repayment of medical bills

I live in Texas. I spent three weeks in the hospital to have my daughter due to complications in the pregnancy and then two months after she was born she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. We spent even more time in the hospital due to her illness. As a result of all of this we have aquired huge medical debts. So far we have handled it by paying off one bill and sending every one else a small payment each month. Now the children's hospital is threatening to send us to a collection agency if we don't pay their minimum payment, but we can't make it and pay everyone else too. We are in a trapped situation as our child is chronically ill and continues to amass medical bills. I thought in Texas that as long as you were making some kind of payment the hospital could not turn you over to a collection agency.

Leelish

[JETX]

I really don't find a legal question in your post, but can hopefully clear up one misconception. Texas, like any other state, has NO provision for 'partial payment ceases collection'. For some reason, people have gotten the false impression that creditors are obligated to accept partial payments. That is simply not true. A creditor is not obligated to accept anything less than the agreed payment plan.

One question that concerns me. When you were admitted to the hospital a lot of forms were filled out, including insurance and payment/credit information. With the exception of emergency care, if you were uninsured or without credit, you would normally have been directed to one of the county supported hospitals, who are much more tolerant and accepting of financial hardships. Was your treatment and subsequent daughters treatement handled at a county facility or a private facility??? And, in light of your apparent financial situation, why not a county facility??

Leelish, I am so sorry to hear of your difficulties. I understand that you need the care and need to pay in order to keep getting the care. I don't know if it will help and you may already have tried but I would urge you to contact the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at [url]http://www.cff.org/[/url]
There is another website [url]http://www.cysticfibrosis.com/[/url] that has a link to [url]http://www.cfservicespharmacy.com/[/url] which says it is a subsidiary of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and shares in the mission of the CF Foundation to bring an end to the debilitating effects of this disease. Further it says "Today's medical environment can prevent individuals with CF from obtaining the type of care they need and deserve. CF Services acts as a patient advocate by working with insurance companies and managed care organizations to cover therapies for individuals with CF. Our experience with more than 3,000 insurance companies allows us to assist individuals with CF meet the challenges faced when acquiring coverage." I didn't look in any great detail at either site but there may even be resources to help with your current financial load.