Medical Bills (credit score, debt collector, payment, companies)

[Jareb]

My 23 y.o. daughter recently was hospitalized and received $11,000 in bills after insurance coverage. She signed an agreement with the hospiatl billing office to pay $200/ month until the bill is paid. She makes about $1600/ month net so this is going to be a strain with rent, car etc. My question is: Has anyone ever tried to "settle" a hospital bill? Is it possible to offer 50 cents on the dollar for a lump sum payment to retire the bill rather than the hospital waiting 6-7 years for payment? Any comments or experiences appreciated.
Thanks

[pghquest]

Originally Posted by Jareb

My 23 y.o. daughter recently was hospitalized and received $11,000 in bills after insurance coverage. She signed an agreement with the hospiatl billing office to pay $200/ month until the bill is paid. She makes about $1600/ month net so this is going to be a strain with rent, car etc. My question is: Has anyone ever tried to "settle" a hospital bill? Is it possible to offer 50 cents on the dollar for a lump sum payment to retire the bill rather than the hospital waiting 6-7 years for payment? Any comments or experiences appreciated.
Thanks

yes, its possible, insurance companies do it all the time. They usually pay UCR rates or HCFA so you might want to research the prices for the billed procedures. I'm sure if you just call the hospital billing department and ask them about a discount they will be more then happy to negotiate a rate. (i.e. better then trying to collect for the 6 years. Understand that their first offer most likely isnt their final offer. Let them offer you a rate, and then hang up, call them back a day or two later and say, I dont have that.. but I do have this and see what they go for. I would shoot for at least 1/2 off, if not less.

Also understand that they are in no way legally obligated to discount your payment and every hospital is different.

[MissShona]

Originally Posted by Jareb

My 23 y.o. daughter recently was hospitalized and received $11,000 in bills after insurance coverage. She signed an agreement with the hospiatl billing office to pay $200/ month until the bill is paid. She makes about $1600/ month net so this is going to be a strain with rent, car etc. My question is: Has anyone ever tried to "settle" a hospital bill? Is it possible to offer 50 cents on the dollar for a lump sum payment to retire the bill rather than the hospital waiting 6-7 years for payment? Any comments or experiences appreciated.
Thanks

Wow, what kind of insurance coverage was that? Not trying to be sarcastic...but I don't understand why you would be paying a monthly premium, and then still be stuck with medical bills like that.

I have a health insurance plan through my job where I pay $32/month. I was hospitalized in October/November and racked up around 70K in medical costs but only had to pay copays that came to about $250 altogether. Please understand, I'm not bragging...just wondering how people with health insurance can be billed so much.

[WestcoastBrit]

I ended up with a $2800 bill after spending 90 minutes in an ER. Anyway, countless phone calls couldn't get a reduction and it went to debt collectors after 4/5 months. I thought the hospital was bad enough but this agency was unbelievable. They knew my credit score and told me if I didn't pay full amount they would "F-ing destroy my credit". Daily rude and threatning phone calls ( my wife was told if it wasn't for America she'd be speaking F-ing german! ). This went on for over 6 months and then they reported me to the three main credit agencies resulting in a 650/660 FICO, down from 770/780. They've stopped phoning but still keep billing me every couple of months. Luckily my wifes credit is good so if necessary we use hers. Good Luck

[christina0001]

I would try talking to a manager in the billing department at the hospital; you've got nothing to lose. My husband was hospitalized a year ago and at the time we weren't sure if his insurance was effective or not; our hospital told us if he didn't have insurance they would charge us a reasonable amount (I think around $200/month) for one year, and if we made every payment on time they would forgive the rest.
Another problem your daughter may or may not be experiencing, is that she may not only have a hospital bill, but bills from specialists who consulted with her. Some hospitalizes outsource services like radiology, certain medical specialists, etc. So that would be a separate bill to deal with.

[Karla with a K]

A lot of hospitals have "hardship funds" that they don't advertise. You have to fill out an application that lists all of your assets. With $1600 a month net and rent and a car payment not to mention food & utilities. I would have her look into this program.

WestcoastBrit I would research the collection agency to see if they have had any suit filed against them for unfair FDCPA practices. If you have any documentation of the harassing phone calls along with the "3rd party disclosure" of discussing your debt with your wife ( depending on the state they can not discuss the debt with anyone other than the debtor) you may be able to file a claim against them.

[bande1102]

My first thought would be to make sure that your daughter's insurance paid all it should and look for grounds to appeal the amounts it didn't pay. She/you should go through every single bill and match it to the explanation of benefits statement from the insurance company. Find out what was paid, what portion of the bill your daughter is responsible for and, if a claim was denied, why? The denial reasons are extremely important.

Time-consuming and tedious? You bet, but its one of those things that needs to be done.

If you want, you can pm me specifics and I'd be happy to give some pointers--I've been in the medical insurance industry for most of my working life. Good luck to you.