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I recently had a heart attack at the ripe old age of 38 while I was unemployed / trying to start my own business. We now have a bill close to $50k hanging over us along with the mortgage, two car loans and all the other life expenses such as our $200.00 to $300.00 per week grocery bill... The $800.00 per month payment plan the hospital offered is not in the budget, if we had that much disposable income we probably would have had health insurance...
Along with this the doctor said I can no longer do the work required for the business we were starting because it involves manual labor out in the Texas heat.
The silver lining here is that I now have a good (office) job again and will soon have health insurance through my employer but that won't help paying off any existing bills.
I have nothing but good to say about the doctors and hospital where I stayed and I wish I could afford to pay off this debt. But at the same time I have to wonder, does it really cost that much for a stint and a few days in the hospital? And why is it that we are the only industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care program yet we can spend untold billions to send our sons and daughters off to die in illegal wars for sake of Halliburton's profit margin? We are also the only nation that allows people to file bankruptcy for medical bills and it looks like that will have to be our solution..
While the politicians continue to play political football with this issue, working class families like mine still cannot afford health care and health insurance CEO's continue to rake in $23mil per year.
tough way to go for you, and i feel for you. as for the costs, negotiate with the hospital and see if they can do a few things for you such as;
1: reduce the size of the bill they sent you. a lot of the things they put in the bill are way over priced(aspirin for instance is something like $1.50 each), or is stuff they put in to help cover operating expenses.
2: offer them a payment plan you can afford. if $800 is too much for you to pay, offer them what you can pay, perhaps $500 per month or so?
3: negotiate with the doctors that worked your case as well and see if they will accept a lower amount, and accept payments.
4: offer to trade work for part of the bill. for instance perhaps the hospital will let you "volunteer" part time to help cover the bills. they always need people in a variety of areas.
5: you can even talk to the hospital about writing off a portion of the debt even after getting prices reduced.
Extremely sorry about the heart attack and I wish you a well recovery.
Why weren't you offered Charity Care? Is there a way that you can go back and speak with the administration at the hospital about this? The Charity care is supposed to be at the tax payers expense, isn't it? You're a tax payer and I'm sure you're paying your taxes. Why didn't they offer it to you at the hospital. Could you have refused to sign any release?
And yes, that's the plight of America. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
I recently had a heart attack at the ripe old age of 38 while I was unemployed / trying to start my own business. We now have a bill close to $50k hanging over us along with the mortgage, two car loans and all the other life expenses such as our $200.00 to $300.00 per week grocery bill... The $800.00 per month payment plan the hospital offered is not in the budget, if we had that much disposable income we probably would have had health insurance...
Along with this the doctor said I can no longer do the work required for the business we were starting because it involves manual labor out in the Texas heat.
The silver lining here is that I now have a good (office) job again and will soon have health insurance through my employer but that won't help paying off any existing bills.
I have nothing but good to say about the doctors and hospital where I stayed and I wish I could afford to pay off this debt. But at the same time I have to wonder, does it really cost that much for a stint and a few days in the hospital? And why is it that we are the only industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care program yet we can spend untold billions to send our sons and daughters off to die in illegal wars for sake of Halliburton's profit margin? We are also the only nation that allows people to file bankruptcy for medical bills and it looks like that will have to be our solution..
While the politicians continue to play political football with this issue, working class families like mine still cannot afford health care and health insurance CEO's continue to rake in $23mil per year.
It's unfortunate that you had a heart attack, but feel lucky that you were at least able to have access to medical care and are now alive to tell others about your experience. For most people in the world, that event would have ended their lives.
Life is unpredictable. If lightning struck your home and burnt it to the ground, whose responsibility would it be to repair your home or buy you a new one? Yours. You have to prepare for these types of things and yes, sometimes things are out of your hands. Life does not always go swimmingly. Sometimes there is tragedy and hardship. Learn from your experience, but don't point the finger at others because things didn't go the way that you hoped. It's easy to say, "If only I was as lucky or as rich as that other person, things would be better for me." Just remember that for all the burdens that you have to endure, there's millions of others that have it far worse and they would point to you and think you have it so much easier than them.
The OP highlights one of the major problems in the whole debate over healthcare in this country.
In theory, going to a free market solution sounds good. In theory, getting insurance companies and government out of health care sounds good. But, in reality, when something really serious happens, if you don't have insurance cover and if you don't have government support (Medicaid, VA, Medicare, etc.) then you can be in really serious financial trouble. And charity is not a good or reliable alternative to proper cover.
our health care system IS the best in the world. our health insurance system is what is broken. there is a huge difference.
That really is not true. We provide very good health care but not significantly better than other developed countries. And we pay a lot more for it than those countries. For what we are paying, we should be getting a lot more.
My neighbor had a heart attack a few years ago and the hospital helped him get it covered with Medicaid. Hope you recover quickly.
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hope you get better soon.
