How to get help and help yourself with hospital bills and doctors bills
We all do mistakes and they are always costly. But sometimes a single mistake can ruin someone’s whole life. This publication is intended to give you some practical help on dealing with hospital bills and doctors’ bills. I have gone through this twice in my life and learned how to solve such matters within shortest periods of time. All the options below are based on my personal experience and have proven to be successful.
The options mentioned only apply for people WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE.
Lets start with the first story:
In Autumn of 2004 our younger daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. We were out of the country when she went to ER of the largest hospital in Saint Petersburg, Florida and then she was moved to “All Children’s Hospital” in the same city, for eventual treatment. She underwent chemotherapy and got back home in a month. After a week or so the bills started to fill our mail box and we immediately started taking care of them.
First thing to make you aware of is: hospital bill is totally separate from doctors’ offices bills.
Hospital bills
From the hospital you get one bill for anything that has been done, no matter where you have started from – ER or operation room.
All hospitals have financial aide programs ( might be called differently, but is the same thing) to help people with low income or in need. The scale varies from hospital to hospital, but if you are family of 4 with annual income $24-30 000, you will be eligible most likely. So, find who is in charge with that program ( charity or financial aide) and get an application as soon as possible. Different programs have different requirements but be ready to submit proofs for income, bank account statements, and other papers if needed.
Doctors’ offices bills.
You will get as many bills as the number of doctors involved in your treatment. Even if a specialist comes and asks you a few questions.
Start taking care as soon as possible
Very important: avoid phone calls and physically go to the office, face the right person and solve your problem right away. Be ready to pay what you negotiate on the spot. In almost all cases, the right person to talk to, is the office manager – other employees have no power to take decisions. If the manager has no time for you the same day, set an appointment for soonest time later.
Fortunately God always guided me to the right people. In first office I visited, I spoke to the billing specialist there – a very generous person, who understood my situation and revealed before me some important information:
Many know that people without health insurance are being billed at the highest rates. Yes, that is a phenomena but is right. So, she billed me at different scale, as if I had Medicaid. That was a tiny percentage from the initial bill – more than 20 times less! And she also explained to me that it is normal for many offices to just transform the initial bill to another one on the computer. It happened with two other offices later on.
Explain your situation and ask to be billed at different scale ( it does not matter that you do not have it) – Medicaid is best choice.
In another office, my bill there was some $9 000, I set an appointment to see the manager the next day and when I talked to her for a minute, she lowered my bill down to $2 000. I told her that I do not have such money and she said that they will set payment plan for $20 a month. We had some emergency money in the bank account and I offered her $1 000 at the moment, instead of waiting 8+ years for the amount to be paid off. She agreed and I paid with my debit card.
I know that such kind of bargaining may not look worthy for some people, but I am also aware of many very high charges in the health system ( like $500 for a short visit ) as well as some high salaries, which can not be justified. And we are simple working people.
In the last office I dealt with, I encountered zero understanding and I told the manager that I want to see the head of the office – the doctor under whose name the office was operating. They told me that the doctor is very busy, but since I insisted on my right to see or talk to him, they set appointment for telephone conversation a few days later. And when the doctor called I asked him for mercy and I got it.
All the above happened in my home town – Saint Petersburg, but there might be different scenario: when you are away from home.
The second story:
Last year, as a result of gross negligence, I broke my leg in Washington, DC. I underwent surgery and stayed in the hospital for 3 days due to weather conditions.
As you already know, first thing with the hospital was to ask for their financial aid / charity program. So, I got an application and took it home with me. I filled it out at home and sent it by registered mail to their office. A month later I got an approval.
With doctors bills was different because there was a separate billing company in charge with all doctors’ offices bills and I was not able to go for negotiation to all the offices due to my condition.
There is 1 month period, within which you can discuss your bills with them. After that you deal only with the billing company. I could not get their manager on the phone to discuss some of the charges and the payment method ( was funny because the option they had was to pay $8 000 bill within 6 months and I was out of work with broken leg) and finally I quit.
A few months later I got a letter from collection agency. I called them and
explained that some of the charges are abnormally high and I can not accept them and I am not going to pay such bill.
If your bill goes for collection you can make deals with the CA. In my case from 8 000
the settlement was for 4 500, and I had 1 month to pay it off. I told the collectors to send me all details by mail and that I will let them know whether I accept the settlement or no. Then I called the billing company and they said the settlement is for $4 000 and I have 1 month to pay it in whole. As you see the collectors just put extra $500 upon me. 2 weeks later we had 4 000 and I paid the bill over the phone.
Another option to get help is Medicaid
Medicaid is for everybody and it differs from state to state. So, you need to check your eligibility with your home state and file an application. The program covers individuals from different social groups and will pay all your bills 3 months back from the time you file the application if you are eligible. Even people with high income can get help from it. It may also pay your bills from another state ( Florida Medicaid does it ).
In my first story we did not meet the residency ( 5 years for the state of Florida ) requirement to get all covered by Medicaid. And for my second story I did not have dependants to be eligible.
Bankruptcy
You can always file bankruptcy and start new life from scratch if you are ready for this. This could be your best move.
The final words: be open, be honest, ask for grace and mercy to get your normal life back and learn from all the mistakes.
God bless you.
