had a similar situation with DW, this was before we were married and she had an income of roughly $15k that year, however she was eligible for assistance for her bill because she had no insurance. We filled out the paperwork and received a letter a week later explaining she was eligible for assistance and she only had to pay 60% of the bill. It's worth a "get in the car were going to the hospital finance office trip" to see if he is eligible. Maybe a break in the amount due will make the bill less overwhelming and he will get it taken care of. I can say that if he ends up with a judgement it will hurt him for 20 years.
I wish I had you to kick me in the rear 10 years ago! Maybe I would have a car loan that's not 22% interest now!! ( trying to negotiate a better rate with lender at the moment and it sucks to make a $300 loan payment and see the thing only move by $70 a month ) maybe that would be a motivator! Tell him my sad story about my horrible interest rates and no shiny metal cards to flash on dates lol lucky for me I'm married and good credit is the new sexy they say! (Hope that rant was helpful, I enjoyed it LOL 
@nax wrote:had a similar situation with DW, this was before we were married and she had an income of roughly $15k that year, however she was eligible for assistance for her bill because she had no insurance. We filled out the paperwork and received a letter a week later explaining she was eligible for assistance and she only had to pay 60% of the bill. It's worth a "get in the car were going to the hospital finance office trip" to see if he is eligible. Maybe a break in the amount due will make the bill less overwhelming and he will get it taken care of. I can say that if he ends up with a judgement it will hurt him for 20 years.
I wish I had you to kick me in the rear 10 years ago! Maybe I would have a car loan that's not 22% interest now!! ( trying to negotiate a better rate with lender at the moment and it sucks to make a $300 loan payment and see the thing only move by $70 a month ) maybe that would be a motivator! Tell him my sad story about my horrible interest rates and no shiny metal cards to flash on dates lol lucky for me I'm married and good credit is the new sexy they say! (Hope that rant was helpful, I enjoyed it LOL
A judgment does not hurt on anyones credit report for 20 years, that may be the time it is active in your state but it can only report for a max of 7 years from the month/year it is granted.
@IFtkkdx428 wrote:I don't know all of the exact details to this story, so please bare with me. It was sometime around February of 2013, my brother had a personal health problem. He believed the problem to be more serious than what it really was. Though instead of going to a minute clinic or seeing a doctor, he decided to go to the ER. He was given care, antibiotics and promptly released. The problem is, he didn't have health insurance at the time. Shortly after, he received a bill in the mail for around $2,000+. He shoved the bills aside and ignored it. Then around Sept. of 2013 he moved. The bills starting being sent to our father's house. I typically see our father more often than my brother does, so I usually pick them up and bring them to his house. Though one day I noticed a different envelope. We were unsure of what it was regarding. So my brother opened it in front of me. The hospital bill had been turned over to an attorney. I haven't read the letter from this law firm, however he gets this letter once a month.
Every time I bring this letter over to his house, I constantly remind him to pay the bill. I'm financially savvy, after all I go to school for business finance, minor in economics and enjoy investing/trading for a hobby. He often tells me that he wants me to help him start saving for retirement and wants me to teach him how to trade stocks and what not. There again, I remind him. We can't do this until you pay your debts and then create a 6 month emergency fund. He buys nice things for himself, and when he shows them to me. I ask again, shouldn't you have used that money to pay your debts? I recommended countless times to just call the attorney and set up a payment plan weather it's $10 a month or $100 a month. He makes good money for his age, being only 26. I know he has the money.
He might be older than me, however he doesn't show it. I should not have to coach a losing battle with him about his finances. Though I feel it's my duty as a brother to help steer him in the right direction. I have began been wondering how this might effect his credit. I want him to understand how serious this is. I don't want to lie to him and tell him tales; I want to provide him scary cold, hard facts. Though could his wages end up being garnished? Or because an attorney has taken over the debt, could there be possible civil litigation? What could end up happening? Or am I just blowing this way out of proportion and he's just one of millions of Americans who throw away their hospital bills. Please tell me this isn't normal.
He needs simply a, 'wake up call' I believe.
If there is any information I can provide to better help, please ask and I will do my best to investigate.
Thank you, IFtkkdx428
I would as already stated apply for assistance at the hospital to see if he is eligible and to also apply for any other county indigent programs he may have been qualified for at the time. If a lawyer is handling it now I can pretty much guarantee if he does nothing he will be sued. If he is not eligible for any help I would suggest if there is a CA reporting this on his CR that the HIPAA Process be Googled and applied in this case ASAP, you can contact its creator for help we cannot go into detail about it on MF. Good luck
T
@gdale6 wrote:
@nax wrote:had a similar situation with DW, this was before we were married and she had an income of roughly $15k that year, however she was eligible for assistance for her bill because she had no insurance. We filled out the paperwork and received a letter a week later explaining she was eligible for assistance and she only had to pay 60% of the bill. It's worth a "get in the car were going to the hospital finance office trip" to see if he is eligible. Maybe a break in the amount due will make the bill less overwhelming and he will get it taken care of. I can say that if he ends up with a judgement it will hurt him for 20 years.
I wish I had you to kick me in the rear 10 years ago! Maybe I would have a car loan that's not 22% interest now!! ( trying to negotiate a better rate with lender at the moment and it sucks to make a $300 loan payment and see the thing only move by $70 a month ) maybe that would be a motivator! Tell him my sad story about my horrible interest rates and no shiny metal cards to flash on dates lol lucky for me I'm married and good credit is the new sexy they say! (Hope that rant was helpful, I enjoyed it LOL
A judgment does not hurt on anyones credit report for 20 years, that may be the time it is active in your state but it can only report for a max of 7 years from the month/year it is granted.
True not his credit after the 7 , however underwriters involved in home buying can find them.
If your brother was uninsured at the time he might be eligible for some reduction in the bill. It does not hurt to ask.
I had a $4K bill which was a portion of a hospital bill not covered by insurance. I never actually received the final amount owed after the insurance companies finished fighting each other about what they were going to cover. I moved and unbeknownst to me it was turned over to an attorney who obtained a default judgment against me that I did not know about until it popped up on my credit report. I had to hire an attorney that was able to settle the matter for $2500 with the remainder forgiven under a charity care adjustment since I had no income at the time and for an additional $75, they agreed to file a motion to vacate.
For you, I think the easy thing is dealing with the bill from the hospital-trust me, he definitely does not want a judgment on his reports. The hard part is going to be more financially responsible. You can't make him do it and he won't change his habits until he really wants to. All you can do is educate him about sound financial practices like budgeting, saving, living within your means. Everything else comes after that.
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