does anyone know...?

Marynb said:

LaChance
I was also treated over 2 calendar years, with diagnosis in November and treatments through June. ( I had 2 cancers, one after the other). My costs out of pocket were 30k! Yes, that's right, 30k. I had a lousey health insurance plan. I paid it.
I really don't think you should file for bankruptcy unless you are trying to protect other assets. Your best option is probably to work out a payment plan with the hospital. It sounds like you may be eligible for Medicaid? I hope yu have explored your options for health care coverage on the Obamacare exchanges. We all would agree that getting cancer is unfair and that the health care system needs more reform. It stinks. I can tell you that I personally met many people from all over the world who were in the USA seeking treatment for rare cancers.
I am also wondering whether your family and friends could help you out with the 8k? People are usually happy to help, if you ask them. I hope you think about that.
Try not to worry too much about the bills, I am pretty sure you can work out a payment plan with the hospital. I hope you give it a try.

I don't think that getting cancer is unfair. We don't all agree that it is. My opinion is that cancer is neither fair nor unfair. Life is neither fair or unfair. Tumors happen. Things happen. Life happens. I don't attribute fairness or unfairness to any of it. The tumor that I had was the result of cell division run amok. That's all. My economic situation, on the other hand, is unfair; it's the result of people, of policies, of choices made by those in a position to make those decisions, in full awareness of the consequences for people with no say in the matter, of greed and of a system that exists to serve the share-holders of the insurance companies, not you or me. It's run and owned by rich, powerful people who strive to maintain the status quo. A for-profit system--what we have--cannot deliver health care fairly or equitably or affordably. There are only so many ways to turn a profit. Obama didn't revise the health care system; he revised the health insurance system. He cast a wide net that will cover many people, people who will have co-pays that will either prevent them from seeking expensive treatments, or if they do seek them, leave them unable to pay, whereupon they'll be sent to collection, and the account will be sold from one collection agency to the next for the rest of that person's life, or the person will file for Chapter 7, like me. Our for-profit system and good, equitable, affordable health care are mutually exclusive. No one is going to help me, and that's ok, this is my problem to solve and I don't look to others, there are no others, but that's neither fair nor unfair either. It simply is. In any case, I wouldn't say that I'm worried, no, not at all. Pissed? Yeah, I'm pretty pissed, but worried, no. This will be resolved sooner or later, in one way or the other.  I'm not going to get bent out of shape over it; it isn't worth it.  The system sucks, and I can rail against it or not.  I decided not to. It's like banging your head into a brick wall. The wall's going to win. Every time. So don't take it on.

Marynb said:

Health care
Yes, I totally agree with you about the need for reform? Obamacare is NOT the answer and I don't think it will last long at all. We need to go to a single payer universal health care system and move away from employer based coverage. We must fix this system!

I was at the hospital today and I noticed that there were many pamphlets dealing with assistance for medical bills, some dealt specifically with cancer patients.

LaChance, I hope you start by negotiating with the hospital directly. I sm pretty certain that would be more beneficial to you than Chapter 7. Good luck!

Hey Marynb

I think that somehow my forum name has morphed from Lach to Lachance. Not sure how that came about, but after scratching my head over who Lachance might be, I realized that it might be me. In any case, my insurance has paid tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars towards the radiotherapy I received. I'm basically going to throw myself at the mercy of the court (so to speak--I mean the provider) and ask them to simply discharge the debt. If they've received close to $100,000 already, surely they can discharge $8,000 without a negative effect on their coffers. It's the same thing as having $100 in my pocket and not missing $8. Anyway, thanks for the input and interest.  The aftermath of the cancer (for me) has been 1,000 times worse than the cancer itself. That's done and over. This is a pain in the **** of another kind, that might not be over so quickly, or end so well. Time will tell.  As for Obamacare... if the consequences weren't so awful for so many, the entire thing would be laughable. I think that one of the unforseen consequences will be an increase on Chapter 7 filings by many more people. Currently, medical bills are responsible for the majority of Chapter 7 filings in the U.S. I can't imagine that it'll go down with Obamacare, but up, as more people with insurance find themselves in my situaiton. Single payer, yes, that would have been a meaningful step in the right  direction. I hate to keep introducing European health care models, but they work better than ours, (as does Canada's and Mexico's) with better results for more people, and care that's on par with ours. I'm not saying that they're perfect or problem free, but the net result far surpasses what we have. They pay the government and never see a bill, never get kicked out of the hospital before they're ready (or check themselves out before they should, like I did when I had my appendix out, simply because I knew that every day I sat in the bed post-op I racked up another $175). I don't expect to see anything like a single-payer system implemented in this country in my lifetime, which is why I sometimes wonder if moving to Spain might be something I should consider more seriously. As a legal immigrant, I'd pay into their system and get the same care. And no surprises in the form of bills that I can't pay. You've been very kind to me, Marynb, and I greatly appreciate it.

mp327 said:

LaCh

I sympathize with your situation and I hope you can get the hospital to forgive the remainder of the owed amount.  It is a drop in the bucket to them.

thanks mp. I'm waiting on the EOBs that I requested from my health insurer for the dates covered, so that I can at least sound semi-intelligent when I discuss (in writing) this with the billing office to plead my case. I'm better in writing (and documentation is always a good idea) so I'll write first and call second, and then, only of I have to. There's nothing to lose by trying. In any case, I decided not to go off the deep end over it. In the end, I mean, really, what's the difference? Get it discharged or go into personal bankruptcy; it'll work out any way that it gets resolved, since I have no assets to lose.  Qué será, será. That's my attitude. My new attitude. Anyway...thanks.

Marynb said:

LaCh
Oops, sorry about the name morp! I think approaching the provider is the way for you to go! Hopefully, they can forgive that small amount and you lighten things up for you! I find that people are quite merciful if you ask them to be. Fingers crossed!

No problem. Lachance sounds like a good pen name or something.  Finally spoke to a lawyer and got some good, solid info. Hey, while I have you on the line, so to speak, you ever get a raw, sore butt (on the outside) sort of out of the blue, either with or without blood? Makes "hygiene" slightly painful.... ever happen to you? It's a new one for me, not worrisome, just odd.