I went to the emergency room sometime last year around october. i felt an incredible sharp pain in my kidneys for months and the pain started spreading through my body and making my physicaly sick i didnt want to go to the doctor because i dont have a primary anymore, i also dont have a job or health insurance and i dont want to go and put myself in debt. my friend told me that u can go to the emergency room and they will charge u but u dont really have to pay, nobody ever does. long story short i went to the emergency room, the doc said i had a bad bladder infection and encouraged me to get my kindeys check because of a medical history of kidney failure in my family im fucking poor give me a break i dont have the money for that shit. i told them i dont have a job or health insurance they made me fill out some paperwork involving some health insurance, they said theyd submit it to medicare and shit, but months later i never received any kinda of letter in the mail or phone call. anyways they prescribed me some BULLSHIT medicine for 500 dollars!!! ive had bladder infections before and my anti biotic never cost that much! after talking with cvs and making a few calls i had my prescription changed to something i could actualy afford. actualy i couldnt even pay for it, my bf did. a week passes and i get a medical bill from the hospital for 8,000 dollars! i ignore it, rip up the bill and was like fuk u months pass and each month i keep getting the same notice, each with a diffrent amount on it each time, it lowered to 400 then shot back up to 1000, then to 1500. i got a final notice in the mail saying that there threatening to turn my account over to a collection agency. wtf? not sure what to do, even if i wanted to pay these assholes i can im only fucking 19 how am i sopossed to pay them 8grand?!?!?! plz halp
I dunno about debt collectors in the USA but in the uk if the person has got no means of paying back the debt it will usually get wiped, but you'll get a black mark on your credit rating tho.
not much you can do. my sister is in the same position, only shes done this maybe 9 times in the past 4 years. she owes various hospitals upwards of 20 grand total. yea the bill gets transferred to a collections agency. they'll sent you letters and call you for a couple years, but after so long, they cant pursue the matter anymore. in Texas its 7 years. but like Cookies said, it will affect your credit. some collections companies will garnish wages and stuff, but i dont think this wage garnishment happens in Texas. never happened to me. i used to owe a hospital money but that was like 9 years ago. it just disappeared. you gotta find out about your city/states, "Statute of Limitations". this will give more insight to how long collections companies can try and get the money.
it says to call them but i seriously dont want to listen to what they have to say...and im kinda scared. i just think its ridiculous u kno the one and only time i go to the emergency room when im like REALLY sick, and i get an 8k bill??? FUCKIN WHY? ALL I DID WAS PEE IN A CUP! theres people in massachusetts who live on wellfare and live for free and get free eletric, food, and healthcare! while the people who pay taxes support them and their 10 children get shit. @[member="Kush"] a black mark on my credit rating? i dont even have a credit card yet.
About your only option is to join the 'buck-a-month' club and pay off your total. Either that or get sent into collections - then when you apply for credit cards and home/car loans you'll get rejected. Whatever happens, don't forget to tell your friend how dumb they are for telling you to go to the ER bc 'you don't have to pay' lol You shouldn't be mad at the hospital for their payment policy, you should be upset w/ your friend for giving you such shitty advice
i didnt kno what else to do i was really sick and i dont have a doctor...where else was i sopossed to go?
I dunno how the medical system is where you are - but here, ER rates are the most expensive by far. Regular appointments are cheap (around $100) but you can also call and get an 'urgent care' appointment where you can be seen that day for like $40 more than a regular appointment. When you step foot into an ER (because it's for emergencies) the price of services for doctors and testing sky rockets, and it's never free. Sorry if I sounded harsh but your friend honestly gave you really poor advice. Call the hospital though and explain your situation (even though you won't want to) - it's your best bet if you don't want your credit score hurt. You might be able to get a payment plan of some kind worked out - as long as you're paying on the debt the business will usually not want to send you into collections
I'm not sure if the credit rating system will be the same as the USA but I'd imagine it would run similarly since we both run the same financial system, its like when you apply for a credit card/mortgage/pay day loan, they look to see how responsible with money you are and they will see you haven't payed money back so most company's won't hand out loans. I've had a few mates bump loan company's and never had to pay back a penny. They won't be getting a mortgage.
er bills are bills...but due to the EXTREME gouging that some er's do, they will never get the bill paid. Send them checks each month for 5 cents each...if they want to sell the account to a collection agency (that is what happens, they sell your dept to someone) then do the same to them.
this'll be pretty much irrelevant... but this one time, I waited in the emergency room for three hours for my friends name to be called, and with that I went up in his jumper and gave blood for a D.U.I. test under his name. he apparently got pulled over while off his face but the cops dumped him at the hospital and didn't even stay around for the test results.... three years later and he never lost his license, my blood is still on file as someone else and we never heard anything else about it. got a half ounce of some serious grade A a few days later. blood for nugget. the emergency room paid ME.
why cant i be u? LET ME BE U DAMNIT! im not to worried about this as most woman rely pretty heavily on there man when ppl decide to buy a house. Usualy they use the guys name/credit and not the girls so in the sense of me getting a morgage in the future i think i'll be ok. MY FRIENDS GAVE ME TERRIBLE ADVICE! but at the same time its like my own fault for not having health insurance x_x
Aww sweetie I'm sorry I feel for ya :/ I'm kinda in the same position as you, but mine is an unpaid ticket. It was only $250somethin but then the fucker doubec to $457. Shit blows. I don't know about you, but I gots to get a job. Maybe you should consider that too..
Unfortunately Mercuh' Glad in live in Canada. I don't know how you guys afford those expensive medical bills. Omega369
i really feel for you. I'm sorry you have to go through that bullshit. did you try to sign up for obamacare? i no its still expensive, I'm just wondering. my dad is a doctor and he said you can go on a payment plan were you can just pay like 5-25 dollars a month for a long ass time. but that doesn't fuck up your credit. pm me if you need more info. good luck and again I'm sorry your going through this
Unfortunately you are responsible for those bills. If they go to collections, it is going to suck. Most places will work with you or arrange a payment plan. I have heard that if you pay even $10/month they cant turn you over to collections, but i can't verify that. If you don't have a job or income, you should be applying for medical assistance through your state. There are government programs that can help if you meet the criteria. we don't. It is ridiculous how many people have to file bankruptcy over medical bills and downright disturbing that most of those people have health insurance. I am dealing with similar shit right now after having kidney stones and bladder infections. The bitch of it is, nothing, none of the tests or anything, helped. Everything I learned, I learned from the internet. They ordered ultrasound, ct scan, and MRI, and I was told, "nothing remarkable," was apparent....because I passed the stone between the ultrasound and ct scans. I also have orders for an additional scan and to see a urologist... and I am not even going to bother. Now, I have a stack of bills amounting to a few grand, and that is after my insurance was applied. Scam artists.
Yes we are being ridden like a rodeo show by insurance companies tying the hands of medical professionals, and sadly the medical field is just going with it... rather than DOCTORS, people we look up to, trust and revere... running the show. It's just one more form of control the 'nati has. They control food, medicine, entertainment.... the list goes on... Sent from my MexiPhone5000
Next time I need emergency medical care I'm just going to bypass the ER and go straight to the nearest morgue; it's cheaper.
I had to take a trip to the emergency room about 3 yrs ago. I spent only 2 hours there. Only had 1 x-ray taken. My bill came out to $1650. I had to pay it off $50 a month. Then I found out about UCLA Olive View Medical Center. They will only charge a small fee for emergency visit ($50-$150). They will even perform surgeries for a small fee...well a small fee compared to a regular hospital. By the way OP, look into Hospital Charity Program in your state/city. You might qualify and they will pay off your bill.
The people that pay taxes are supporting your ass too. When you don't pay those hospital bills guess, who picks up the tab? The US gov and it's taxpayers. I don't wanna hear you gripe about people living off the system if you don't have a job.