I feel like I should make a post about this because itâs not something thatâs very well-known, and that Americans in particular may need to know about given the uncertain state of our healthcare system at the moment. Iâve wanted to write this out for a while, Itâs kind of a long post, so sorry about that!
If you have an emergency and have to go to the hospital, youâll owe the hospital a lot of money.
(I got into a car wreck and broke my ankle and my arm. My hospital bill was around $20,000)
Youâll also owe the ambulance provider, if you need one.
(My ambulance bill was about $800)
You may get separate bills from the anesthesiologist or surgeon.
(My anesthesiologist bill was $1,700)
You may need follow-up appointments.
(My orthopedic surgeon billed me for the appointments and his surgery together and it was about $1,000)
Youâve also got to pay for medical equipment you need afterward, like crutches or a walking boot.
(Mine cost about $75)
Altogether, I ended up with almost $24,000 in medical debt from one car accident. Thatâs a really scary number for someone like me who makes $10/hr at a 12 hour a week job.
I got my debt down to $1075 by making some phone calls and submitting some paperwork.
The first thing I did was contact the hospital. They donât make it easy to find, but many hospitals (perhaps most hospitals?) have financial assistance programs for people who canât afford medical bills. I donât make a lot of money, and I have bills to pay, so they were able to help me.
I called the billing department and asked if they had any assistance programs for low income people who canât pay their bills. I had to call multiple times, and I got transferred in circles by people who didnât know what I was talking about. Finally, I got an appointment with someone in âEligibility Servicesâ (I donât know what other hospitals call it, if itâs something different). I had to bring my pay stubs and copies of all of my bills. When I got to the hospital for the appointment, nobody knew what I was talking about so I had to wander a little to find where I needed to go. I spoke with the guy in Eligibility Services, and I waited for a decision on how much of the bill they would forgive. A month later, I got a call telling me it was totally forgiven.
I did the same thing for my ambulance bill and my anesthesiologist, but the process was a LOT easier. I just had to mail some paperwork and it was totally forgiven.
I didnât bother with the medical equipment suppliers, since the bills came from separate companies and I didnât feel like going through the process twice for $75. I was assured at the hospital that they had similar programs for debt forgiveness, so I could have probably avoided paying that too.
The only thing I couldnât get taken care of was the surgeon/follow-up appointment cost, but they were able to put me on a no-interest payment plan.
Medical debt is scary because itâs something that can come from stuff thatâs already really scary. I didnât need the burden of $24,000 in debt on top of trying to get around on a crutch with a broken arm (itâs not easy, believe me!).. but I canât imagine what it would be like with a bigger debt or a more severe medical emergency.
I see lots of people in even worse trouble than I was in, both financially and medically. Please know that there are options for you when that GoFundMe doesnât do enough. Even if your income is higher than mine, itâs worth a shot even for partial debt forgiveness.
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