What to do about hospital bills.

[CarnegieS]

Well all the bills from my 2.5 hour hospital visit arrived this week and they aren't pretty (see below). I did learn an important lesson though which is never to give a hospital your SS#. 

Anesthesiologist: $400+

Gastroenterologist: $400+

Hospital: $2500+ 

I went in to have an outpatient procedure (colonoscopy). My doctors were great and I have insurance, but my lovely deductible is set at $5,000. Anyway long story short there's no way I'm going to be able to pay the hospital portion anytime soon. I sent the hospital $100 back, so hopefully that will get rid of them this month. I'm not in a position where I can pay this off quickly as my income is less than $5,000 a year (college student) and I have other expenses as well. I want to avoid this account becoming delinquent or going to collections.  What are my options here?

[blondy250]

Although I sympathize with your situation, the debt isn't going to go away. The reason why the bill is so high is hospitals have to pass on the losses of people who do not pay. Not giving the hospital your SS# would have changed nothing, and was probably required anyway. Some people have had luck with getting there bill reduced, good luck. 

[09Lexie]

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@CarnegieS wrote:

Well all the bills from my 2.5 hour hospital visit arrived this week and they aren't pretty (see below). I did learn an important lesson though which is never to give a hospital your SS#. 

Anesthesiologist: $400+

Gastroenterologist: $400+

Hospital: $2500+ 

I went in to have an outpatient procedure (colonoscopy). My doctors were great and I have insurance, but my lovely deductible is set at $5,000. Anyway long story short there's no way I'm going to be able to pay the hospital portion anytime soon. I sent the hospital $100 back, so hopefully that will get rid of them this month. I'm not in a position where I can pay this off quickly as my income is less than $5,000 a year (college student) and I have other expenses as well. I want to avoid this account becoming delinquent or going to collections.  What are my options here?

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Contact their billing dept now instead of later.  Most hospitals are set up to accept payment arrangements based on your income. 

[EW800]

I assume that this varies from hospital to hospital, however my experience has been that if you contact their billing department right away, they will nearly always work something out with you.  They have so many people that do not pay that I beleive they appreciate those that try to work out arrangements.  My daughter ran into a high medical bill after an ER visit.  It was literally just one phone call and they reduced her bill a bit and allowed her to make small monthly payments without any intrest.  

I am pretty sure that if you ignore them, at some point they will turn it over to collections, making matters even worse,  

Best wishes.