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Thanks for the Advice and Information, she'll be over here tomorrow sometime to do some surfing on the net and such so I'll show her this stuff tomorrow.
i agree some of these tactics they use are just crazy. From what she has told me, its like a 300 dollar bill, from at least 6-9 months ago if not more. I've gone over her budget, and I'm the type of guy that can squeeze a dime out of a nickel if i have to, and I swear, the most she could do after all other bills are paid is about 10 bucks a month, litterally. She told the Collection agency this, and thats just unacceptable to them. They refused her 10 dollar a month offer over the phone. Said it would take to long to pay off. Not sure if this is a collection agency per se or a company that bought the debt but she said they keep saying a collection agency. She told me she was trying to explain to them her bills and mentioned the car payment as one of her bills. Thats how they know she has a car payment. The insurance took care of most of the bill but that 300 bucks is haunting her litterally, she has good intentions to pay it, at a 10 bucks a month, but they keep refusing her.
ANd I know for a fact that Spearfish REgional isn't going to go Bankrupt over this 300 bucks. Now I know why people are refusing to seek medical attention anymore when they need it. They are one of the few companies (if you can call them that) that refuse to disclose the cost of services before you sign any damn paperwork. To me that is just wrong as hell but what can ya do about it.
If she can't afford electricity then she probably can't afford an attorney. She could try one of the low-cost legal options out there, but unless she wants to file for bankruptcy (which may be an option) then they probably would not be able to do a lot. I would still recommend consulting with a reputable credit counseling service. They would probably be able to give advice as to how to handle creditor calls and determine whether bankruptcy was feasible. The following link can help you find the low-cost legal options in your area.
Help South Dakota (http://www.helpsouthdakota.com/Home/PublicWeb - broken link)
Has she considered going to the county commissioners and stating her plea that she does not have any money to pay the medical bill? Often when people default, the commissioners plea bargain with the hospital and pay what they absolutely won't write off. To me, she sounds like a good candidate.
The ONLY problem she may have is if they consider her to be "indigent by choice" and that'd be a situation like there is group health ins. available at her job, a fairly decent income, etc.
Thanks for the Advice and Information, she'll be over here tomorrow sometime to do some surfing on the net and such so I'll show her this stuff tomorrow.
i agree some of these tactics they use are just crazy. From what she has told me, its like a 300 dollar bill, from at least 6-9 months ago if not more. I've gone over her budget, and I'm the type of guy that can squeeze a dime out of a nickel if i have to, and I swear, the most she could do after all other bills are paid is about 10 bucks a month, litterally. She told the Collection agency this, and thats just unacceptable to them. They refused her 10 dollar a month offer over the phone. Said it would take to long to pay off. Not sure if this is a collection agency per se or a company that bought the debt but she said they keep saying a collection agency. She told me she was trying to explain to them her bills and mentioned the car payment as one of her bills. Thats how they know she has a car payment. The insurance took care of most of the bill but that 300 bucks is haunting her litterally, she has good intentions to pay it, at a 10 bucks a month, but they keep refusing her.
ANd I know for a fact that Spearfish REgional isn't going to go Bankrupt over this 300 bucks. Now I know why people are refusing to seek medical attention anymore when they need it. They are one of the few companies (if you can call them that) that refuse to disclose the cost of services before you sign any damn paperwork. To me that is just wrong as hell but what can ya do about it.
If it is a regional facility - has she applied for the hospital assistance program? There is a form to fill out and based on income, they may write a portion or all of the bill off to charity care - it may be too late if it has gone to collections though.
Also you can call and request a discloser of services- the problem is that so many things are variables that the cost you are provided can vary greatly depending on how the procedure goes - When I was pregnant I called to get that information so I knew what to put into my medical flex plan to try to help pay the bills. The info I got was NO WHERE near the actual cost because of those variable (NICU Stay - extra medication and procedures etc). If I can find the info on the net I'll post it here for you as well.
Last edited by BusySocialWorker; 10-15-2009 at 08:46 AM..
I have to agree with Social Worker's comments. Usually if a bill goes to collections it's usually too late to work out financing.
You can usually make financial arrangements with a medical provider before the bill is sent to collections. I did this after the delivery of my first child. She was born by c-section, had added extra costs, and ended up staying in the hospital a bit longer than I did. I called the anesthesiologist's office and they reduced the bill and allowed me to make payments on the outstanding balance. They understood that we were not prepared to pay for the surprise expenses.
If your friend is a senior citizen there should be an office that handles adult aging services. They may have an advocate to help assist your friend with this situation.
If your friend is disabled there may also be an advocate to help.
You could also contact your county commissioners as suggested.
You might consider contacting the local media, if you don't mind having all this put to the press. With the holidays coming, I suspect the press could make a pretty sad story about how your friend has been hassled by bill collectors over a $300 medical bill.
Well thanks for all the advice guys/gals. Seems she makes about 50-75 bucks a month too much for any of the Income Related stuff.
I've made a decision to help her out as much as I can, I'll throw in 40 bucks a month to match her 10 bucks a month and then once its paid off she can pay me back the 10 bucks a month.
Its kind of sad to say how these Hospitals and such are just out to make so much damn money its ridiculous, they don't give a damn if anyone is able to pay back what they charge.
And whats even more sad to me is what Obama is doing, By talking to the Doctors and Nurses to find out what needs to be fixed in the Health Care area, Like them doctors and nurses give a damn what needs to be fixed, they are the ones making the money hand over fist, so as far as they are concerned, nothing needs to be fixed. WHY the hell doesn't he ask the people who NEED it fixed, like the ones who are billed the outrageous amounts of money not the ones Making the outrageous amounts of money.
Well thanks for all the advice guys/gals. Seems she makes about 50-75 bucks a month too much for any of the Income Related stuff.
I've made a decision to help her out as much as I can, I'll throw in 40 bucks a month to match her 10 bucks a month and then once its paid off she can pay me back the 10 bucks a month.
Its kind of sad to say how these Hospitals and such are just out to make so much damn money its ridiculous, they don't give a damn if anyone is able to pay back what they charge.
And whats even more sad to me is what Obama is doing, By talking to the Doctors and Nurses to find out what needs to be fixed in the Health Care area, Like them doctors and nurses give a damn what needs to be fixed, they are the ones making the money hand over fist, so as far as they are concerned, nothing needs to be fixed. WHY the hell doesn't he ask the people who NEED it fixed, like the ones who are billed the outrageous amounts of money not the ones Making the outrageous amounts of money.
The cure for the American medical system is to open up medical schools to allow more students to attend. The AMA has tightened up admissions so fewer doctors are available thereby allowing doctors to charge more for medical services.
That being said most general/family practice doctors (primary care physicians) are not making vast amounts of money.
Finally, medical costs do not match what families can afford to pay. I recently had my standard lab tests done and what used to cost $200 has doubled to $400. I was quite shocked to find out that I had to pay a $400 medical bill that two years ago was half that amount.
Most hospitals, at least in California, will work with families if there are heavy medical bills. So will most doctors. I have had plenty of experience after rearing two special needs children.
IMHO what needs to be done is the following:
1) Open up medical school admissions
2) Figure out a way to curb rising medical costs. Overhauling insurance and the way doctors are billed may help.
3) Do not go to universal health care. I am a military brat and lived with this type of medicine. When the military medical care was good it was very good. When it was bad...sigh...
Lower the standards of who can be doctors? Really think that is a good idea? I don't. I want good doctors, not some hack because AMA lowered their standards.
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