Medical Expenses - Did a foolish thing

[mysterie91]

OK, I am a compulsive about saving EVERYTHING (well, except money it would seem) - I save reciepts, scraps of paper, etc. My husband is constantly nagging at me to get rid of this stuff. So I finally caved and did - in August. I threw out every last receipt we had in the heat of an argument.

Now our attorney wants proof of all medical expenses. I know that some should be easy to get - print outs from MD's, etc. but some were non-prescription but essential but we have no receipts for those items. For example, laxative and OTC meds for my son, etc. purchased at Wal-Mart, etc. I know how much I spent as I use a money program but no actual reciept.

After sitting down to cry I am wondering what to do. Our medical expenses will be the "crux" of the rebuttal of abuse for filing a CH 7.

I know that we will have some big expenses in the next few weeks. My glasses broke the morning we were meeting with the attorney so they are taped together. I can't go without scraping some cash together to have them repaired. My husband has been on the waiting list at a new destist for major work - they estimate about $400.

I am sure this will help fill in the medical "gaps" if we can scrape the funds together to get the work done. He is pain but we have no funds.Can we consider it healthcare if he has the work done but its billed and not paid - like on a payment plan?

Any suggestions? Will the trustee want all these receipts or is it more for the attorney to be sure aren't lying?

Without the credit cards we are really struggling - and now all this. It just seems like we are in a black hole right now.

[lrprn]

Take a deep breath. You have a plan. Get copies of the receipts that you can replace and what you can't find, you can't find. My guess is the big ticket item receipts will be easier to replace - medical bills, medications from the pharmacy, etc. And that's what your trustee is likely to care most about.

We had high medical costs too - husband is an insulin-dependent diabetic and I have a few chronic conditions that require a fair number of meds. I had been collecting receipts and bills like crazy, but hubby had thrown a lot of them away. At our 341, our trustee asked about our medical costs, but when we explained about his diabetes and my corneal transplant, he went right on to the next item. Never asked another thing about it and never asked for any justification of the costs.

Hopefully this is what will happen in your case too - hang in there!

[WantToBeDebtFre]

How did you pay for these medical expenses? For instance, if you wrote checks or used credit cards you should be able to get those records.

[mysterie91]

Thank you both for the reassuring words. I have calmed down and am in the process of finding the proof for the claims.

We used credit cards and our checking account for all of them except one but I think I can get that one too.

My husband is a diabetic also so the co-pay and such are just ridiculous. Of course with this financial mess he has been trying to be "frugal" with meds and test strips, etc. which may end up hurting us.

We do not plan to file until November as we need more time to come up with the attorney fee. My husband is also in the midst of root canal and other dental work so we want to wait until that bill comes to help out too.

Thanks again!

[SinkingFast]

The people who've posted here that have been asked for supporting documentation generally don't have everything either.

In most cases, people report they gave the Court 80% or so of what was requested. The rest, they just wrote up a statement for.

Like your son's OTC meds. You could write up a statement about his condition and the recommended course of treatment. Not everybody gets prescription medications to treat everything.

Also,.......... You probably went to the Doc originally who then prescribed the course of treatment. Which probably included the use of the OTC meds. If need be, I'd bet those notes are in your Son's medical file. That should cover you for the purchases where you don't have receipts.

[Runnin on empty]

Don't feel bad mysterie. My wife is the same way, saves EVERYTHING. I used to always just roll my eyes and mutter something stupid, but with us filing in 2 weeks, I am so happy she's so anal about it.