Hospital law suit

What is the name of your state? Florida

My wife has a debt at a hospital for $25,000. She incured this in August of 2002. The Hospital has a law suit against her now.
She can not work. and is not recieving any assistance from anyone. (she has applied with SSI and SSA). She was my fiance' then. We were married in January 2003.

She recieved a 20 day summons.
She has Answered (admitted) to all counts on the complaint.

Can the Hospital come after me for the dept? Can they take any income from SSI or SSA if she is approved?
Thank you for any help.

[ellencee]

This question may receive a better and more prompt response if it is posted in the Contracts and Guarantees section or the section that deals with consumer debt.

I don't know about Florida's SSI, as to whether or not it can be withheld in order to pay this judgment, but I believe I am correct in saying that Social Security benefits can not.

If your wife had no insurance and had no means to pay this bill at the time services were rendered, did the 'hospital' make any attempt to find a source to assist, ie: for Medical Assistance Only aspects of Medicaid or for providers of indigent care? Sometimes, these resources are able to pay retroactively and provide payment for some or all of the services. If she has time before the hearing, she should check with the hospital's discharge planners, or social workers, or whatever the hospital provides to assist patients in obtaining needed financial/ medical benefits.

SSI benefits and/ or SS benefits cannot be withheld to pay a medical debt (I'm almost certain, but not 100%!) What she has paid out in medical expenses, though, will matter with respect to her qualifying for SSI. In addition to what ellencee has advised regarding her outstanding bill at the hospital, she also needs to advise her SSI / SS caseworker that she cannot pay that hospital bill, and she needs to ask this caseworker if there is any chance that (if she qualifies at some point for SSI), her Medicaid can pay retroactively on that bill. She needs to do this now since it was less than a year ago that she incurred this debt.

If she hasn't already, she also needs to contact a disability attorney and/or disability representative and let him / her handle her claim. Depending on the severity of her illness (or lack of), it may take upwards of two years for her to receive SS benefits with as many as two to three appeals, but if she has good supporting medical data, she should start receiving SSI benefits in the interim.

She will need medical proof that she is no longer able to work (lots of supporting info from all of her doctors to that effect).
The process of attempting to get benefits can be very confusing and depleting for patients (and their spouses) who have applied for disability and are in desperate need of assistance. You, as a spouse of someone who has filed for disability, can also call the SS administration and talk to someone about this process and the requirements. Hound them if you must, but through all the red tape you will no doubt have to go through, be diplomatic as possible and get answers at the same time!

Good luck.

These sites might help you some, too.

[url]http://www.ssa.gov/disability/[/url]

[url]http://www.severe.net/[/url]


[url]http://www.disabilityac.com/infossa.htm[/url]



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