I refuse to pay bogus medical bills. May move to Canada and start a new life?? (sales, apartments)

[kp777]

The thread title says it all.
I am a Canadian citizen by birth who left Canada 40 years ago at the age of 11 when my parents moved us to Europe then the U.S.
You may have heard in the media about people in the U.S. going broke due to medical bills even though they have medical insurance. I could become one of those people.
Briefly. My 23 year old son had a serious accident last year. So serious he had to be flown by helicopter to a high level brain injury unit. As he was unconscious one of the first thing I did when we got too him was to sign a form saying I would pay for anything his insurance didn’t. (of course I did it).
He has recovered nearly 100% and has been back to work for months and we are so thankful he is even alive.
His insurance company is refusing to pay about $14.000 of the bill to the 2 hospitals involved. He and I have paid all the deductibles etc. They are just screwing us over. Why you may ask? The answer is that they can do anything they want. And “Delay, Deny and Deceive” is the motto of most American health Insurance companies. I can appeal yet again the decisions not to pay but that is likely to be a futile effort.
I could spend everything I own attempting to legally take on multi billion dollar companies but I think that would be equally futile.
Bottom line is I am not paying them a penny more than his health plan says he is responsible for. I have moved beyond being bitter about the situation and have just accepted that I cant fight them and win.
So depending on how aggressive the collection agencies get I may just up and leave the country.
For the record. After school and 2 years of college I have been continuously employed without interruption since 1978.
I have paid every bill and met every financial and work obligation on time and in full.
These bills are not legitimate and they are not being paid period!!!
I have researched the immigration issues and know that I can legally move to Canada anytime I want.
My American wife of 29 years has to apply for permanent residence status but it appears that it should be quite straight forward.
Now for my questions for you good people.
My wife and I are not what you would classify as “highly skilled sought after professionals”
I have worked for the last 30 years in photographic/video sales with a 10 year period managing stores. I have also done photography on the side.
My wife has worked in various positions mainly as a waitress for a chain restaurant and is currently working as a department supervisor in a store.
I have no illusions of us getting highly paid jobs in Canada should we decide to move. Our goal would be to secure jobs and just work hard to move up to better paying management or supervisory positions.
How would you rate the job market for “regular” jobs per say?
What would area of Canada would you say would beat suit us? I realize that being in a big city would be a lot more expensive than small or mid size area’s. We are near Chicago now so being in Ontario would make it easier for visits to our family here but we would consider other provinces as well.
The housing market here is really down now so I would be lucky to make much profit selling our place.
I expect we would be looking at renting. How much would you say we would expect to pay for a 2 bedroom apartment in a safe area in a mid size city or town ?(obviously there would be quite a variance depending on province but I am just looking for rough estimate).Also is it typical to have heat included in the rent? I know that can add a lot to the cost if it is not.
With out factoring in any house sale profit I have about 25K in cash to help us make the transition so I do have some flexibility.
Yikes! This has turned into a long post. Sorry for that. If we do decide to make the move chances are I will
be asking a lot of other questions in the future.

thanks

[Lundymaphone]

Well I breezed through your post quickly but.....not paying your medical bills down there may prevent your "transition" as you could be charged and would likely be told to pay those bills anyway (and yes the Canadian police will get involved).

Also Canada has a "point-based" immigration system so unless you can get enough "points" you will not be able to immigrate. You get some easy ones like speaking English-etc but make sure you can actually get in before planning anything. I don't know what exactly you mean by saying "you can move anytime you want", but I assume that you have actually talked to an immigration official DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT PEOPLE ON FORUMS TELL YOU ABOUT GETTING INTO CANADA!

As far as 2-bedroom apartment prices, it does vary WILDLY across Canada. In a small city in Ontario expect to pay at least $900 for a 2-bed with utilities. When I say at least I mean you are unlikely to get an apartment for less then that covers your requirements. And getting an apartment of that prices is not exactly guaranteed. My advice, if you plan a long-term move then Western Canada has far better long term prospects then Eastern Canada.

And as far as the job situation, better but not all that much better then the US job situation.

[minibrings]

Originally Posted by Lundymaphone

Also Canada has a "point-based" immigration system so unless you can get enough "points" you will not be able to immigrate. You get some easy ones like speaking English-etc but make sure you can actually get in before planning anything. I don't know what exactly you mean by saying "you can move anytime you want", but I assume that you have actually talked to an immigration official DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT PEOPLE ON FORUMS TELL YOU ABOUT GETTING INTO CANADA!

The OP is Canuck; his wife isn't and she will still have to apply for PR and be accepted. My only caveat is if there is a warrant for you, if US customs will know about it.. which may prevent you from visiting relatives in Chicago.
Do you have a SIN Number, btw?

[ionlife]

Go through your entire bill and ask the hospital to justify each line item. Be an educated consumer. I had a friend do that and she had most of her bill waived as a result. It took time, but it did get waived. And go to the billing dept. of the hospital and work with them directly.

If we made this about accountability to the consumer YOU then you will win.

There's no reason to move to Canada. If you were there when the accident happened, who's to say you'd have the same or worse or better outcome other than the $$ you think you'd have saved? I know of a boy who lost his leg there and didn't need to due to negligence. No recourse either.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by Lundymaphone

Well I breezed through your post quickly but.....not paying your medical bills down there may prevent your "transition" as you could be charged and would likely be told to pay those bills anyway (and yes the Canadian police will get involved).

Also Canada has a "point-based" immigration system so unless you can get enough "points" you will not be able to immigrate. You get some easy ones like speaking English-etc but make sure you can actually get in before planning anything. I don't know what exactly you mean by saying "you can move anytime you want", but I assume that you have actually talked to an immigration official DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT PEOPLE ON FORUMS TELL YOU ABOUT GETTING INTO CANADA!

Ye, you breezed too quickly, I'd say. You may want to try and read the OPs post at a slower rate. Maybe you will realize than that the OP is a Canadian citizen and will also catch some other details in his post before advising on points and English.

[skchi]

Originally Posted by Lundymaphone

Also Canada has a "point-based" immigration system so unless you can get enough "points" you will not be able to immigrate. You get some easy ones like speaking English-etc but make sure you can actually get in before planning anything. I don't know what exactly you mean by saying "you can move anytime you want", but I assume that you have actually talked to an immigration official DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT PEOPLE ON FORUMS TELL YOU ABOUT GETTING INTO CANADA!

The OP's a Canadian citizen by birth, so I think he's all set on the points. It might not be super easy for his wife, but he mentioned that he's checked into it.

To the OP - I can't help you with your questions, but I do want to say that the situation you're in with the medical bills is ridiculous!

[kp777]

Thank you for your reply.

..not paying your medical bills down there may prevent your "transition" as you could be charged and would likely be told to pay those bills anyway (and yes the Canadian police will get involved).

Not paying bills is not a crime (unless Canada has brought back debtors jail lol)
I am not a law enforcement expert but I would think that getting involved in an dispute regarding questionable medical bills from the U.S. would not be a priority for the Canadian police or tax payers.
I know it is going to have an impact on my credit as it is doing here but that was going to be a topic of a separate post.

Also Canada has a "point-based" immigration system so unless you can get enough "points" you will not be able to immigrate. You get some easy ones like speaking English-etc but make sure you can actually get in before planning anything. I don't know what exactly you mean by saying "you can move anytime you want", but I assume that you have actually talked to an immigration official DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT PEOPLE ON FORUMS TELL YOU ABOUT GETTING INTO CANADA

As a Canadian citizen by birth with no disqualifying factors I can indeed move to Canada at anytime I want.
On the other hand getting my wife in to live permanently will require an immigration process.
Being married to me and some other factors like income, medical condition, criminal checks etc ( all requirements which we meet) gets her in too. Usually takes about about 4 months and I can do it all from the U.S.



Thanks for the info on the price of apartments and locations.

[kp777]

Originally Posted by minibrings

The OP is Canuck; his wife isn't and she will still have to apply for PR and be accepted. My only caveat is if there is a warrant for you, if US customs will know about it.. which may prevent you from visiting relatives in Chicago.
Do you have a SIN Number, btw?

No warrants out on me. Collection agencies can annoy you with nasty phone calls, wreck your credit and in the worst case scenario attempt to have your wages garnished. They cant start issuing warrants.
I actually talked to Service Canada today about my SIN number. I can apply by mail and it takes about a month. I have to mail/courier my original birth certificate with the potential for loss.
They did however say that when I arrive in Canada they can issue a SIN number instantly after verifying my birth certificate. I could immediately start working with that number in hand and the card would then take only 10 days.
I am weighing the advantage of having a SIN number before I move versus the extreme hassle of having to get a new birth certificate should it be lost in transit.
Thanks

[kp777]

To the OP - I can't help you with your questions, but I do want to say that the situation you're in with the medical bills is ridiculous!

Thank You. I appreciate your comment.
Unfortunately this happens a lot. A huge % of personal bankruptcy involves medical bills. And of that number something like 70% actually have health insurance. It’s the huge out of pocket expense and denial of service for the most ridiculous reasons.
Most American like their heath insurance until they find out what it doesn’t cover or have to fight tooth and nail for the coverage they are entitled to.

[Cornerguy1]

Moderator's Note:

While the background given by the OP certainly involves the current US medical system, this is not the appropriate forum for a debate on the rights or wrongs of the that system.

Please limit responses to dealing with the OP's questions regarding a possible move to Canada.