Medical billing
 

Anyone have problems with medical billing ie, unfair billing practices, ridiculously short time to pay bills, 15%-30% upfront on your balance or we wil send you to collections no matter how much you pay under those% ? Discuss:)

I was once on the hook for an emergency room visit and the hospital seemed content with the $25 per month I paid 'til the debt was settled. Of course, I had to sign an agreement, a collection agency was poised to rip me to shreds should I miss a payment, and this was years ago. Wouldn't surprise me to know things are worse now. That $1200 tab I rang-up would surely be five to seven grand today.

Best you can do is be pleasant and totally upfront with them, try to strike an agreement you can afford, and stick to your word. (Whether or not they stick to theirs, well, that's another matter...) Good luck.

dcb

In my experiance (and sadly I have a lot of it) Hospitals will generally allow you to make payments on your medical bills if they know you cannot afford it. But it usually means exposing all of your finances so that they know more about them than you do and coming to an agreement of how much you can give them weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. But they cannot refuse any payment you offer them (at least in the state of ohio) or you do not have to pay that bill.
Long story made short, my aunt was paying 10$ a week for medical bills and they refused her payment saying it was not being paid fast enough, had collection agencys all over trying to get money out of her and took her to court, the judge said she was at least making the effort to pay so therefore by refusing her payment the hospital received nothing further on the debt owed.
As long as you attempt to pay SOMETHING, you are at least showing that you are making an effort to pay the bills and it will help you in the long run.

yeah,
that's true. actually it's with all kinds of payment.
but sorry i dont have a story to share

Well thats what Im trying to negotiate with them. They either want 10% down so much a month and right know I cant afford that. Im paying something to them regardless of what they are telling me they will do. Also they quoted me how much the surgery would be and doubled the portion I owe. Im paying whatever I feel like paying and with what I make married with 2 kids mortgage etc, it puts a little strain on 12.50hr Friggin criminals:mad:

Remember its 7 years since they performed the surgery. Why not wait it out.:D

Not speaking from personal experience here, but if you were to walk-in prepared to write a lump-sum check to settle-up there's a good chance they'd "un-double" the balance you owe, at a minimum. Maybe you should look into borrowing the money.

If you're talking about a truly crushing debt here, you'd probably do well to consult an attorney before they ruin you financially.

dcb

Been there, done that!!

I got behind on an account over a very messy child custody 'issue'. I spent $38,000 on lawyers. I had NO money left. I got a consolidation loan to clean my slate. I 'negotiated' a pay-off, and paid it.

6 years later, I tried to refinance a mortgage and was told that I had 'stiffed lowes, so I couldn't even get an appointment! I checked my report and found that they had posted the account 2 times, added 4 zeros to the old number, and showed that I had stiffed them for $5,000, total!!

Since I had not tried to borrow any money, it never came to my attention till I tried to refinance the planet MRAF.

Whatever you do, if they want to, they can keep beating you up untill you CATCH them, ( credit report). They can say whatever they want, and they can LIE about you! BUT, when you challenge them, they have 30 days to 'correct' the problem, or face a $5,000. fine,( that YOU do not get).

It only took me 17 MONTHS to get LOWE s to ACCURATELY report what happened, 6 1/2 years ago, after I looked and found that they had been LYING about me for the last 6 1/2 years!!

Oh, I forgot to mention that I had to 'retain' an attorney, for additional expense, after PAYINg the bill in oct 2000.

I have spent over $25,000 on building materials over the last 10 months, but NOT a NICKLE at LOWES-LIFE.

I guess they won the battle, but I won the war!!
They had to clean up my credit report and I get to spend my money ANYWHERE else!

If they were giving away free money, I would NEVER shop at lowes again!!

hope their race car hits the wall!

Because it CAN be held for up to 12 YEARS!

To clarify: If a hospital or any other entity is prepared to turn over an account for collection, they're conceding that they'd be willing to accept 50¢ on the dollar (or less), 'cos the collection agency takes a huge cut. Given this, it may be possible to negotiate a lump-sum settlement for considerably below "retail." I don't believe this is an uncommon practice.

If I faced an insurmountable, legitimate debt, I'd seek counsel to discuss my options. Alas, there aren't many. If not an attorney, perhaps a credit counseling agency/mediator.

dcb

my mind is boggled by the american system.......so a person gets hurt/sick and has to declare bankruptcy? (or not seek treatment at all due to inability to pay for it)

lets see..........mr bush is spending HOW much per month in iraq?

and HOW many people are sick/hurt/dying without free medical care........?


rob"just doesnt understand"m.

my dad used to run marathons, and in the middle of one on a very hot summer day, he got kinda dizzy and felt like passing out. he went to the hospital, they gave him a glass of water, he felt better, and left.

he later got a bill from the hospital for $150 for the glass of water. my mom called the hospital and told them to go **** themselves. http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/fil...hark/24960.gif

Had they billed your parents' insurance company, the bill would have been only $75. You scratch my back...

dcb

Well I complained to the State Dept of Health and they are looking into the matter. We'll see how this turns out:rolleyes: