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Thread: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

  1. #1
    madmaxine
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    Default Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    I have a hefty hospital emergency room bill to pay..I'm not stressing because uh, it was an emergency and if I mentally amortize the amount against what I would've paid in insurance premiums & deductibles, it's not too bad.
    Of course I can't pay all at once but don't want to mess up my credit rating with collections issues. What do you recommend if you've dealt with this? I'd like some advice before I talk to billing. Thank you SO much in advance!

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    On the positive side, most states have laws on the books which allow you to pay very small amounts towards medical bills i.e. $100 a month for 5 years. On the negative side, hospitals are one of the major reporters to credit ratings companies, such that if your bill isn't paid in full within 60 days or so they WILL issue a negative report.

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    Featured Member Lizette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    I've been in this situation. The hospital was willing to work with me, even writing some of the expensives off. A friend of mine went to the ER and discovered she had an ovarian cyst at 21. She underwent surgery. The cost was $300.

    Communicate with the billing department, pay what you can, and you should be fine.

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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    Quote Originally Posted by madmaxine
    I have a hefty hospital emergency room bill to pay..I'm not stressing because uh, it was an emergency and if I mentally amortize the amount against what I would've paid in insurance premiums & deductibles, it's not too bad.
    Of course I can't pay all at once but don't want to mess up my credit rating with collections issues. What do you recommend if you've dealt with this? I'd like some advice before I talk to billing. Thank you SO much in advance!
    I would contact the billing department. Tell them that you can only afford to pay x amount of dollars per month for x months/years. They'll usually work with you...they would rather get their money hassle free than get that same amount of money through a collection agency.

    Also, I believe that, by law, as long as you are paying your bill every month, they cannot report you.

    Scorpio had an ER bill (no insurance) that we had to pay over 3 months time (which was fine). I sent the check out with all of our other bills at the beginning of the month...our other checks cleared, but not the hospital one. 2 weeks later, check still not cleared, I get a notice from a collection company demanding payment. WTF? I called the hospital and checked my bank account and the check cleared the day before I got the collection letter. They refused to take it out of collections, but I paid it off that day. Bastards. I don't think it affected Scorpio's credit, though...didn't show up on the report...

    Anywho...the point is...sorry...once you make the committment to pay the hospital...make sure you pay it on time every single month. Drop the check off there if you have to...but make sure that the payment gets logged into their system immediately.

    Oh, and I hope you are feeling better from your ER visit.

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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    I have not had this experince before but I believe that as stated if you talk with the billing dept and work out a plan you shouldn't have a problem , and get the agreement in writing just in case it comes back to haunt you . For the future do you plan to carry insurance ? I have been doing some research on this ( very little ) but found decent plans for around $ 130.00 per month would that work for you ?

    This is probably a really stupid question but do any SC's offer insurance ?

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    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    I had medical bills through a hospital and they let me pay off the $800 in $50/mo installments.

  7. #7
    Sitri
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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    There are actually services that negotiate your bill down for you. A friend of mine works for Hygeia.net out of Miami. They negotiate discounts for travelers who go into the hospital and don't have the insurance discounts.

    Look under Medical Bill Negotiation on the web. Maybe someone can help, or call the hospital yourself and ask to negotiate it.

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    God/dess Casual Observer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    Considering how many people simply don't pay--especially those newly and illegally arrived to our country--they're grateful when someone arranges to pay the bill with installments.

    Talk to billing, explain your situation and willingness to pay, and this should be no problem.
    Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.

    William F. Buckley, Jr.

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    God/dess Bunny's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    This is probably a really stupid question but do any SC's offer insurance
    I don't think many strippers are employees but are usually independent contractors. I'm an independent contractor, non-stripper, no insurance. I went to college and to school for 7 years after that and I can't get health insurance worth a shit. If you are not in perfect perfect health and you live in a non-guarantee issue state you are fucked. The owner of my firm and my coworkers (all contractors) don't have it either. Yes, I'm pretty fucking bitter that I work my ASS off and am punished for it. And I can't get medicaid because I actually make decent money.

  10. #10
    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    Hospitals are quite reasonable about such payments IF you negotiate a plan and stick to it. The stick to it part is what they care about.

    Figure out what you can pay each month then go to see there billing department. Make an offer to pay half as much per month as you can think you can afford. Let them counter offer. Come up with a payment plan somewhere in the middle. Set aside the difference between what you think you can pay and what you do pay as a reserve in case something new comes up to disrupt your income.

    Pay what you agree until your reserve is bigger than the remaining balance, then pay it off in total. Everyone is happy. Keep saving the amount you had been as a real reserve for the next time or get insurance. Sh^t happens, but it is nice to have a quarter in reserve for the pay toilet.

  11. #11
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    Default Re: Medical Bills/ No Insurance

    I made an agreement to pay off the hospital $4k in $100 monthly payments. Then suddenly they decided that they wanted the entire balance ASAP and immediately began to threaten me with collection action. Rat bastards! It was <$500 by then, but that sure was shitty of them to reneg on their offer.

    I am waiting to get a corpofuck job to get insurance, hopefully. I don't need private insurance pulling up my records and deciding I can't be covered for a bunch of woman shit.........

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
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