I reblogged this last month, tagged it, and said “might as well see if it works.” I used this video as a reference to find all the forms that i needed (which is A LOT, especially if you’re a dependent) and sent them through the mail, not really allowing myself to hope.
dude.
$2,714 of medical debt from my top surgery - gone. im shaking this was such a weight on me for 2 years and it fucking worked. what the fuck.
re-reblogging and thinking about when i have another collection agency calling that i can just do this
Hospital bills are completely made up, and hospitals can just snap their fingers to make them go away. Even if you make over the threshold, if you call the hospital's billing department and explain that you cannot pay it, they will normally just lop off a huge amount of the bill.
My boyfriend recently had his bill reduced from $5600 to $200, just by filling out a one-page application.
Even if they won't reduce your bill, you can ask to pay it in monthly amounts. I've had this conversation:
"Yes, I cannot afford my entire bill at once, can I pay it in monthly amounts?"
"Sure, what can you afford a month?"
"What's the lowest you'll allow?"
"Just tell me what you can afford a month."
"How about you just tell me what's the lowest you'll allow."
"We need you to tell us what you can afford a month."
"Fine. I can afford $1 a month."
"...that is below what is acceptable."
"So you do have a minimum that you require. If you just tell me that number, I'll pay that."
"...we can accept $10 a month."
"Great. I'll pay you $10 a month."
Here's the thing. Most hospitals undergo an upgrade to their billing system every few years. You know what happens to really old bills when they do that?
They lose them. Permanently and forever. They almost always don't transfer old bills to the new system.
So one day, when the bill suddenly stops coming? Don't call them. Don't ask about it. They've gone through a billing restructure and you fell through the cracks. Your debt is gone! Good job.
"But what if it suddenly comes back after a long time?" Then just call them, negotiate a payment plan again, and you're fine.
I've gotten rid of thousands of dollars of medical debt this way. It's perfectly legal, honest, and affordable.
Also, most medical debt in the United States does not go on your credit report. It's not the same as owing on a car or mortgage ,where if you don't pay it your credit is shot. Medical debt is the debt you least need to pay off- if at all.
VD: TikTok of Someone asking: “what’s a piece of information you learned that feels illegal to know?”
The video switches to @dollarfor, who speaks directly into the camera and says
“Most hospitals in America are non-profits. This means they have to have financial assistance or a Charity Care policy.
This is gonna sound weird, but what that means is that if you make under a certain amount of money, the hospital will legally have to forgive your medical bills.
Let me show you how to do this.”
Showing an image of Google, following along with their own instructions:
“Type in the hospital name and financial assistance after this. It should be the top link, let’s check.
What you want to do is look for financial assistance applications and policies, and check the policy.
From here what you’re looking for is a sliding scale. Here: from 0-300% of the federal poverty limit they will forgive 100% of your medical bills.
So you can see here that 300% of the federal poverty guidelines is 37,470. So if you make under that amount, the hospital will legally forgive your medical bills. If you’re a larger household you can check it out from here.
If you wanna test it out, I run a nonprofit that does this, so DM me and I can do it for you. I can crush those medical bills.”
end VD
ID 1: We have received and processed you request for financial assistance with your medical bills. You qualify for 100% assistance for Vanderbilt University Medical Center services covered under the Patient Assistance Program. Your account balance has been adjusted to zero.
ID 2: Account Balances showing Amount due as $0.00. VUMC Financial Assistance: Approved. /End ID
