I am in deep sh*t

[FSANE]

Back in October I went to the ER. I could not walk or feel my left leg. I was partially paralyzed.

Next day I was in the OR for a back surgery to fix the disc that was pressing on the nerve.

Just got this bill in the mail



Plus:

$12,000 ER and 4 day Hospital stay bill
$2,400 MRI bill
$3,750 Anesthesia bill

I don't have medical insurance

My only job that I have is a Per Diem position.

There goes my credit score, because there is no way I can afford this crap.

[Sarge]

You just have to work out a payment plan. It could be $100 a month. You credit will be pristine as long as your making your payments.

[Knight]

I didn't think medical bills could effect your credit score. I'd suggest contacting the hospital, explain your situation, and tell them you'll make a monthly payment of what you can afford - be it $1 or above. As long as you are making some sort of payment, they usually won't send it to collections. Hope it works out for you though man!

[cuervo25_1]

I think sarge would pay you to break a horse, and maybe "tame" his "can opener"

or you could end up with a bigger Hospital bill by doing that


Seriously though ,like the others said set up a payment plan.

Knight, yes medical bills can ruin your credit,one almost got me because I quit receiving bills (the hospitals mistake not mine).Luckily when I went to take out a loan ,the bank caught it, and loaned me more money to pay it off. In that process I fixed my credit and raised it up a little.

[OreoLt1]

They can if you dont pay on them or if the company fails to report it to credit bureaus. I have been paying on some from years back and saw on my credit report that one company had not reported any activity in the last 10months. Then there was another that I had no idea that I owed so it was past due. What are you going to do?!?

Bad to say but give it some time of small payments then give them a call and see if they will settle on a lower amt? Given one can afford the lower amt. agreed upon.

[cuervo25_1]

BTW I would rather have those bills and be able to walk and feel my legs, Just saying. It may seem horrible but look at it like that.

[Y2KPewterSS]

Seriously though ,like the others said set up a payment plan.

Knight, yes medical bills can ruin your credit,one almost got me because I quit receiving bills (the hospitals mistake not mine).Luckily when I went to take out a loan ,the bank caught it, and loaned me more money to pay it off. In that process I fixed my credit and raised it up a little.

Listen to Cuervo and Sarge. Both are correct. They will work out a payment plan with you, without adversely effecting your credit score. And like mentioned, medical bills can affect your credit score if not paid.

Glad you are doing better now though.

[Smkn_TA]

God damn! Can't you get any assistance?

[jiveass]

where the fuck is that obama-care?

[Murder after Midnight]

Back in October I went to the ER. I could not walk or feel my left leg. I was partially paralyzed.

Next day I was in the OR for a back surgery to fix the disc that was pressing on the nerve.

Just got this bill in the mail



Plus:

$12,000 ER and 4 day Hospital stay bill
$2,400 MRI bill
$3,750 Anesthesia bill

I don't have medical insurance

My only job that I have is a Per Diem position.

There goes my credit score, because there is no way I can afford this crap.

Man that amount you were charged is not right in any shape or forum, america need real health care reforum......

[Zapper2003]

I hear ya dude. My first trip (of 3) for heart surgery was nearly 40k. Took nearly a year, but I was able to knock nearly ALL of it out with some assistance and other such deductions. Call each and every office that you recieved a bill from, explain your situation that you don't have insurance, I can nearly guarantee your bill will be knocked down some based soley on that. I had a 220$ bill for the reading of 4 EKG's. I called, explained, they wouldnt accept my medical card so the told me 'since you're self pay, 30$ will cover it". I called back a week later to confirm, and yes, from 220$ to 30$.


The point is, it's a shit-pile of work to get the assistance and you may not qualify, however, once you attempt this, and contact the hospital, they WILL work with you. My med assistance ended up dropping me and my final bill with the hospital was in the 5500$ range (of an estimated 100-120k), and even the final 5500 was knocked down to around 2500$ through 'charity care' that the hospital knocked off.


Call whoever sent you the bills, explain to them that you need some time to apply for assistance, and they will be very understanding. It was well over a year before the hospital recieved any money from my assistance (yes, it takes a long time) and nothing negative came from it at all. No bad credit, no collections, nothing. Don't pay a dime on it either, unless they ask, and chances are they wont. My final amount owed, they set up monthly payments for me. They will be reasonable. I was in the same boat, completely devastated by the amount it cost, worried about my shit being taken as 'payment', worried how i was ever going to get out of the hole i just unexpectedly fell into, but dammit, how can you put a price on life?

[DrMilhouse]

Yes, medical bills can ruin your credit, if you don't pay the bill. You're not the only person that they have treated that do not have insurance. Depending on the hospital, they may already have some sort of program going where they can write some of it off - don't count on that, but it doesn't hurt to ask them.

When you set up a payment plan with them, you just stick to it and your credit plan will be fine. The interest is usually far from great 8-12% or something like that I think, but you can work with them and arrange the payments and go from there.

Follow Zap's advice there and ask for assistance.

[SeVeReDiStOrTiOn]

Man that amount you were charged is not right in any shape or forum, america need real health care reforum......

No it doesn't..it's called get a job that offers kaiser or at least some sort of medical coverage. The only thing that needs to be reformed is peoples priorities.

[DrMilhouse]

No it doesn't..it's called get a job that offers kaiser or at least some sort of medical coverage. The only thing that needs to be reformed is peoples priorities.

So are you one of the people that think it's perfectly cool for a hospital to charge $35 for an 800mg dose of generic ibuprofen (aka 4 Advil)?

[allbaugh_04]

I don't see him saying that in his post.

[tiny47]

tell them they made a mistake, you want the free healthcare promised to you.

[Sarge]

Man that amount you were charged is not right in any shape or forum, america need real health care reforum......

Then we need Grocery Reform
Car Parts Reform
Laundry Reform
...hell yes....just let the Government Reform all aspects of private enterprise.....wait....then we would be Socialist. Nevermind.

I can get $100,000 of full blown medical coverage for $69 bucks a month. But no....most spend that on cell phone usage/tennis shoes and not medical insurance....so I think we need Smarter Purchasing Reform.

Health Care Reform is bullshit. It is double speak for Government Control.

[krese]

Then we need Grocery Reform
Car Parts Reform
Laundry Reform
...hell yes....just let the Government Reform all aspects of private enterprise.....wait....then we would be Socialist. Nevermind.

I can get $100,000 of full blown medical coverage for $69 bucks a month. But no....most spend that on cell phone usage/tennis shoes and not medical insurance....so I think we need Smarter Purchasing Reform.

Health Care Reform is bullshit. It is double speak for Government Control.

very well said sarge! but the sheep won't let that sink in... the cell phone/tennis shoes are waaaaaaaaaay more important. besides, why worry about it when you can just have your government worry about it instead???

[chuckie669]

Then we need Grocery Reform
Car Parts Reform
Laundry Reform
...hell yes....just let the Government Reform all aspects of private enterprise.....wait....then we would be Socialist. Nevermind.

I can get $100,000 of full blown medical coverage for $69 bucks a month. But no....most spend that on cell phone usage/tennis shoes and not medical insurance....so I think we need Smarter Purchasing Reform.

Health Care Reform is bullshit. It is double speak for Government Control.

Amen.

[Spaz]

just went over health insurance crap today at my job... with a 23% increase for full coverage, dental, eyes, etc etc etc... $57.81 for me and my daughter...