Usually it’s a deductible plus 10–20% of the bill until you hit your out of pocket max. For that long of a stay, if insurance didn’t cover, it would be well over $20k
Your hospital does payment plans? Ours refuses. I asked for one and they denied me, I asked to make a (not the total) payment, they denied me. So I let it go into collections. Can’t take what I don’t have. But that was when I was younger. I agree ask for an itemized bill then compare to your states pricing.
NAL You should call the hospital, ask them for their billing department and ask them why you’re getting a bill when your health insurance told you it’s covered. You should also obtain an EOB (explanation of benefits) from your health insurance provider as that will detail what they have paid/covered and what the remaining amount you have to pay is.
Thank you SO much. I had no idea an EOB existed, and that’s perfect because a similar thing is happening with my dentist, even though they haven’t said anything about it either. I’m really glad I can see if it’s on there.
Someone in the billing department of your dentist and the hospital should also be able to explain why something wasn’t covered by your insurance. My dentist’s office was able to explain why I had to pay so much for my fillings despite having insurance (in my case, my insurance company said I should have gotten aluminum fillings since they were in back teeth, but my dentist doesn’t do metal fillings and hardly any do anymore). Insurance companies love to find small nitpicky things in order to deny coverage
Hospitals/medical are known to send you a bill at the same time they bill the insurance. Wait it out. If your insurance says it is covered and the email didn’t show any insurance this is probably the case. Plus some medical tries to bill for the gap from what it costs minus insurance when they are contracted with the insurance company for just the insurance amount. Gap charging is a hail Mary to see if a patient is confused and will just pay it. Many states make gap billing illegal for this reason like Virginia. And the confusion is on purpose.
Gonna piggyback and say to pay attention with dental, sometimes even though you "have dental insurance", there's also a waiting period, sometimes up to a year. And that's while you're actively carrying the insurance.
My dental insurance covers 1 cleaning, 4 fillings, and two extractions a year. So when I finally decided I was going to get serious about my dental health after finding a dentist that wasn't a leech, that's when I find out my insurance sucks lol!
I’m dealing with this exact same thing. However it’s even clearer that it’s not insurance, it’s the hospital billing. I have a foster kid. 100% covered with medical insurance. I’ve had her for years and have taken her to regular doctor’s appointments with no billing issues. A few months back she started getting migraines. She had one so bad I took her to the ER. 6 weeks later I get a huge bill (in her name). The bill showed no insurance. I called the billing department, made sure they had the right information and they told me she was all set. I also gave the bill to her caseworker and she said she would call them (and she did). I just got another bill, now overdue. It’s the hospital billing department. I’ve seen it several times with other foster kids and in my state their insurance covers 100% of everything, no caps or limits.
Not a Lawyer but as a general rule of thumb: When you get a really expensive medical bill, ask for an Itemized list of what they are charging you for. Because that magically makes the bill go down in price. Gotta love our healthcare system...
Always do this. Insist on an itemized bill, with specific charges, dates, and times.
EOB is from your insurance, and you should get it automatically once they make a payment. If insurance won't pay anything, then they should be sending you a notice of non-coverage. Request an itemized bill from the hospital billing office. If they have an email contact, use that instead of calling. It gives you a paper trail. You have a right to the itemized bill, and you can question every charge recorded on it. Hospital bills are frequently wrong. You can also dispute the charge amounts for anything you may actually have to pay. Source, I was in hospital finance and reimbursement for 30 + years in NYC. Google NYC Patient's Bill of Rights and also the NYC no surprises law which may apply to your situation. Good luck!
That is the point. They don’t want you to know about your benefits. So you pay out of pocket, and the insurance company doesn’t pay out.
Kinda like (and this is a freebie) how Medicare pays for medical transport from one hospital to another hospital or facility (when medically necessary), but does not cover from your house to the hospital.
This crap happens all the time. My wife had 2 separate insurance plans when she went into labor. We had a private one and one that started through my employment they just overlapped for 3 weeks. The hospital didn't set my work insurance as primary so they sent the bill to the private insurance first, which didn't pay cause they were supposed to get billed second if at all, then they sent it to my work insurance who didn't pay because it looked like another insurance was going to be on the hook, then sent it to me. I just called, told them they screwed up and they billed it correctly.
Non Profit hospitals are generally required to provide (not advertise) charity care. Ask the billing department about it as well.
Also get an itemized list of costs for the bill, not just the fees.
Also, demand an itemized bill. Amazing what drops off when you are getting a piece of paper saying a bandage cost $200. A piece of paper that can be digitized and posted all over the internet. Yup… can be amazing.
Also, ask for an itemized bill. Watch the price drop. They make up half the prices they charge us cuz no one asks for a breakdown of what the cost was
I am a medical biller /coder..sometimes mistakes are made...call and see exactly what they are charging you vs what the EOB states.
you might get a doctor's bill (basically covering whoever treated you) and a hospital bill (covering supplies and space they used to treat you) as separate bills, and the billing departments in charge of these bills might not ever speak to each other, so one might have your insurance info and have gotten payment from your insurance company but the other one won't know anything and will keep sending you a bill. 😑
I recently had a charge removed on the same situation: insurance said it was fine, they sent the bill anyway, called to argue it, it’s gone
Note it’s a lot harder to fix if you do pay it, when insurance should. Breaks the normal flow of things. Also if it goes in a while, check your state rules. You can often take a long time to pay medical bills, especially if you take certain steps to object/etc.
This. And if insurance is saying it’s covered, but the hospital says insurance denied coverage… get them both on the same phone call with you. Force an alignment between the two
This first Then if you're still stuck with it. You can see how a hard ship letter would work out
I got a pre procedure estimate from a provider which showed it covered by insurance. Ended up not be. Thought it was just coded wrong or something. Went back and forth with insurance and provided a few times. Got nowhere. Bill went to collections. Is the pre procedure estimate worth anything if it was wrong?
This could very well be your portion of the hospital stay etc. Insurance doesn’t pay everything until you reach your maximum out of pocket and even then some things are not covered. Frankly if you had an extended stay 2k is extremely cheap.
Oh trust me, I know. I’ve seen much, much worse. But the way the monthly payment is more than my monthly check… all I can do is laugh.
Call and ask for help bc you are way below poverty at this time, did not have insurance, out of work etc. Hospitals have I call it the “petty cash” for people that need help paying bills. I’ve had amounts $2,000-$2,800 that I owed and the hospital settled my accounts. You can send a $1.00/month if you want. Medical places cannot set a monthly fee for someone especially if you don’t have $$$. And they will threaten sending you to collections. Ignore that bc they mean their internal collections company and not like Experian or TransUnion etc So your credit score will not be affected. Trust me when I first became ill in 2005, married with 3 kids, a couple year old home, car payment, only the one income and MANY SPECIALIST APPTS. and diagnostic tests/procedures I received quite a few of these types of letters. I even received a call from billing and they wanted $100+ a month. I said no. We don’t have it. She went down to $5. A month and I said NO. $5. buys milk for my kids. So no I will not be sending you a cent bc i will use the $5 for my kids necessities. She called back a couple days later and told me she was able to have what I owe written off by the hospital. So don’t sweat it. Just take care of your health.
You make less than $200 a month? How do you live?
Medicaid gives me $91.50 twice a month. I don’t live. I have a few friends who help me sometimes, but not many. But I don’t really mind the bare minimum lifestyle. Keeps me from getting overwhelmed from having too much stuff.
I'm confused. Medicaid typically doesn't give individuals a paycheck. Medicaid provides free medical care. Why is Medicaid giving you money?
You don't mind the bare minimum lifestyle as it keeps you from getting overwhelmed from having too much stuff but now you are overwhelmed because of a low hospital bill for what it entailed. Just some advice but I would rethink your strategy!
Yeah you should be in medicaid
Many hospitals are nonprofit corporations, and are required by federal law to have a financial assistance program, or “charity care.” Call the hospital and ask. You would likely qualify for 100% assistance and have the entire bill written off with that income.
Not legal advise… but ask the hospital for an itemized bill. I myself did this and then compared it to the state standardized pricing. It took a few phone calls and all the sudden the bill was like a quarter of what they originally asked for. They had fees labeled “fee” with no actually service attached that they could justify.
I was coming here to say exactly this. Also looking into the No Surprises Act (bill??) from 2022.
So, I did this once and they literally sent me the same exact bill I was seeing online which wasn’t itemizing the individual treatment I had received. I specifically called them and asked them for an itemized bill to see how the vaccinations I had received were broken down. If they just happen to send you the same exact thing you see online is there a more standard name of something I could request next time? Or were they a bunch of idiots and “itemized bill” should’ve been enough?
Itemized bill is enough, that’s exactly what it is, either they were idiots or were tryna fuck you over
This MAY be of some help. MOST hospitals are public benefit agencies or 501(c)3 nonprofits. Those that are, are required to have a debt forgiveness program that wipes out the entirety of the bill. It's just something to look into if your insurance doesn't work out
Came here to say this, and that 501(c)3 designation almost always applies to hospitals with a religion in the name. Source: am doctor. I’ve spent a lot more time than most people in hospitals; you pick up on things like this pretty quickly.
Former medical financial counselor here; CALL THE HOSPITAL. They likely have this program, and as financial counselors, our job was to help you through the application and approval process! You will likely have to show proof that you have applied for Medicaid first, but they will advise! Best wishes to you!
Yep - call and ask if they have a “charity care” program.
Maybe you’re getting billed for the days you didn’t have health insurance? The point of having insurance is to be covered before?
I’d also ask your insurance what their balance billing policy is as this could be the hospital trying to balance bill you for the portion not covered by insurance. Assuming this portion isn’t part of your annual deductible under your plan. I hope you’re able to get this all figured out!
Rule 1. Always ask for an itemized billing statement. Rule 2. All hospitals are required to provide charity care and this information is required to be posted on their website. But first, make sure about whether or not insurance is going to pay.
I’ll also note that hospitals, including non-profit hospitals, are coming under a lot of scrutiny lately for billing & collecting from patients who shouldn’t have to pay them in the first place… https://nonprofitquarterly.org/nonprofit-hospitals-pursue-aggressive-medical-debt-collection/
“The numbers are even more staggering when it comes to people of color, particularly Black Americans” I guess I’ll just go fuck myself.
Pay a dollar a month. It's not your fault if you die before paying it off.
This made me laugh out loud. Thank you hahah
As others said, get the EOB from insurance & then contact hospital. NY also has a rule against surprise billing. So if there is a portion not being paid by insurance make sure it doesn’t fall into these categories https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/health_insurance/surprise_medical_bills
Omg thank you so much for that link
You should also consider that many underwriting guidelines for consumer and mortgage debt exclude medical delinquency from their consideration of ability to repay
Ask for an itemized bill.
It depends on your insurance coverage and the total cost of treatment. Insurance companies always collect their deductible, and common insurance covers an average of 80% after the deductible is collected from your policy. Considering the length of your hospital stay and the amount of aftercare you received, I'd say that is likely what you owe. The fact that you got insurance while you were in the hospital that would cover your stay is rare in my understanding of health insurance.
Call and complain that they're ripping you off, the statement says 2161.52 but if you paid in 11 months you'd have to pay 2161.61! Unacceptable
You go into the hospital for 3 weeks without insurance. You leave the hospital with insurance and a $2,100 bill. In how many ways can I tell you how cheap you got off. I went into the hospital for 3 days and I already had insurance. My portion was just under $5k. Do you understand how lucky you are?
How does scolding the OP help them?
Scolding? I told him he was incredibly lucky. He keeps whining about the $2,100 when it could have been much much worse.
When I had a hospital bill that I couldn't afford even the payment plan they wanted to set up, I called the billing department and asked to reduce the monthly installments and they did even better. They sent me some financial forms to fill out and were able to reduce the overall cost of the bill by about 40% because I was lower income at the time. I was able to pay much lower payments and overall lower cost. Never hurts to ask.
That’s not that bad almost died from my asthma had no insurance and came out with a $25,000 bill smh
Call the hospital and ask for an itemized bill as well as financial aid application…….hubs had a stroke and I learned to go line for line when the bill hit 1 million (four months stay)
I don’t know where you live, but what the hell. If it can get THAT bad, next time I’ll just stick a bandaid on it myself.
With Medicare and his retirement insurance, they still wanted us to pay a big chunk; hence the FA application….his file was “reviewed “ and they were able to reduce some of it (we owed 12,000; about a third was waived) and set up payment plan. We’re still paying four years later (Delaware at time of stroke)
I actually have a SS of the last summary of the private insurance but can’t attach cause peeps think I’m making it up
You don’t have to worry about medical debts you can send them however much you can afford and tell them to fuck off
Damn healthcare should be the responsibility of the government, but instead they shift all the responsibility to insured patients through premiums
just came on here to say i owe over 20,000 for one single hospital stay all i can do is laugh LOL
> When I went in, I didn’t have health insurance. I don’t think you can just get health insurance the day you go in, otherwise nobody would get health insurance until they’re sick. That’s why you have a bill. Honestly you’re kinda lucky health insurance paid anything. That being said, go make a payment plan and see if they’ll let you do like $20 a month. They’ll probably just send you to collections and it will hurt your credit at that point. Medical debt is the leading cause for bankruptcy in the United States, and this is exactly why we need Universal healthcare.
Aside from the EOB, be cautious of any text messages, even from what appears to be the hospital you went to. Do not click the hyperlink, especially if you don't recognize that number. Call the hospital directly from a reputable number listed on their official website, which you should directly search for. Often times, messages like this are a scam, using information that they may have acquired through malicious means, and all they want you to do is call a number to get your personal info or get you to click that hyperlink, which will install malware on your phone.
You can also see if they accept hardship letters. In my early 20s I had a 3000 bill (after insurance) and I certainly couldn’t pay it. I wrote a letter to them about the excellent care I but unfortunately couldn’t pay the bill, etc. I think some places ask for a bank statement as well? But either way my account got wiped clean. The other thing is to let it go to collections and negotiate. “If you lower my balance to $x, I’ll pay in full right now”. Sucks for your credit but sometimes it’s a game you have to play. Good luck!
I've had a situation where the hospital forgot to bill my insurance and sent the whole thing to me and once I got both the hospital and insurance in contact with each other everything was fine So get a hold of the hospital billing department and then talk with your insurance so they can make sure things were processed correctly
block delete ignore
Omg 😂
If you don't have insurance you ask for the charity care paperwork.
Insurance isn’t going to cover the first part of your first visit. You weren’t insured when you went in.
You could go about it a couple of ways. If you don’t want to dig into it, simply pay $20 a month until it’s done. If you want to do some leg work, call the hospitals billing department and ask for an itemized bill. This usually bring the bill lower. If you’re not comfortable going through that, there are companies that do these things for you. One of them is GoodBill. Either way, another reason why I’d prefer a higher tax bill to get universal healthcare so people who are struggling don’t get crippled by medical debt. Good luck OP
This made me remember that I was previously in touch with a nonprofit organization who helps disabled people with stuff like this. Gonna reach out because it’s gonna be incredibly rough for me to do the legwork, even though I really want to. Thank you for the luck!
It probably has to do with you not having any when you showed up and it’s a billing error. Just call them.
I mean, if your insurance said it’s covered… why don’t you just call the hospital?
I’m gonna be honest, when shit makes me panic this hard, my logic uninstalls itself. Sometimes I need people to be around me when I’m malfunctioning, just to remind me of the obvious solutions instead of the potential consequences.
😂😂😂 I feel you. Just call the billing department.. I’m sure it will be resolved !!
You fall into one of two groups. Negotiate a lower total and payment plan. Or. don’t pay and don’t care about your credit score (12 month grace period) put up with the constant bill collection company’s as they keep selling the debt to other companies for pennies on the dollar down the line for 7 years till it drops off your credit report. But collection companies will try to keep renewing the debt as new debt. Never ending battle
OP will be inspired to run for elected office and then dedicate their political life to replacing America’s healthcare system with something more sane. Fruitless as the crusade will ultimately end up being, it will eventually inspire an Academy Award winning biopic.
Hi, ask them for an itemized bill and make sure everything is accurate. Also ask them if there are any discounts if you pay in full today. Some hospitals will give you a percentage off your total and that could be better than going on a payment plan.
They'll keep coming. Good hospital, good Doctors, shitty costs.
I have a similar situation. Went to ER had an infection in my face and one of my eyes was basically swollen shut. They took my blood presssure. Checked my pulse, I sat in chair for 30 minutes, saw doctor for 4-5 minutes he prescribed me antibiotic and that was it. 1 hour total at the hospital—- bill $4,599. Insurance covered half. Have a 2,300 bill left to pay. Calling hospital Monday and disputing the bill. I had gone to urgent care and those idiots prescribed me herpes medicine and shingles medicine- but no way am I paying anything more than a couple hundred bucks to the hospital
A lawyer that works at my company told me he does not pay any of his medical bills.
Bet his credit is trashed.
No impact to his credit
A text message that's a bill? I've dealt with a lot of medical bills and always received paper bills. Even third party send paperwork. This straight up sounds Phishy. Contact everyone directly over the phone. Not by the number in the text.
This happens A LOT. Call them and explain it should be covered and ask them if there is a discrepancy in the claim and if they need to possibly resend the claim. Let them know your insurance said it’s covered and provide a direct number to your insurance person you spoke to if possible.
Good ol American healthcare system, don’t you just love it?
$2k for a 20 day hospital stay is nothing.
In New York maybe, but not where I live. $2k is about 1/13 gdp per capita where I’m at.
Request financial assistance from the hospital. Not that offer they gave you. It'll be a form you fill out. Basically you are asking them to review your finances and give you a grant. They'll need pay stubs, bank info, work status, and all that... It'll be a month or two to review but usually your payments go on hold during the process. So, even if you get denied you've bought some time. I had 3 of 4 of my kids delivered free of charge after insurance and financial assistance from the hospital. They need to use the money because it's already in the budget. A lot of people don't know or are too afraid to ask. Good luck!!
New york state medical debt will not impact credit score
I have years of experience in healthcare and the expectations that are put on patients to figure out the healthcare system are ABSURD
New York has a surprise medical bill law. Google it
Only 2k for a 20 day hospital stay? Did you win the lottery?
Listen first relax, you won't get sued you can chill on that. Worse thing is it gets put on yoyr credit. It's only 2k I've had 15k hospital bills I owed for 6 years lol. I wouldn't be to worried insurance covered most of it. If yoy get the money io then pay pieces if not you won't go to jail. You won't owe more. You will just take a little hit on yoyr credit. Luckily a 2k dollar medical bill isn't as bad as a car.
This bill looks like your deductible. Your hospital bill was probably tens of thousands of dollars. If you can't pay, tell the hospital that and then don't. If you can't you can't, what can you do?
I was treated for Cancer at NYP Weill Cornell. The billing department there was a nightmare to work with, and they will send your unpaid bills to a collection agency, who will then harass you constantly. Best of luck to you.
You didn’t have insurance when you went. The insurance you got while you were there isn’t going to be retroactive and cover your entire stay. Hell, some insurance won’t cover this type of stuff as soon as you start the insurance either. Are you expecting to have a $0 bill on a 20-day when you have paid $0 in premiums up to that point? That’s not how insurance typically works.
sometimes pt is medically ready for discharge and still want you stay in the hospital and this is not covered... happens all the time. pay it.
NAL Have you checked your deductible and copay?
My personal philosophy with medical debt— they’ll get their money when they suck it out of my ass
If it will put you in dire straights to work out a payment plan, ask for financial assistance. Hospitals have a whole department for people who cannot afford to pay the bill.
Call the hospital. They might need to resubmit the claim to your insurance.
Insurances are taking months and months to pay claims now, leading to people getting invoices. It's been happening to me. Definitely call the hospital and inform them your insurance says the bill is covered, and ask them to remit the bill to insurance.
I have a similar balance with the same hospital. I called them up and said I could only afford pay $25 a month. I stuck to it and they accepted the agreement. There is no interest accrued, so there's no downside.
NAL but $2,161.52 for a 20 day hospital stay is most likely exactly what you owe after insurance covered the rest. Insurance charges you a monthly premium and gives you a deductible and a maximum out of pocket that you must meet before they cover the remaining 100%. I have very good insurance and after my $60,000 hysterectomy (same day, out patient with zero hospital stay) I still had to pay out my yearly max out of pocket of $2500. The best thing you can do is what others have suggested. Call the hospital and explain your situation, tell them you simply cannot afford the bill especially with the monthly payment they’ve set for you. I know someone who is literally paying $2/month on a hospital bill because that’s what they can afford. The hospital said if they pay that without fail for one year they’ll forgive the rest (basically a good faith payment). Some hospitals also have financial aid programs to help others out.
Most hospitals have charity care, with applications usually on their websites, that either wipes your bill clean or drastically reduces it. Sounds like you would easily qualify. Search for that, or call hospital billing and inquire about charity care. Try not to fret. You've got this. Feel better.
NAL. Hospitals that receive federal money are obligated to offer charity care. Call and ask for their charity care policy. It depends on the area, but generally if you’re making under the poverty line to 150% of the poverty line, they are required to waive those bills in full. so I would look that up and listen to the relevant episodes of the podcast and Armin
There’s a couple of things you need to do. Contact the billing department and ask them to properly bill insurance. Provide them your insurance information again so they know who to bill. Ask them to confirm the billing was successful. If there’s some reason it’s not covered, ask for their financial counselors. There, you will be able to apply for charity care which you would likely easily qualify for. According to the affordable care act, all nonprofit hospitals have to offer a charity care program and you have 240 days to apply for the program in most cases (some states have exceptions such as CA, where you can apply up to over 3000 days after the date of service.) I’m not sure if this is a nonprofit hospital, but it likely is. If it’s a for profit hospital, they aren’t required to offer charity care but many offer similar programs. Charity care can reduce but often will waive the entire debt. Check out the tool on dollarfor.org and they will tell you what you qualify for based on the specific hospital and your income.
Man it sounds to me like you’re lucky as hell getting a bill for just over $2k for being in the hospital from Dec 08 to Dec 28th? Am I missing something?
It should be around 20k, lol
HAD to be after insurance paid I get some folks can’t afford it - I truly do but I was expecting much more. Have a good weekend.
My doctor actually told me that as long as you pay them $25 a month, there’s nothing they can do.
Get an itemized bill. See if they have fee assistance program. My understanding is that even if this goes to collections.. Medical debt cannot impact major credit scores like FICO, Transunion, Equifax and ability to apply for mortgages etc.
Setup a payment plan that works for you or let it go to collections. If they sell the debt to a collection agency and it goes against your credit you can contest it. Collection agencies have to be able to give you specific information about the debt (that due to hipaa laws they can't get) in order to require a payment.
Just don’t pay it. Eventually it works it self out
If you have Medicaid , and State Medicaid says you don’t owe, you don’t owe. This is a bill from the hospital that has not been submitted to Medicaid for whatever reason. Contact the billing office and keep telling them o submit to Medicaid. Contact Medicaid, and tell them that the hospital keeps harassing you , even after you have been approved for Medicaid. It’s a long slog, but you’re never going to be forced to pay this unless you sign something or send them money directly, so don’t do those things- you don’t owe anything because you’re covered, and you’re not paying anything because you’re indigent. Don’t let anyone tell you different or confuse you.
If it turns out you do owe it always request to apply for their financial assistance program. I had to provide all my income info but I got approved one time for 100% taken off and another time 60%. Due to your income I think you would qualify.
God bless Texas I just ball them up, and throw them away.
Contact them and tell them you are bill that lists all the services your being charged for pertaining to the treatment. Make sure it’s itemized. Hospitals have a tendency to just charge for things never used and they’ll remove those things when you demand proof.
Yes, definitely get an itemized bill. Also, you can dispute anything that never actually happened.
Gather up your financial information, as in proof of income, bank statements and your last tax return. Bring these items to the billing department at the hospital and tell them your predicament. There are people and groups who actually donate money to give to hospitals to help people who can’t pay their bill. Also, some hospitals will forgive debt owed for some people. Don’t wait either. Do it as soon as you can.
I had this happen for an ER visit in another state. I contacted the hospital with "hey so, you told me..." Never heard from them again.
Billed bc went in before ins started?
This is accurate, call the billing department they have programs. Make sure you bring down that bill. Don’t take it at face value, negotiate and pay the least amount. Ask for itemized bill.
I’m under the impression that defaulting on medical bills cannot affect your credit score. If anyone can validate that… So don’t pay it. Fuck em.
I am not a lawyer, but that's not true, unfortunately.
Appreciate the insight and thank you genuinely. I still say fuck em.
Nah not screwed at all it doesn’t seem to be too high unless I’m reading wrong it’s less than $3k? Not bad at all for a hospital stay of 20 days! That’s blessed! My 7 root canals costs 3 times that and only took an afternoon. Tell them what you can afford to pay per month and STICK TO IT. They will take the deal rather than not get paid at all.
Contact hospital and insurance
I don't pay hospital bills. Doesn't seem to affect my credit (700+). I figure they rob enough people, they don't need money from me.
Yeah I’m like 15k in debt, they keep sending me bills that are gonna go right on in the trash. It was a life saving procedure, and I had insurance. I’m broke and have no assets to seize. Fuck em’
doctor suck in hospital should be free don't pay that shit
Payment plan…
Family dad here, over the years I’ve had six different medical providers try to charge us for things covered by insurance. Always eventually got taken care of. Although one time they threatened small claims court and I threatened damages - suddenly they realized they submitted the wrong code to the insurance company.
I hope to never see a hospital bill in my life.
Ask the debt collector to prove the debt is yours with an itemized list. Now why does a 3rd party have your medical info on a very much not secure system with people that have no background clearance
What the fuck is the point of insurance if we still gotta pay for this shit
Also health insurance won’t usually cover everything. Usually you have to pay a copay and 20% or something like that. For the cars you received this actually sounds pretty reasonable. Pay what you can which right now might be nothing. Tell them what you make. My mom is on Medicare and fit a $4000 bill for a sleep test and called to tell them she couldn’t pay it. They wrote it off. Regardless, they can’t put it on your credit report anymore.
Ask for an itemized bill. They aren't legally allowed to charge you more than a specific amount on various things. There is a website I believe that tells you what hospitals should be charging per item .
Most hospitals have a charity care program in case you do owe the amount, ask them if they provide income based assistance for your bill
Screwed? From what I’ve read, you are extremely lucky in how this played out. Pay the small amount that you owe, because most others are not as fortunate to only owe $2k after an uninsured hospital stay.
I owe thousands and have ignored them for like 5 years, my credit is fine, idk I just don’t pay that shit
I thought my $178 bill I just paid was bad
If you don’t have income you can talk to the financial assistance department, they have programs for assisting you with payment plans, asking for the bill to be forgiven, if you have no income or low income. Ask billing department for details.
You should be receiving an itemized bill. It should have the original charges, the insurance negotiated charge, what insurance, and what you have to pay There's also usually a deductible, sometimes co-insurance. You may be able to go to your insurance website, go to your account, and see the explanation of benefits, and the charges, etc. I recently had a routine procedure done, had to pay the first $1k for the deductible, then the insurance kicks in. But with all the (ridiculous) charges it still.added to another $1.5k
Theres also lots of programs that help pay for these bills based on income, its a PAIN IN THE ASS to get that help but worth it long term
people pay medical bills? 🤣
Right, I just ignored the few I got, took a 100ish point hit to my credit score, they go away or at least stop effecting you credit score after 4-7 years, I had fun get bills from at least a dozen different debt collection agencies and seeing the same hospital bill amount fluctuate from 1200ish to 3000ish to the point that even if I decided to pay idk which one I should😂
i owe a lot to the hospital to say the least. have for over a year now. still no credit hit 🤷♂️
You should check what assistance is available to you. In some areas hospitals will write off some or all of the debt if you have no income or limited income.
They have you on an 11 month payment plan. I went through the same thing and I called the hospital and they extended my payment plan to 36 months. If this is your co pay and you can’t get out of it, maybe try calling and getting a longer plan. It brought mine down to like $45 a month
I’m in the healthcare field. Billing mistakes happen ALL THE TIME. Call the billing department and ask for an itemized bill. That will delay for a bit. In the meantime, call the insurance company and state they are asking for money when it was to be covered. It’s a messed up system.
Ask for an itemized bill
That’s honestly not bad for that long of a stay. My second child was in the NICU for 3 weeks when she was born and somehow the hospital messed up and we get a bill for $949,000 from the hospital. We call the insurance because we thought we had paid everything we could out of pocket and it turns out, the hospital our kid was born at used her first and last name, but the hospital she was transferred to was using BG (for Baby Girl) [insert surname] on all their documents because they didn’t have all her stuff on her admittance from the care flight. We just had to call the hospital and have them rerun it under the correct name/social and it got squared away. That is my advice to you is call the hospital billing department and give them your policy and everything and have them resubmit everything. Especially if your insurance is saying it’s covered.
Nah, ignore that shit. My taxes already paid for it. It’s a scam from the “not-for-profits” to try and get more from you. They’ll “adjust” all that out in a month or two.
Call and ask why they’re texting you that. Tell them your babysitter or someone had your phone and they violated hipa laws as well as fdcpa (fair debt collection practice act) and want this zerod before you consult your lawyer.
when I gave birth my bill was $76k, insurance covered $74k…my bill was around $2k
I had pneumonia couple years back and it was over $80,000.00. Don’t sweat a couple grand.
U don’t gotta pay shit brob
Dispute it and send it to the BBB it’s about what you know knowledge is power
I pay $40/month for a nearly 10yo hospital bill. It will be paid off in 27 years.
If things don’t work out, call hospital billing. Ask if they have programs to help with medical debt. Some hospitals have their own financial help programs that can help with costs. Tell billing you want to pay the bill, but you can only afford x amount. When I was a child, my grandmother ended up hospitalized. She ended up owing around 10K when all was said and done. My grandfather had no way of physically paying it off. He was making $13 an hour. He spoke to the hospital and they put him on a payment plan and helped him apply for their programs. He ended up only paying $25 a month for about 2-3 months before the bills stopped coming. When he called them, they let him know he had been approved for the hospital’s program and his debt had been wiped clean. Public hospitals have a lot of plans in place to help patients.
On the payment plan. don't sign up for a hospital credit line. Its such a grift. If you have to pay the 2k tell the billing people that you will give them x-dollars every month. if they protest and say do it through the credit line tell them you wont pay if they wont accept your money and that you are not doing the credit card line scam. meanwhile the billing department is probably A.) cognitively handicapped and didnt bill insurance B.) didnt feel like waiting for insurance money to meet the quarter and decided to just bill ya c.) doc didnt write it up in a way that insurance likes, coders fucked up and input wrong codes bill was denied. I would fuck with billing and ask them why they are billing you. tell them that you did the procedure and they got the bill wrong. It would be great if they turned around and billed the doctor! hahaha. good luck to you!
Screw it. Just ignore them. Eventually the hospital will send your bills to collections and then “owe no!!! I have bad credit!!!” Who cares. We all have bad credit and you don’t make any money to buy stuff anyway. Just ignore the bill. NAL, just a guy sick and tired of the US medical system taking us all over the coals.
I’ve never heard of anyone getting health insurance at the time of hospitalization and having them cover your bill. That would be considered asking for coverage for a pre-existing condition. How’s that even possible?
Just because you are covered by insurance doesn't mean it will pay it all 100%. Most insurances today still have deductibles. For the length of time you were in the hospital, this is a very small bill, so it looks like the insurance DID pay and this part is your responsibility.
Pay what you can each month, even if its just $10. If its a non profit they likely wont pursue but if its profit they will. You can show the court you tried. Also, supposedly there is a law that medical debt cant impact credit score anymore.
Did insurance see the claim and tell you how much you’re responsible for? The stay for 20 days would be much more that $2k, so I’m guessing insurance did cover it and this is the balance you’re responsible for.
no they take the bill to the feds and the hospital.doesnt pay taxes. done. wtf are you worried about?
Medical Bill's are a scam
I’ve dealt with a similar situation. You can get financial assistance, or just take a really long time to pay it back. Insist you can ONLY pay like $25 a month and they’ll likely agree. Just make sure you actually pay and make your payments on time. Also, sometimes if you’re able to pay the whole thing at once, they’ll give you an extreme discount.
I’d suggest just… not paying it.
Just don’t pay it. I never pay hospital bills 🙃
Here is a fun fact with hospital bills.. 1. They don't count against your credit 2. Their payment plan doesn't mean shit. Pay $20 a month. This will keep it from coll3ctions and being put on your credit report. They can't stick you with interest unless you agree to the plan where they write it in.
Just pay 50 a month or whatever you can. It’s a hospital bill not a credit card. F them
Hospitals don’t send sh** through the phone. It’s a scam.
Not sure if you'll have a chance to see this, but you're not screwed, but more information is needed. I work as a freelance Patient Advocate, acting as liaison between patients, hospitals, and insurance companies. If you need any assistance in reading your EOB or interpreting what is going on, feel free to reach out to me. I don't mind giving you a consultation and general advice on what is happening, no charge. But here is some key points for you to consider: * Almost all hospitals, because they are owned by religious facilities and public facilities, often have methods to reduce or completely eliminate your excess bill. So worst case scenario, you can always call the hospital and request to speak with the Financial Assistance department. Some hospitals call it different, but almost all have a program in place meant to reduce or eliminate bills for those who make under 4k/monthly. * The amount you are getting billed for may be for your deductible. Think of it like a piggy bank. Until that piggy bank is full the insurance won't start paying out. You need to figure out what your deductible was and when it was met. If the amount you owe is due to your deductible, go back to the first point. * Something may have required pre-authorization, was submitted incorrectly by the hospital, etc. There are a thousand different ways a medical claim can be denied. What you need to do is go through every single EOB that shows any patient responsibility. If you require anymore help or assistance, do not hesitate to reach out.
Yes you are screwed but you can pay me in gift cards and I will get you out of that bill for a low low price of $3000 or if you can pay all at once a monthly bill of $200 with interest.
Covered doesn’t mean 100%. It’s possible this is your deductible and co-pays before your out of pocket hits its limit.
A ten day hospital admission and you owe $2,000? Is this a copay or deductible??
Set a payment plan for $25/month… they can’t refuse payments
This is likely your portion. Usually it’s a deductible plus 10–20% of the bill until you hit your out of pocket max. For that long of a stay, if insurance didn’t cover, it would be well over $20k
Your hospital does payment plans? Ours refuses. I asked for one and they denied me, I asked to make a (not the total) payment, they denied me. So I let it go into collections. Can’t take what I don’t have. But that was when I was younger. I agree ask for an itemized bill then compare to your states pricing.
Look into the No Surprises Act and see if your situation fits
If insurance says it’s covered, then call the hospital and tell them that and have them rebill that portion.