so i just got a bill for $500 in the mail for a dr visit. i wasnt insured the day i went to the dr. but i was insured the very next day. is there anything i can do???? if i dont pay it would this hurt my credit.wwaaaaaahhhh![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()



so i just got a bill for $500 in the mail for a dr visit. i wasnt insured the day i went to the dr. but i was insured the very next day. is there anything i can do???? if i dont pay it would this hurt my credit.wwaaaaaahhhh![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()





if you don't pay it of course it will hurt your credit. ask your insurance company about it.
enter: E3167322D9 for your 10% discount
YES! I checked my credit to discover 3 unpaid medical bills. None were higher than $83.00. Whoops...I mean they WILL send out about 3-6 months of warnings before it goes up there...now I know...yea don't let that shit happen.
you went to the doctor. You have to pay it. They don't work for free.
Why didn't you jsut move the appointment? Did you think you wouldn't have to pay for it?
Uh.. Yeah, you definitely need to pay it. They saw you and gave you care when you needed it. If you can't pay the whole thing right away, arrange payments. They'll work with you as long as you pay as agreed.
I was insured 3 days after I had Hunter. Be glad you're not paying what we are! C-Sections are NOT cheap.





Like Emily said, you should've rescheduled the appointment for when you had health insurance, but since it's too late for that now, call the hospital to make payment arrangements. Almost all hospitals will let you pay $20 or $25 a month if the bill is only a few hundred dollars. That's what I did when I had a head injury about 2 years ago and I couldn't afford to pay the entire bill at once.
With medical bills, they cant turn you in for collections if you pay SOMETHING every month. Even if it's only $5. Of course, it would never get paid down, but if money were a real issue, that's always an option.



Talk to the doctor's office. You didn't know the cost before you visited?
To really annoy you, your cost may be much higher than if an insurance company was paying because they set the fees differently.
Definitely call the office and ask them if there is some sort of discount because you were uninsured. Sometimes they will work with you and might be willing to write some of it off.
Sometimes they have different rates for uninsured people. Did you tell them you had no insurance when you went in? If so, you probably got the best rate you could. If you thought your insurance was in force when you went in but your claim was denied due to coverage dates, I think you might have a pretty good chance for a discount. Like dances though YMMV.




I agree. Contact the doctor's office and admit (assuming this is true) that you made a mistake, not realizing that your coverage didn't start until the next day. Ask to arrange for payments and ask if there's any way they could write some of it off. Give them your new insurance card/information so they know you're covered for the next visit and so they can bill any future visits through the insurance company. They may be a little more receptive if they know it won't happen again. If they insist on being heavy handed about it, just pay what you can and take whatever consequences. You could put it on a credit card if you have one, but the interest might be higher than what the doctor's office charges for carrying it, so compare those options.
Honestly, if your credit ever gets ruined, that would mean you'd have to save before buying stuff and never ever be in debt again, never ever have to pay thousands of dollars in interest over your lifetime. If you ever listened to personal financial advisor Dave Ramsey, you'll understand how he advises it's a lot less stressful when people get in the position of saving first. (That's not meant to be a lecture, btw, just a tip that "ruining your credit" is not the end of the world like they try to make us think.)
-Ev
Omg, why would you even think to not pay it? Of course you have to pay your bills ladies!!
1. The doctor's office isn't out to get you, they WILL work with you. Try to get it lowered using the "I'm uninsured" argument.
2. If not, arrange for payments. Just make sure they don't charge you interest for paying in installments.
"Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
"And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion
Originally Posted by Mia M
Definitely try to get it lowered.
I had lab work done and got a bill for about $250 for it. I submitted it to my insurance. Even though I have a $2500 deductible which hadn't been reached the bill was lowered to $50! So I just have to pay $50, not $250. So that's because of a contract Blue Cross has with them, NOT because insurance covered any of it.
It sucks ass that insurance companies get contract rates and the uninsured get royally screwed in more ways than one. Definitely try to get it reduced.
Bookmarks