What To Do With Medical Collections??

[Jenn]

We have one year left on our 13, but hubby had back surgery last year and it was so expensive we had no reserve, or enough saved up for this. And now, we are in collections, what can we do in a situation like this?

[CindyLou]

Tell me a little about the medical bills. Is it hospital, doctor? How much? What type of hospital? Have you tried working with the hospital yet? What is your income level each year? I work for a hospital and many times if you call the Director of Finance at a hospital and tell them you don't have health insurance and ask them to apply for their "charity" program they can help you. But you HAVE to ask. They received money from the government at them end of every year to help people that can't pay for their medical bills and the income requirements are pretty lienient. Call and ask to apply. This is different than medicaid. This is not a government insurance program. This is a debt write off program. We do it ALL THE TIME... Again call your hospital and ask for the DIRECTOR OF FINANCE OR PATIENT BILLING. Tell him your story and ask him if they can hellp you to write off your bill for a charity program of sorts. They CAN do it and they CAN get paid for it!!!!

[lrprn]

Cindy is 100% right - start with the hospital and doctors and explain your situation. In case that doesn't work, call your lawyer asap and explain what's happened. He/she can file an amended Ch 13 plan with the trustee that incorporates paying off the medical debts. You now have a plan that you can put it into action! Good luck - hope everything works out for you!

[Granny]

Long before we ever filed bk, my hubby had a kidney stone while away from home in another state. We had no insurance and I did exactly as Cindy suggested. After providing the requested financial info, the hosp wrote off 100% of our bill. The doctor was a jerk but that's his problem, he can bill us till there's ice crystals in you know where.

It's worth a shot to see if they can classify you as a charity.

[Jenn]

Tell me a little about the medical bills. Is it hospital, doctor? How much? What type of hospital? Have you tried working with the hospital yet? What is your income level each year? I work for a hospital and many times if you call the Director of Finance at a hospital and tell them you don't have health insurance and ask them to apply for their "charity" program they can help you. But you HAVE to ask. They received money from the government at them end of every year to help people that can't pay for their medical bills and the income requirements are pretty lienient. Call and ask to apply. This is different than medicaid. This is not a government insurance program. This is a debt write off program. We do it ALL THE TIME... Again call your hospital and ask for the DIRECTOR OF FINANCE OR PATIENT BILLING. Tell him your story and ask him if they can hellp you to write off your bill for a charity program of sorts. They CAN do it and they CAN get paid for it!!!!

Is this like a secret? I have never heard of it, I guess they dont want you to know about it~ should I call, or write a letter? We are already in collections, is it too late?

[Jenn]

Oh yea, some are doctors, some are hospital, some are the xray company, some are anestheiologist (SP?) and so on. Seems everyone has separate billing. One surgery and we have like 15 different creditors for it!
We are at about 10k. Our insurance was 70/30, but we racked up a ton, now we dont have insurance any longer. Hubby had to take 4 months off of work and we lost our insurance as we could no longer afford it, it was an individual plan.

[Jenn]

Cindy is 100% right - start with the hospital and doctors and explain your situation. In case that doesn't work, call your lawyer asap and explain what's happened. He/she can file an amended Ch 13 plan with the trustee that incorporates paying off the medical debts. You now have a plan that you can put it into action! Good luck - hope everything works out for you!

I asked my attorney about this, and he said they dont like doing it and that my payments are so low that they would most likely deny it.

[lrprn]

Oh yea, some are doctors, some are hospital, some are the xray company, some are anestheiologist (SP?) and so on. Seems everyone has separate billing. One surgery and we have like 15 different creditors for it!

Like Cindy, I'm an RN and have also seen many a payment plan put together by hospitals and other medical offices.

Start by calling the hospital's billing department, explain your circumstances, and ask to set up a payment plan for the debt that they've sent to collections.

As far as the doctor and specialist bills go, call their offices and ask for their accountants. Since your bills have already gone to collectors, it will make this more complicated, but not impossible. Also explain your circumstances and ask to set up payment plans.

Most medical offices are used to patients having trouble paying their bills and are willing to help you if they know you need help. It would have been better to do this long before now, but it isn't too late to see what can be done.

I had an emergency hospitalization 12 days after we filed Ch 13. Once we knew what our health insurance would cover and what we owed, I requested and received a payment plan from the hospital and from my medical specialist. The radiology company was the tough nut, but we kept nipping away at that one while I called and explained the circumstances trying to stave off collections. Finally now, 18 months later, we just paid off the last little bit of what we owed. It was tough, but we made it. You can too.

[lrprn]

I asked my attorney about this, and he said they dont like doing it and that my payments are so low that they would most likely deny it.

A tough situation for sure. Sounds like your trustee is one of the less sympathetic ones.

However, if you can't work out payment plans, you may have no choice but try an amended plan. The only other option is to wait out your last plan year allowing the medical collectors to do their damage, then start paying the bills down after you are discharged. Not a great option, I know