I owe a hopsital $3,500 for a surgery I had in November. I called to make payment arrangements and they said I have to pay a minimum of $300.00 a month and there was no way to pay any less. The entire bill needs to be paid off within a year. If I skip a month they will send me to collection. It does't seem right to me that they can make me pay $300 and I'm not sure we can make that payment every month. Ideally I would like to pay them $100 a month and pay more when I can but they won't go for it. Anyone have any suggestions? Meri
If you're not able to make those payments, maybe you're eligible for indigent care? Was the surgery at a county hospital? No insurance? Try to look for assistance with the county or state.
I have insurance but I am responsible for30% That is just the amount I owe the hospital, when I add the amounts I owe the surgeon and the anesthesiologist it's a couple thousand more. I can make payments but not that much per month. I want to know if they can make me pay that much or if they would have to accept a lesser amount if that is what I could do. I don't think I would qualify for assistance. M
Meri, I had surgery in Dec. '04 and had a 5k health ins. deductible at the time (I've since lowered it to only $500)! I was told by the hospital the same thing... that I had one year to pay off the debt, which was $4,200 (just to the hospital). I was told to make payments of at least $250/mo. I didn't consistently pay at least $250/mo. Also, I haven't paid off the full amount yet, and it's Jan. '06. It's not on my credit report, and it hasn't gone to collections. I just talked to the woman in charge of my account last week, and she said that my full year will be up in Feb. She said in Feb. I have a couple choices- to pay off the remaining balance in full or try to get hospital credit for the remaning balance at 10.9% 'til I pay it off. So, I think you're probably safe for the full year; just pay what you can, when you can. Based on my experience, I don't think you'll be reported before the twelve-month mark. BUT, you should have a plan in place when a year passes, 'cuz you will need to get it paid off or set up a credit acct.
I negotiate medical debt for a living. Maybe you should, if you can afford to, offer to settle on a lump sum basis.
What does a lump sum basis mean exactly? Thanks for the information Moonfish. That is helpful to know. At this point I got them to lower the payment to $150 which is still out of my comfort level but better then before. Meri
Negotiating for one final payment. Maybe not the full remaining amount they originally wanted, but in exchange for not getting it in dribs and drabs with the possibility they won't get paid, they at least get paid most of what they are due and settle the account. If they sent it to collection, they would have to pay the CA. If they sold the account, they would get some fraction of the balance. A bird in the hand...
