Gf medical bills

[griffonz]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Arizona

A couple months ago my girlfriend whom I live with went to the emergency room for what she thought was a serious problem. She has no insurance.

She has received bills from both the hostpital and physician totalling somewhere near 6500$. She has been paying 20$ a month towards each bill since this happened. I beleive this has now been turned ove rto collections as someone has called her and demanded either payment in full with a 20% discount, or a payment plan of 1100$ a month over a 6month period. They went on to say that if none of these are possible she would be reported to the CB in 60 days and legal action would be taken to secure wage garnishment.

Obviously she cannot afford to pay in full even with 20% off, nor can she afford the 1100$ a month. At first I did not think the latter was possible if she was making an effort to pay SOMETHING on a medical bill, but after reading these forums it appears I, and the people I asked, were wrong.

What do we do? I am concerned for her and don't want to see her credit ruined but we just cannot afford this, she pays what she can but it is not enough....if we just continue to pay what we can, is there a chance they will not take legal action? Will her credit still be ruined? Is this all up to the Collections agency at this point?


Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Ladynred]

The fact is, hospitals and other providers will not hang onto overdue bills for more than 90 days, it automatically goes to collections if not paid off in 90 days. Paying $20 a month on $6500 will take YEARS and YEARS, especially when they start tacking on interest, so its a feeble attempt to pay by their standards and its unacceptable. If she could not pay she should have spoken to the hospital finance office long before this. They most definitely WILL report to the 3 credit bureaus and once its on there, it'll be 7-1/2 years before its gone.

The hospital may or may not be willing to still work with her, but she has to make more than $20 monthly payments. Sometimes you can do and end-run on the collection agencies and deal with the hospital directly, it just depends on the hospital.

Does she work ? What's her weekly income ? If she doesn't make at least a minimum amount, they could not attach her wages. If she has no assets, nothing a judgment creditor could take, then, at least for a while, she's judgment-proof.

 

[lady alone]

Medical bills

If your gf is having trouble with the bills, she shoudl immediately contact the hospital and ask to speak to whomever is in charge of Hill-Burton Act funds. This act provided hospitals with federal dollars in exchange for their promise to serve indigents. She can fill out the required forms-- even months after the event-- esp. if she was treated in an ER.

In the meantime, while hospitals don't like to carry balances, it's too bad because they are not for profit institutions and have an obligation to work with the general populace. If your gf has faithfully been making payments, even small ones, you are showing "good faith", and no hospital is allowed to turn down "good faith" payments. Doctor's offices are another story b/c they are for profit.

As far as venue for the court appearance, you can petition the court in the other locale for a change in venue to your own county. You will have to file a motion, but some clerk's offices have preprinted forms that do the talking for you. ( at least this is partly true in VA, I know nothing about KY) So contact, better yety, go in person, to the Clerk's Office in the location where the hearing will be and ask for assistance in changing the venue.

 

[bigun]

If your gf has faithfully been making payments, even small ones, you are showing "good faith", and no hospital is allowed to turn down "good faith" payments

This is not close to being correct. No creditor is required to accept less than the agreed amount.

 

[lady alone]

GF medical bills

Hospitals routinely do not supply an itemised bill at the time of service. A consumer must wait for it in the mail.Therefore, there is no way for an uninsured consumer to know what the bill is, at the time of service. Routinely, most hospitals do NOT inform patients that they have a right to be screened for low-cost, no-cost services based on many factors, including medicaid reimbursement, rural/urban status, that come from the hospital's acceptance of the almighty federal dollar.....Routinely, most hospitals do not have "business people" on 24/7, so emergency care after about 1800 hrs is the Wild West in terms of the financial end of it.

Even after bills are received, and let's not forget the fact that the uninsured pay the highest amounts for service, it is not necesarily up to the consumer to inquire about low-cost, no-cost services. The hospital is supposed to inform, esp. if it is evident or the patient expresses any kind of concern, written or oral, about the bill. Generally speaking, partial payments are an indication that the consumer may need financial assistance and counseling, and it is up to the hospital ( part of their requirements in accepting Hill-Burton funds to offer "community services")to offer such services, suspend the bill until such screening ( financial) takes place, and determine what is a "reasonable" amount to pay on a hospital bill, based on information from the consumer. If a consumer makes a good faith effort to pay the bill, and makes these payments routinely, regularly, it is an indication that the consumer is making "reasonable" attempts to pay the bill. If the hospital has not financially screened the individual, the consumer's good faith efforts stand as "reasonable" attempts to pay a bill. If a hospital determines, after financial screening, that a consumer is able to pay more, and requests additional funds from the patient, and the patient does not pay, but continues to send in the same amount after a hospital has countered, then the patient's attempt at paying the bill is no longer "reasonable" and can then be psursued legally via garnishment, levy, court action, etc.

The ER is the place in hospitals most usually fraught with mismangement when it comes to dealing with the uninsured. There are few other establishments where a consumer generally walks out with no indication of what charges might be for services rendered.

 

[bigun]

If the hospital has not financially screened the individual, the consumer's good faith efforts stand as "reasonable" attempts to pay a bill.


Would you post a link to specific state or federal law that supports this statement.

I agree that if you are uninsured you should work with the hospital in an efort to get the bill lowered and many have had some succeess doing that. But, nobody has to just accept whatever amount they get in the mail every month. It does not matter if they were financially evaluated or not.

 

[lady alone]

GF medical bills

I will it look it up, since this is all from memory. I think it's case law and guidance more than specific cites from Hill-Burton and other federal legislation.