Beauty

[RAVGIRL]

Does anyone know what kind of lawyer I need to help me navigate thru an astronomical medical bill that the hospital wants payment in full on. They were accepting payments and then stopped sending any statements until I got a letter from a lawyer wanting payment saying the account was delinquent. There are so many kinds of lawyers that have a speciality....I don'tknow where to start. Anyone gone thu this ? Any advice???? Thanks so much for any info!!!

[Snow Owl]

They usually will negotiate your debt. There are forums with attorneys you can browse to get an idea, and ask your own questions.

lawyers.com

expertlaw.com

Also read this.

[Snowpuppy]

Try a NACA attorney. They are pro consumer. They may also help you deal with bankruptcy or CH 13 if your bill is huge.

http://www.consumeradvocates.org/find-attorney

Apologies, I don't know how to post a link!

[kcladyz]

Well you can file bankruptcy that will stop you from being sued or garnished also a bankruptcy lawyer can inform you of your options other than bankruptcy.

[bonnielu]

Did you call the hospital and find out why the bills stopped or what the issue was. Perhaps you could start there. Something could have been lost in the mail or someone could have messed it up on their end causing you to get the blame for missed payments or whatever the issue is.

[kivah]

Here's a link to a site that will make u more knowledgeable about how hospitals RIP OFF people. They over-bill; charge u for tests u never received; their billing practices leave a lot to be desired. This makes up for all the millions of people who plead poverty; get paid under-the-table; come from other countries and show no income.

http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=1422

There are people who work on their own who are called Medical Billers --- they go thru patients' medical bills to see if the bill is actually correct - most of the time, it's not. You would need someone to refer u. Do u have insurance??? Did they pay most of it? Is the hospital trying to get the balance from u? Is this a Catholic Hospital? If so, they're supposed to give u a separate application and u would pay according to what u could afford (pay on a sliding scale for people who are not working or have a lower income).

13 yrs ago, I had a situation with a local hospital that charged me $4,000 (for an infected finger that they didn't even know how to treat). I called the accounts payable at the hospital and they waived $2,000. Then I saw a Dateline show about how Catholic Hospitals (and other hospitals) overcharge patients and send their bills to collection - when they knew the patients couldn't afford their over-inflated bills. I went on-line and saw the name of the President of the hospital - and I wrote him a letter. I said, u probably saw Dateline last night - and they talked about how hospitals overcharge patients, etc. etc. 2 days later, they waived the other $2,000.

Hospitals are run by CEO's - who have no regard for the patients - only about how much money they make.

You can also go to consumeraffairs.com and fill out their form; contact a consumer advocate on ur local tv station. Don't stop until someone helps u.

[RAVGIRL]

Thanks you all so much for taking the time to help me. Kivah your post was awesome. To answer some of your questions, the hospital did not work with me at all because they only knock down the amount if you are proverty level. Took the bill to my tax guy cause we are both self employed and asked him if I should fill it out and he said waste of time you won't get it. When I called back to the hospital to arrange payments the girl said you have to pay a certain percentage and that it would have to be paid in 18 months. The monthly payment would have been over 1,000. I also had the surgeons bill, anethesiaologist, radiology, ER doctor bills to pay along with the hospital bill that was over 31,000 . He went in on the 22 , operated on the 23 for abdominal anuersuym, came home the next day. My friends husband had open heart surgery and his bill was only 36,500 and he was in the hospital for. 2 weeks. Anyway, the hospital sent me a bill wanting payment in full which was out of the question. I called again and the lady said just pay them what you can. Which what I did for the next 2 payments and then sent it to a collection agency. They accepted what I could pay them every month til Nov and I stopped getting statements. Yesterday I received a bill from a lawyer saying I was delinquent and wanting full payment or they would proceed with other methods to get the money. Our insurance sucked at the time..the paid 2,000 on the hospital bill. I paid every month til they stopped sending the statements. I have never in my life had to deal with any kind of situation like this but I am scared we could loose everything. Thanks again for all your help.

[Susan25]

On 3/17/2015 RAVGIRL said: Thanks you all so much for taking the time to help me. Kivah your post was awesome. To answer some of your questions, the hospital did not work with me at all because they only knock down the amount if you are proverty level. Took the bill to my tax guy cause we are both self employed and asked him if I should fill it out and he said waste of time you won't get it. When I called back to the hospital to arrange payments the girl said you have to pay a certain percentage and that it would have to be paid in 18 months. The monthly payment would have been over 1,000. I also had the surgeons bill, anethesiaologist, radiology, ER doctor bills to pay along with the hospital bill that was over 31,000 . He went in on the 22 , operated on the 23 for abdominal anuersuym, came home the next day. My friends husband had open heart surgery and his bill was only 36,500 and he was in the hospital for. 2 weeks. Anyway, the hospital sent me a bill wanting payment in full which was out of the question. I called again and the lady said just pay them what you can. Which what I did for the next 2 payments and then sent it to a collection agency. They accepted what I could pay them every month til Nov and I stopped getting statements. Yesterday I received a bill from a lawyer saying I was delinquent and wanting full payment or they would proceed with other methods to get the money. Our insurance sucked at the time..the paid 2,000 on the hospital bill. I paid every month til they stopped sending the statements. I have never in my life had to deal with any kind of situation like this but I am scared we could loose everything. Thanks again for all your help.

I am so sorry for you. I couldn't imagine having an insurance plan where you are still responsible for a large portion of the bill. Isn't this why we have medical insurance in the first place? I also can't believe that the hospital won't work with you. I am very surprised that they would send this bill to a collection agency.

[kivah]

RAVGIRL: Email Consumeraffairs.com. They're very helpful - and will either help u or refer u to a company or agency that can. Call ur local courthouse - maybe they can refer u. I don't which state ur in --- but there are agencies that oversee hospitals. Call or email the District Attorney in ur city.

[Linmo]

RAVGIRL, if you do a google search on 'large hospital bill no insurance', there are many articles that may be helpful to you, like the following one:

http://healthcaresavvy.wbur.org/resources/negotiate-medical-bill/

You can also do a google search on 'medical billing advocates' if you want to hire an advocate to negotiate on your behalf. The initial consultations are usually free and they normally charge a percentage based on the amount that they save you.