Ask Me Anything on Health Insurance
Submit your question(s) below. Responses will be emailed back to you if you provide an email address, and posted here within a week. This is the place for general questions about health insurance and health insurance advocacy. You call also check out our FAQ page for more general questions.
QuestionI have a $500 bill for a kidney stone back in November that the hospital is about to send to collections. I had insurance but I failed to pay my premium and was cancelled, and so I was uninsured.
Submitted: January 8, 2019 |
Answer I highly recommend applying for Patient Assistance through the hospital. Most big hospital systems offer programs for free or low cost care for the uninsured, and many will forgive such bills based on your income. Contact the hospital billing office directly and ask to apply for financial assistance. They may try to talk you into setting up a payment plan--you may want to do this to avoid collections, but you should start low ($20-$30/mo). Ask for the number for the Patient Assistance department.
If you have higher income (above $50,000/year), you would likely be best off trying to negotiate that bill down. You may need to wait until it goes to collections. Many times, collection agencies will gladly take half of the total bill instead of taking you to court. |
|
|
|