I got my final hospital bill today.

[Pab Sungenis]

Not counting the radiology, anaesthesia, or ambulance service, the cost for saving my life has come to $246,000.00. I am screwn.

This is not counting the surgery I will need to go through in January to reverse the temporary measures they put in place the first time.

Who says we don't need single payer?

[buzzard]

1. Holy shit did you have no coverage at all?

[Pab Sungenis]

9. None.

When the theater closed in January, I had to cancel the insurance, and was unable to afford the new premium, which would have been double what it was as part of the group.

[lovuian]

39. You are part of the millions that are having their futures stolen

my medical bills

Another reason the government needs to get involved


Its horrible and believe me when I say there are many in the same situation

[NV Whino]

2. Speechless I am

[GOPBasher]

3. I'm so sorry to hear that! That is awful. Single-payer is the ONLY

solution to our mess. I'm sorry again. :cry:

[kdmorris]

4. OMG!!!

You have no health insurance? I am so sorry!!

[benddem]

5. This is a nightmare n/t

[NC_Nurse]

6. Go over that bill with a fine-tooth comb.

Many medical bills are filled with duplicate charges and errors.
Make sure to negotiate whatever they have ACCURATELY billed you for.
Charges for those without insurance are higher because they don't have corporate entities bargaining with the hospital.
You may be able to get it reduced, or at least get a humane payment plan.
If you have a problem with the bill or the hospital, you may want to consider hiring an attorney.

[roguevalley]

8. there are also organizations for people who will go over the bills

check with a pro bono public defender's office. or check with a senior citizen's group. they usually have people online who volunteer to do this. Also, google. there's a woman who does this and saves people. I hug you long distance, honey.

[Lorien]

11. Plus simply insane charges

I had a friend who was charged $25 for a Q-Tip. And that was just the first of many outrageous charges he found on his wife's hospital bill.

[Donnachaidh]

22. if he doesn't have the money for the bill, how does he pay for a lawyer?

This is awful advice.

Why not put in for the Hill/Burton act -- which specifically pays for catastrophic medical costs? I'd say that bill falls into that category.

[NC_Nurse]

25. If you've been screwed, many lawyers will take your case pro bono.

But thanks for putting me in my place. ;-)

[uppityperson]

23. I did that after giving birth, found some really odd things too, rx I didn't take etc.

I went over my bill and disputed some charges of stuff that I didn't get and so forth. Was told that women "usually" got this or that after giving birth, that they put a bunch of "normal" charges on and besides, insurance was paying so why did I care? I cared.

[raccoon]

49. Great suggestions.

OP, sorry this happened to you.

This shows how fubar the US lack of a health care system is. How in Hades could anyone but the small percentage of rich afford a bill like this?

[shadowknows69]

7. Screwn here too

the debt pile rapidly approaching crisis levels.

[uppityperson]

10. Do you have any coverage?

Insurance would pay at the most 1/2 of what is charged, usually. Remember to negotiate with the hospital, you can usually get them to cut out 1/2 and yeah, still screwn. I have thought that if this happened to me I would declare bankruptcy.

[Pab Sungenis]

14. I might have to.

Lawyer working on it all right now. Hopefully if I can't get the costs reduced or charity care to cover part of it, I'll be able to keep my house.

[uppityperson]

21. my hosp told me to fill out a form, would deduct 1/2.

Since they get usually 1/2 from insurance anyway, writing off the rest, they'd rather get some from you than none. I'm glad you have a lawyer though the need and cost for that sucks also. As a health care provider myself, I cannot charge private pay and insurance differently since that constitutes fraud. However, I can do as hospitals do and charge a shitload, taking what insurance gives and write off the rest. However, I prohibited from writing off a large amount since this, in actuality, would mean that I am charging private pay and ins differently (fraud). So, I can not figure out how the hell hospitals can do this. Very frustrating and I don't know why it is not fraud when they do it. End of that rant.

Back to you. Good luck and let us know please. You'll be able to keep your house, unless you are in a mega mansion castle. Good luck.

[Vinca]

12. If the surgery didn't kill you, the bill will.

We cannot survive without single payer, universal healthcare. You should be focusing on your recovery, not wondering how you'll locate a gold mine in order to pay the bill.

[Pierre.Suave]

13. holy shit

thats unconscionable.

[npincus]

15. holy mother of all shits

[MannyGoldstein]

16. Some Suggestions

My heart goes out to you. We do need single payer.

Try talking to them and telling them that you simply can't pay that much.

If that doesn't get satisfaction, send a letter to your elected representatives, cc'd to the hospital's president, saying how it's astonishing that individuals have to pay so much more than insurance companies do for the same procedures, there oughta be a law, etc.

[Froward69]

17. heres whom to vote for / Biden

I agree we need single payer...
so does Joe Biden

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OviUko3aLcE

[DaveJ]

18. That's insane

How to hell are average people expected to pay a bill like that? Looking at the classifieds, most jobs are in the $10/hr range. With no interest $500/Mo payments (and how many can afford that??) would take 42 years to pay!! Is their plan to keep a person alive just to make them work the rest of their lives handing over their paycheck?!?! WHAT A SCAM. If hospitals had any sense of DECENCY they would charge on a sliding scale based on income.

I'm sorry to hear this, but you are by no means alone and I hope you know that.

[Lorien]

19. I missed the original thread. What happened that required

such expensive hospitalization? (Heck, these days a broken arm can put an uninsured person deeply into debt).

I'm really sorry that you are going through all this. I'm sometimes asked by friends why I refuse to have mammograms and other cancer screenings. The answer is simple: I can't afford great insurance and I'm already up to my neck in medical bills and debt from a bit of unemployment. One more setback and there's absolutely no point in going on. I'm already looking at never retiring and 60 hour work weeks for the rest of my time here on earth. If I need to push it up to 80 hours a week for the rest of my days...well, I may as well be six feet under. I swear, the ruling class is trying to kill the rest of us off by making it completely unaffordable to survive!

[Justitia]

20. Please check w/the hospital about any charity care programs they have.

When my son was hospitalized the first time he had no insurance, and no money.
The Visiting Nurses Association paid his bill. This was facilitated by the hospital, talk to the hospital social worker.
I wept with relief.

[Donnachaidh]

24. Call the hospital, and ask to be submitted for Hill/Burton Act help

This is a Congressional program that covers catastrophic medical costs. I'm stunned that the hospital didn't tell you about this. Every hospital in my area has a plaque outlining the program, and the fact that it's open to anyone facing humongous medical bills.

[sandnsea]

29. Not all are part of the program

Many paid off their Hill-Burton loans because of abortion requirements attached to it.

[Donnachaidh]

44. but until that is checked -- it should be considered an option, shouldn't it?

Jeez - facing that sort of bill I'd be calling my reps to see what they can do to help. That bill is obscene.

[sandnsea]

47. absolutely

I was just adding the Hill Burton info because some people don't take the health care problem seriously because they don't know some of these programs aren't in place the way they used to be.

[OzarkDem]

51. Last time I checked our state

the only Hill Burton facilities left were nursing homes. Not sure how the other hospitals were able to weasel out of their commitment, but they did.

[Pab Sungenis]

48. My hospital isn't obligated for Hill/Burton

Except for a nursing home, no one within 100 miles of me is.

[ThomCat]

26. You've already received some good advice

so I'm just going to send you many good thoughts. :hug:

I'm very, very sorry that you're going through this. Nobody should have to go that far in debt to save their life. Medical care should be a right.
:(

[Beausoir]

27. This is a crime. Stating the obvious...but this is a crime.

[FloridaJudy]

28. See if your state/county/city

Has a "medically needy" program. My next door neighbor got them to pick up most of the bills when he was burned in an accident. He wasn't quite poor enough for Medicaid, but couldn't afford the price of a stay in the burn unit.

Also check into Medicaid itself: if your income is low enough, that could be a life/sanity saver.

Yes we need single payer! Almost every nurse and doctor I know believes this now. The insurance companies have made no friends in the medical community.

[davsand]

30. It is common practice to bill uninsured people at about twice the price.

Yep, you saw that correctly, you get charged a higher rate BECAUSE you don't have insurance. The hospitals say they have a "negotiated" rate with insurance companies for services, but since you are a "self pay" patient you get charged more.

When you were admitted or in the hospital did ANYONE from the hospital talk to you about a charity care program for your hospital bill? Even for-profit hospitals have "charity care" programs because it is a nice way to write off any uncollected debt. Some hospitals really DO provide charity care--but sometimes you have got to scratch and claw to MAKE them follow their own guidelines. Many hospitals will make sure to discuss the subject with you just to make SURE they are protecting themselves.

If you were in "non-profit" hospital, be sure to ask very lOUDLY about charity care, because in MANY states it is a requirement for tax exemption that they provide some element of a "community benefit."

For sure, Charity Care is something the IRS watches, and I'll tell you that the hospitals are scared shitless of this one. Ways and Means had hearings on the issue under Grassly, and he was really scaring the crap out of the hospital association because he was asking some VERY uncomfortable questions about how much benefit do the hospitals ACTUALLY and factually provide to the people who pay taxes (so they don't have to!)

I dunno what your docs are like, but I will tell you that in my experience, usually the docs do not forgive the bills even IF the hospital does. They might--but I am less optimistic on that one than I am about a Charity Care programs for your hospital bill. Talk directly to the Doc, not his office manager or billing person. Be prepared to explain just how bad this is gonna mess you up unless you get these bills taken care of.

Good luck, ad PM me if you want more info.



Laura

[DemReadingDU]

31. I am so thankful you are doing better!

My sister's husband has been in the hospital for 2 weeks going thru exactly what you have been thru.

My b-i-l had the most severe pain imaginable. One of those diverticuli burst 2 weeks ago, and he has spent 2 weeks in hospital trying to get infection cleared up. He is on massive antibiotics, morphine pump for the pain, and has liquid food intravenously. When the infection is cleared up, the docs plan to do the the temporary colostomy.

Keeping you in my prayers along with my b-i-l.

[provis99]

32. In Canada, you wouldn't owe a cent

Damn socialists, caring about peoples health...

[Stump]

33. And the lines would be so long...

We wouldn't want that would we? :sarcasm:

[judaspriestess]

34. oh my, I am so sorry

I had no health insurance for 2 years up until a few months ago. In the meantime by blood pressure went thru the roof due to stress etc but I did not dare go to the hospital for FEAR of the bill I would get. Thats bullshit.

I took a part time job at a national drug store chain for about three months just to be able to get insurance as my day job is real estate. This chain gives insurance to all employees whether full time or part time. So now I am on cobra for the next 18 months and I am still not fully covered but I am happy to have something. I pay $77 dollars on Cobra.

Best wishes.

[bvar22]

35. WOW. Sounds like you need some Tax Credits!

Better vote for Hillary.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I sincerely apologize for politicizing your current situation.
My heart goes out to you. I hope you area able to find a way out of the nightmare.
I am almost in your position. I have no Health insurance. I just haven't gotten sick yet.



I initially started to delete my snarky remarks about Hillary, but decided to leave them in because your plight is multiplied by thousands in America today, and Hillary's plan will do almost nothing to help THEM. Her HealthCare Plan is a plan to divert $MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of the For Profit HealthCare CEOs.

[backscatter712]

36. Sorry about your situation.

This scares the hell out of me. Currently, I'm one of the fortunate bastards in that I do currently have health insurance, but if something happens to me, I may end up being SiCKOed - I get treatment, but that insurance that my employer's been forking over thousands of dollars to pay for, they'll welsh and refuse to pay because of some bullshit excuse.

HR 676 for the win!

[hunter]

37. Eventually you learn to laugh at the "free credit report" ads.

Credit score? What credit score?

I learned to play credit score football from the Marx Brothers. There was no other way to survive the medical bills but to laugh. The debt collectors almost get friendly once they understand you simply can't care anymore.

In the United States we are creating a whole new class of people who don't care about credit scores because they can't. The collapse of the housing bubble and will only make this problem worse.

When most everyone has bad credit, how the hell are they going to keep this economy going?

Answer: They are not.

A single payer health plan is an economic neccesity. Without it this economic house of cards will fall down, and we will still end up with a single payer healthcare system. The U.S. health insurance industry as it now exists is doomed, and if we shut it down now rather than later there will be much less suffering all around.

[judaspriestess]

41. you are so right

a dear friend of mine who's wife died of cancer was slapped with over $200K in medical bills because her insurance dropped her. He was forced to file for bankruptcy.

[Spazito]

38. Holy crap....

I can't imagine what I would do if I received a bill like that for medical treatment. It is beyond unconscionable, imo, and I agree, single-payer is the only way to go.

I hope you are able to get help on this!

[Selatius]

40. THIS IS A FUCKING ATROCITY.

246,000 mother fucking dollars!?

[file83]

43. Let's see here...at $10 per hour, taxfree, that works out to how many hours...?

$246,000/10 = 24,600 hours

or 615 weeks (of 40 hour work weeks)

or 11.82 years of working

If all of your tax free income went to the bill, it'd still take 11.82 years to pay it off.

But considering that even if you made $20/hour, after taxes and living expenses it'd probably take something like 30 fucking years to pay that back.

Umm....we need national health care. This is fucking total bullshit.

[antigop]

42. Have you e-mailed your story to Michael Moore? Or Oprah?

I am so sorry you have to go through this...

I am so very sorry we live in a country where its citizens are treated this way.

[slipslidingaway]

45. Some great suggestions already so...

I'll wish you a speedy recovery both physically and financially.

[Momgonepostal]

46. I PMed the OP, so this is just a kick and a rec nt

[davekriss]

50. I can commiserate

I once faced a bill for $859,000 for my adopted daughter. Not a fun thing. :(

[AnotherGreenWorld]

52. That sucks. Sorry to hear that.

What sort of heartless asshole can earn a living doing this to people? Absolutely disgusting.

[book_worm]

53. have you looked into asking the hospital if they have a community care program

which might knock it down quite a bit? Most hospitals around here have it because there are so many uninsured who can't pay high medical bills.