What are the consequences of not being able to pay dental bills on time? (teeth, pulled)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Basically my story is I'm 27 years old and unemployed at the moment. I have been for a while due to back related issues(by the time I was 23 I'd had 4-5 back surgeries). For those back issues I had insurance at the time because I was in school, but the injury got so bad I had to drop out and thus lost my insurance. Thankfully during this time my parents were understanding and allowed me to live at home.
After that, pretty much any money I might get my hands on had to go towards paying the medical bills, my parents would help out a bit, but we aren't a wealthy family and there is only so much they can afford. As a result, any other medical issues just couldn't be addressed, mainly dental. I'd had fillings fall out and was unable to afford to get them re-filled, which just lead to more issues. I've come to the point now where my back issues are more or less paid off, but it's still left me more or less broke.
It'd been a long time since I had gone to a dentist, and last spring I started having some SEVERE pain in some of the teeth that had lost fillings. I ended up going and having to get several teeth pulled, amounting in about an $800 bill. They had known my situation in advance and did not expect me to pay right away. I ended up paying $200 so far, but I haven't been able to make any payments in a while and I still owe $600. I have been trying hard to find work, even temp jobs, but so far was unlucky, and in the mean time they were sending me bills and the last bill I got was a "final notice" and on it..it says they expect payment by September 30th, which is a few days away.
I got the bill a few weeks ago and at the time I'd thought I had succeeded at a temp job I was supposed to begin in late September. I was not sure if I would of earned all $600 in time, but I figured I could of at least been able to pay them a couple hundred bucks, with me paying the rest of the bill in the following week or two. However, at the last minute it fell through and I am stuck with no means of paying. I can't rely on my parents to pay anymore of the bills since they have done enough, so I am unsure what to do or what is going to happen. I just set up a guaranteed job for the end of October, with which after only a few days week I will of earned enough to pay the bill.
However, like I said...the bill deadline says September 30th. I guess I'm wondering what is going to happen, if I explain to them that I will be able to pay by the end of October..will they give me an extension? I realize I should of tried to talk to them sooner about this, but I was very embarrassed about being late with the bill and I had also thought I would indeed be able to pay something at least before the 30th. So what happens if they refuse an extension?
I haven't been able to help feeling very stressed about this lately because in my mind I'm worrying they will attempt to sue me and take me to court or something. My blood pressure, which is normally fine, was very high the other day. Will they just get a debt collection agency and start trying to have them collect the debt for them? What will happen? I know I probably shouldn't of allowed them to extract as many teeth as they did if I wasn't 100% sure I could pay on time, but I was just in so much constant pain. On my first appointment they did an x-ray(for free thankfully) and they said it showed them all of the teeth missing fillings were infected and needed to come out asap. This is another reason I was afraid of waiting and not getting this done, since I've read horror stories about people getting a tooth infection and then it spreads to the rest of their body and they die.
You are right about the latter. It can be a very serious problem especially the uppers. Never to be ignored.
Suggest you remind the dentist that they can't get blood out of a turnip and you are doing your best. What are they going to do? Sue you and get a judgment? Big deal. Try and collect on it.
In my past life I collected bills but there is a time to be realistic. You are not a deadbeat and tried much harder than many would have. Suggest you go there and explain in person your predicament what you have told us here. They might even write it off if you make a convincing case. The worst thing to do is to ignore it. That always ticked me off way back when. If they are not understanding under the circumstances you have laid out they are both uncaring and STUPID. Good grief! You have enough on your plate without worrying yourself silly about it.
Would Medicaid be of help here? I haven't looked into it but dental health can affect your brain; even your heart. I worked with a fellow who ignored his teeth and wound up in the hospital and they diagnosed him with a brain tumor. Turned out to be an abscess from his upper teeth. He was eventually cured but he also has epilepsy for the rest of his life.
Stop beating yourself up. From what you are telling us you are doing the best you can.
If they have sent you a final notice, then usually their next step is to send your account to collections. Absolutely contact the office to discuss your situation. The dentist might help, they might not, but at least they could be made aware of the situation. I would think that if you could pay a little (like even a couple of bucks per month) at a time, that is better than nothing at all. But you should definitely try to settle this account and the first step is talking with them. I'm sorry you've had such a rough go of it and I hope you and the Dentist can come to an agreement that works for both of you.
Basically my story is I'm 27 years old and unemployed at the moment. I have been for a while due to back related issues(by the time I was 23 I'd had 4-5 back surgeries). For those back issues I had insurance at the time because I was in school, but the injury got so bad I had to drop out and thus lost my insurance. Thankfully during this time my parents were understanding and allowed me to live at home.
After that, pretty much any money I might get my hands on had to go towards paying the medical bills, my parents would help out a bit, but we aren't a wealthy family and there is only so much they can afford. As a result, any other medical issues just couldn't be addressed, mainly dental. I'd had fillings fall out and was unable to afford to get them re-filled, which just lead to more issues. I've come to the point now where my back issues are more or less paid off, but it's still left me more or less broke.
It'd been a long time since I had gone to a dentist, and last spring I started having some SEVERE pain in some of the teeth that had lost fillings. I ended up going and having to get several teeth pulled, amounting in about an $800 bill. They had known my situation in advance and did not expect me to pay right away. I ended up paying $200 so far, but I haven't been able to make any payments in a while and I still owe $600. I have been trying hard to find work, even temp jobs, but so far was unlucky, and in the mean time they were sending me bills and the last bill I got was a "final notice" and on it..it says they expect payment by September 30th, which is a few days away.
I got the bill a few weeks ago and at the time I'd thought I had succeeded at a temp job I was supposed to begin in late September. I was not sure if I would of earned all $600 in time, but I figured I could of at least been able to pay them a couple hundred bucks, with me paying the rest of the bill in the following week or two. However, at the last minute it fell through and I am stuck with no means of paying. I can't rely on my parents to pay anymore of the bills since they have done enough, so I am unsure what to do or what is going to happen. I just set up a guaranteed job for the end of October, with which after only a few days week I will of earned enough to pay the bill.
However, like I said...the bill deadline says September 30th. I guess I'm wondering what is going to happen, if I explain to them that I will be able to pay by the end of October..will they give me an extension? I realize I should of tried to talk to them sooner about this, but I was very embarrassed about being late with the bill and I had also thought I would indeed be able to pay something at least before the 30th. So what happens if they refuse an extension?
I haven't been able to help feeling very stressed about this lately because in my mind I'm worrying they will attempt to sue me and take me to court or something. My blood pressure, which is normally fine, was very high the other day. Will they just get a debt collection agency and start trying to have them collect the debt for them? What will happen? I know I probably shouldn't of allowed them to extract as many teeth as they did if I wasn't 100% sure I could pay on time, but I was just in so much constant pain. On my first appointment they did an x-ray(for free thankfully) and they said it showed them all of the teeth missing fillings were infected and needed to come out asap. This is another reason I was afraid of waiting and not getting this done, since I've read horror stories about people getting a tooth infection and then it spreads to the rest of their body and they die.
If you call them and explain the situation they will probably want to set up a payment plan and maybe have you sign papers to that affect. I would call them right away. If you don't pay it they will turn you over to a collection agency that will harass the he** out of you and may eventually take you to court. I don't think they will do this if you call them and they know they will get their money, as that is all they want anyway.
I agree with all. Contact dentist office right away. Explain situation (which you should have done some time ago). See if office will accept $25/mo. payments. (Usually they want a payment plan which pays it all off in 1 year -- but they might be lenient. They may charge you interest.) Yes, a collection agency will harass the H out of you. You don't want that. It won't look good on your credit reports when you apply for a job. And you really don't want a court Judgment against you -- altho' I doubt that any creditor would seek a Judgment just for $600 and when you don't have a job. But ya never know.
If you're up front and honest and make a good-faith attempt to pay (you'll have to make a payment every single month and be on time), I bet they will work with you. They want the money -- they don't want to send you to collections -- that's a loss of money for them.
My neighbor tried to make a partial payment and his check got returned.
A note said............." amount due is due in full. we are not in the collections or finance business "
Teddy, the OP needs to TALK to his dental office FIRST and see if arrangements can't be made. It appears your neighbor didn't do that.
Also, re your neighbor -- altho' the dental office wouldn't take his check, if your neighbor can prove that he tried to make monthly payments, the dental office will never get a court judgment against him. (BTW, just FYI, this tactic doesn't work re mortgages in arrears.) But, of course, he can always be sent to collections, and it will show up on his credit report.
A collection company will usually keep 50% of whatever they collect. Maybe, if you can, offer the dentist 40-50% of the balance owed to settle the account. When my docs call me about this I tell them to accept. Easier for all concerned.
I once made payments to my dentist without even asking if it was ok. I sent a partial payment every month and eventually, after about 5 months, they gave me a $100 "professional discount" just to get it off their books. LOL. I was a LONG TIME patient though so they may have cut me some slack.
I have had to make payments on medical bills plenty of times. Usually when I am done paying one or two off, I end up in the ER or having to have a battery of tests done.
Medical and Dental offices are in the business to help people, but they are also a business and at the end of the day, someone, or many peoples livelihoods.
What you should do, as others have suggested, is call them. I would do it right away. They should set up a payment plan with you and they will most likely ask you to pay a monthly amount of more than you think you can probably handle. If you tell them you can say for ex 20.00 a month and they say they need 100, tell them.
I would not agree to 100 (or whatever) if you cannot pay that amount. I am pretty sure that you have already signed a contract with them as a self-pay patient that you will compensate them for work done, etc, so you have already gotten yourself into a legally binding contract that they can 1. Send you to collections for 2. Take you to court over 3. Charge interest.
Best bet is call them and tell them the situation. If you promise to pay 20 bucks a month, find a way and pay it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
