Hi. I don't have medical insurance and my hospital bill is very high.
Can I negotiate with the hospital? Is there financial aid? Also, it
looks like they may be double charging me...do I have any recourse?
Thanks,
Dear bcmull-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
I truly feel for you. With the ever-increasing cost of insurance
millions of people are finding themselves in the same situation that
you have found yourself in. I want to address your questions
individually and maybe we can help you find some solution to your
financial problems.
“Can I negotiate with the hospital?”
Sort of. What you can do is appeal to the hospital’s financial
services department and find out whether or not your situation
qualifies as one that can be considered for charitable care. It isn’t
a negotiation but it may greatly reduce your bill. Many hospitals have
a practice called “charity care”, meaning that they willingly write
off a certain amount of patient expenses annually as charity. In this
way the facility can claim certain relief on its annual taxes, which
ultimately qualifies it for a number of government subsidies that are
available exclusively for charitable hospitals. Hospitals generally
select patients on a case-by-case basis and decide whether or not to
extend this gratuity according to a number of factors. Things like the
cost of the care rendered, the cost of necessary care in the imminent
future, the number of children the patient has, the income of the
patient, etc only some of the issues considered. If the hospital does
agree to charitable care in your case, it might be the whole bill or
only be a certain percentage of it. In come instances, they may choose
to a patient on an “at-cost” schedule, in which case you would only be
required to reimburse the hospital for the actual costs of services
before mark-up and labor. However, I’m sure that if they write off 50%
of your bill you would be quite grateful. I know I would. Ask to see
the hospital’s financial officer or the discharge clerk for more
information about charitable care. If the facility is a religious
based hospital, you might also ask to speak to the head chaplain or
equivalent leading religious supervisor of the facility and make your
inquiries there. This may require you to humble yourself and to plead
to their humanity with regard to your crisis.
“Is there financial aid?”
Unfortunately not – at least not in the formal sense. Most places that
offer financial aid for medical bills act in the same way that
insurance companies do. They require advanced notice or provide
assistance only if you have been a member of their organization for a
time prior to the medical treatment. There are a few options though:
If you are having some type of crisis beyond just a major financial
problem, the Red Cross has been known to help folks in your situation.
It usually comes in the form of a one-time contribution toward your
other bills such as food, utilities, etc and doesn’t normally amount
to much. It might help free up some funds to pay your medical expenses
though.
You can appeal to religious organizations for assistance. Often times
churches, synagogues or mosques will agree to help a family whose
medical expenses have reached a crisis level. Again, this is usually a
donation geared toward offsetting your normal expenses to you can
carry on with your life in such a way that you and your family members
don’t suffer unnecessarily.
You can also plead to civic organizations and see if there is a
possibility that your situation might qualify for a fundraiser. Many
organizations pride themselves on helping people in your situation.
One of the most popular fundraisers at the moment involves Krispy
Kreme Doughnuts. This company has a program in which they offer their
widely sought after products at a discount rate for re-sale for groups
interested in raising funds. I recently participated by buying some
products for two different fundraisers and I know personally that both
achieved their goals of several thousand dollars each (one was for a
woman who was trying to pay for a kidney transplant – and she got it).
Another option is debt consolidation or debt management. Many
institutions will work with debt consolidation or debt management
companies to reduce your bill in situations where they would not
normally take your word. Once you establish an account with the
company, the company assures the hospital that your will be paid on
time each month. In exchange the hospital often reduces the amount due
considerably because of this added assurance from a reputable company.
It works pretty well, but you’ll need to shop around for a reputable
company and be sure to avoid those fly-by-night companies that
sometimes victimize people on the Internet.
You can check with an attorney about filing for bankruptcy protection.
Millions of people file bankruptcy each year in the US and there is
nothing shameful about it. Bankruptcy was designed as a means of
protecting your assets in the event that such an occurrence overwhelms
your financial capabilities. Once a bankruptcy is filed, it becomes a
federal offense (in the US) for bill collectors to harass you about
non-payment. The bills you choose to include in your bankruptcy are
postponed, reduced or forgiven depending on the type of bankruptcy you
file. The down side of bankruptcy is that it stays on your credit
report for many years and can have an adverse affect on any future
applications for credit, employment or memberships.
“Also, it looks like they may be double charging me...do I have any
recourse?”
Certainly. If you think you are being overcharged ask to sit down with
the financial officer or auditor to get a detailed explanation of all
services rendered to you. They can produce an itemized bill and talk
to you about every pill and cotton ball they used for your treatment
during your stay. If you still feel like you are being double-billed
you should contact an attorney about your bill. I’d recommend that if
you plan to seek the charitable care option that you do that before
stirring up any dust though. It could ruin your chances to get
charitable relief. I’d also recommend that if you feel you are being
double-billed that you wait to pay the bill until that issue is
resolved. A word of caution here - Paying a disputed bill sometimes
gives the impression that you agree with the bill, however, refusing
to pay a disputed bill does not relieve you from the legal
responsibility of paying it. What I mean is this: you might dispute a
bill and it may even be unfairly high, but refusing to pay it does not
prevent the hospital from suing you or from ruining your credit for
not paying it. You must clear up the dispute as soon as possible if
you feel that there is one. You should definitely speak to an attorney
before refusing to pay if you intend to take that route.
I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If
you have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
PROJECT HOPE
http://www.projecthope.org/CHA/pdf/HVol3No1.pdf
AMERICAN RED CROSS
http://www.redcross.org/
CORNELL LAW – BANKRUPTCY
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/11/
KRISPY KREME
http://www.krispykreme.com/
GOOGLE – DEBT CONSOLIDATION
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=debt+consolidation
GOOGLE – DEBT MANAGEMENT
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=debt+management
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
HOSPITAL REQUEST CHARITY CARE
FINANCIAL AID HOSPITAL DEBT
KRISPY KREME FUNDRAISER
DEBT CONSOLIDATION
DEBT MANAGEMENT
BANKRUPTCY
Prompt and thorough response. Exactly the quality I was hoping for.
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