BK and medical bills

[jb300]

In a discussion on another site, not a BK site, there is a discussion about medical bills and such with no insurance.

I am curious how many people who can't afford insurance and get stuck with huge medical bills find the Dr.s and hospitals willing to work with them over a LONG period of time to pay the bills or do the people find themselves having to file BK to save their homes or do some people just lose their homes?

[tigergem]

It has been my experience that doctor's offices and hospitals are no different than any other creditor when it comes to bills. They have in-house collectors from Hades, and send it to a collection agency in 90 days if not paid, just like a CC company would. I didn't have any really huge bills, mind you, but a lot in the $500 to $1000 range over a span of a couple of years. I tried to stave them off with $25.00 or $50.00 per month payments, and they would still be nasty about it because it wasn't paid in full. Now, I don't know if it is true or not, but I have heard that if you are anticipating a huge bill, like for a transplant or cancer treatment and aren't covered by insurance, they simply won't do it. I do not know for sure if that is true or not, but that is my understanding. I can see why this scenario would cause some people to seek a second mortgage that would complicate their home ownership status.

[Meatstick]

jb300 you should really research your rights under the HIPPA Act. There is a wealth of information on dealing with medical debt at creditboards.com. They can try like hell but they still cannot get blood from a turnip. In my own experience I have sent very small payments and have just ignored the tards that call thinking I have the ability to write them a check for $20k.

In most states if you have no medical insurance you are still able to recieve an organ transplant with your states Medicare and Medicaid assisting with the financial help. It is really up to the transplant center themselves as they are the ones who will list you. Here in Arizona most transplants are done at UMC in Tuscon. They are very good about the entire process but its far from a perfect.

As sick as it sounds having organ transplant surgery is the easy part. It is the after-care and anti-rejection meds that keep you alive. But there is also alot of help out there for transplant patients. I have been very lucky, my son had a heart transplant in 2006 and we had very good insurance that left us paying only about $10k out of an almost $2 million dollar bill. They were forced to foot such a large portion because it was an emergency situation and my son was sent to non-network Mayo Hospital. It took alot of fighting and filing appeals to insurance denials but in the end they were forced to pay.

[catleg]

You should also research EMTALA -- a hospital where you "present" has to treat and stabilize you. http://emtala.com

[MrBankruptcy]

If you are uninsured and have huge medical bills, if you pay minimum payments usually you can keep them off your back. If the debt goes to collection and they have a legal department they might pursue a judgment against you. If they get a judgment and you have any property or a job they will be able to attach it. In this case, to protect your property and wage garnishments you should file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This will wipe out the entire medical debt. If you are current on your secured property payments, such as, your car and your home you should be able to keep them. This is a problem that people with insurance even face as sometimes insurances have limits on coverage. My mom went through cancer treatment and accumulated an extra $15,000 that the insurance company would not cover. She had to pay this out of her savings.