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1. If I don't do anything while still here in the US, can they follow me overseas and do something in order to get paid ?
2. If I decide to return in the US, can I be detained or arrested at the airport for a failure to appear in the court ?
3. Can they make impossible for me to renew a drivers license or a passport in the future ?
4. One day if I come back to the US (after say 10 years) will there be any consequences on my financial life ?
Every advice or help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance.
1. They can depending on the treaties the US has withthe country you are going to. However it is not worth it for them unless the debt is in the high hundreds of thousands.
2. No. They will simply take a default judgment. They can garnish your wages, levy your bank account, take your car (if it is in the US) or any other property you own. They can renew the judgement periodically, so it may be there always. If you ever have money or property in the US, they can take it. Interest will acrue ont he judgment amuont and it cna be compounded in some states by renewing the judgement.
3. No.
4. Maybe. See above.
I think you said this is $2000. Usually they will call you a lot and when they cannot find you, they will give up. They cannot afford to mess with court for $2000. Sometimes they will pursue it, but it is rare. Sometimes they will renew the judgement, but it is rare.
It will defineintely pop up on your cedit report so if you try to get a loan or a credit card while overseas, it could impact you.
I suggest you pay a measly five bucks per month which shows good faith and they have less ammunition against you if they decide to sue you. Once you get on your feet in your new home. Pay the bill, please don't do that to us. And make sure you vote before you leave so that no one has to be put in the position that you have found yourself in. Yes, I'm pro-Obamacare.
Gather up some cash and offer to settle it in full if they give you a written letter confirmation . They might take like .20 cents on the dollar if it's been a while.
I suggest you pay a measly five bucks per month which shows good faith and they have less ammunition against you if they decide to sue you. Once you get on your feet in your new home. Pay the bill, please don't do that to us. And make sure you vote before you leave so that no one has to be put in the position that you have found yourself in. Yes, I'm pro-Obamacare.
Good faith payments don't cut it. If you don't pay a monthly minimum, they're kicking you over to collections.
"Don't do this to us". Do you work at a hospital? Who's us? The real cost of the OP's treatment is probably about $400. The provider certainly won't want to accept that.
Good faith payments don't cut it. If you don't pay a monthly minimum, they're kicking you over to collections.
"Don't do this to us". Do you work at a hospital? Who's us? The real cost of the OP's treatment is probably about $400. The provider certainly won't want to accept that.
As long as they're cashing her checks, they're argument doesn't hold as much water. And the "us" is the American people. I'm sick of people deporting, ditching, withdrawing, pulling out or whatever you want to call it without paying their bills. I don't care how much her bill is, she signed responsibility for it, let her work that out with the person who gave her services. She thought it was worth it when she was getting the treatment.
I've had bad debts that I've had to pay off and of course it wasn't easy. Buck up.
So you're saying it's worse to be in collections than to not pay anything?
Actually, I do work at a hospital but that's not my reasoning. She needs to show good faith regarding her debt.
If a provider is willing to accept good faith payments, by all means, pay the bill. If they kick you out of house to a collection agency, all bets are off.
Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Proxyon
Thanks. I understand the SOL issues.
My biggest concern is, that when I move overseas, these collectors may sue me (probably they will, because it is a big bill of $2000). So, they will sue, the court will send the scheriff at my last known US address, he will try to give the summons, I won't be there, but still he will leave it there, I won't appear at the court, the collection agency will win against me by default and there will be criminal charges against me for a failure to appear in the court. The excuse I was out of the country won't work. So I will have a bench warrant so anytime they spot me in the US (while driving or at work or anywhere) they can arrest me. The other bad thing is this will go in my criminal record, staying there forever. No company will want to hire a person, who has been charged for a failure to appear in the court or arrested.
Technically they could do it that way, but the chances are extremely slim that they would, especially if the CA/JDB knows you're out of the country. You'd probably have better odds at winning the lottery then the chance of the CA/JDB requesting that the judge put out a warrant because you're a no show.
IMO ..
Fill out a change of address with the post office to have your mail forwarded to your new home. When you get your new job in the new country start putting back some of the money you earn to make a less than you actually owe lump sum payment offer (as payment in full) with the CA/JDB. Research the payoff letters for CA's/JDB's, to use as a template when you have enough to make an offer (1/2 or 3/4 depending how old it is by then). Keep an eye on the online court records to see if your name pops up before you can make the offer/pay it. If a subpoena is forwarded to you then file an answer with the court and the plaintiff and explain that you're out of the country, or, if you see your name on a court docket then write to the CA/JDB, with a copy to the court, and explain that you noticed the suit against you but you hadn't been served and that you're living in Timbuktu and you're unable to show up.
Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
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As for the "good faith payment" comments ... making "good faith payments" without a signed payment agreement with the medical provider (or with any creditor for that matter) will absolutely not stop the medical provider (or any creditor) from turning it over to a collector after several months. More than likely at this point the OP's debt is already with a collector and the only way to get it back to the original medical provider, and out of the collectors hands, is if the OP pays the medical provider in full using the HIPAA route. Making "good faith payments" to a CA is like spitting in the wind, it's better to make a lump sum deal for less than owed as payment in full with the stipulation that the CA can no longer collect or sell/trade the debt once they receive the payment. Also, if it were me I'd request a PFD too. In the OP's situation a PFD would probably be moot if the OP would be gone longer than 7 years.
Hopefully next year the (currently stalled) bill will pass that will require CA's/JDB's to delete medical debts from credit reports once the agreed upon payment is made.
Not sure if OP lives in California...... (or maybe it's too late to apply for this type of thing.... or, maybe discounts were already applied.)
In California, if you are under-insured or uninsured, and have income below 350% of federal poverty level (FPL).... California hospitals are required to publish (at this link) their charity and/or free care available to qualifying patients.
OSHPD - HID - Hospital Fair Pricing (Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD)
Each hospital is required to maintain understandable written policies for charity care (free care) and discount payments (partial charity care), clearly stated eligibility criteria and procedures for those policies, a description of the review process, and written policies for debt collection practices and procedures. Requires emergency room physicians who perform emergency services in a hospital that provides emergency care to provide discounts to uninsured patients or patients with high medical costs who are at or below 350 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). Hospitals that provide emergency care are required to incorporate language into their current fair pricing policies to notify uninsured patients or patients with high medical costs that discounts are available for services received from an emergency room physician.
California Hospital Free and Discount Payment Programs based on FPL
Search California hospital policies: Fair Pricing Search Page
For example, at North Bay Hospital in Vacaville CA:
If you are at/below 100% FPL, care is free.
If below 200% FPL, $50 copay only.
Each CA hospital has to submit (and it's linked) it's free/charitable care policy and application form and procedure.
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