Damn medical bills

suz64
suz64 Member Posts: 10
I finished treatment in February and I am extremely frustrated with my medical bills and the places I received treatment from. I am still trying to get over from all of the side effects and they are already sending notices that they will send the account to collections. I called all of them and told them that I cannot work and am working on getting healthy again and I can only afford to pay a small amount each month.
Plus, I am playing catchup on all of the other bills that my family got behind on.
After I told them that, many of them were very understanding and sympathetic. One however, told me that my small payment of $10 a month was not sufficient and that they had to have at least $25 in order to not send it to collections. I told them that they could not dictate how much I could pay and that everyone else was much more cooperative. They said that they could send me a financial assistance form and if we qualify they could write off part of the bill. I told them I didn't care about that. (I was willing to pay my bill completely over time -- it is only $600) But if we didn't qualify they would not accept the $10 a month and the account would go to collections. They said it is just their policy.
I told them that I resented their tactics and that it causes me a great deal of stress. And then I talked to a supervisor who told me that they do recognize extenuating circumstances and that the billing center should have told me to contact the hospital directly.
I am going to make my husband fill out that stupid form. And I am going to add a note telling them what I think of their stupid billing practices.
No one apologized for the confusion and lack of cooperation. And I am furious because I was always told that in general if you can just pay a little a month the creditor has to respect that and realize that you are trying. It doesn't seem to matter to this company.
And I know that there is Consumer Credit Counseling out there. And we did work through them at one time, but the payment had to come out at a certain time each month and had to be paid by money order and it threw everything off. It always came at a bad time of the month when everything else was due.
And I am mad that they want me to detail how many cars we have and insurance policies and some of it I don't consider any of their damn business. I can't sell my car to pay off the bills because then I wouldn't have a car. I cannot cash in my life insurance policy because it is not that old and I need it because my rates will go up because I have had cancer.
I am mad and upset and want to rant to somebody about this. I am thinking about complaining to the Better Business Bureau and anyone else I can find.
Thanks for listening.

Comments

  • kerj
    kerj Member Posts: 3
    I am sorry to hear about your frustration. I was lucky and the hospital really helped me out. Is there any financial social workers that they can refer you too? I received charity care and also was referred to Medicaid. I was really embarrassed but it sure helped me financially. You should definaltly look into it. I qualified because I was considered disabled for the year and they paid all my bills. I hope this advice helps and good luck to you.
  • stepet
    stepet Member Posts: 69
    I too had the hospital where I had radiation say that they expected full payment within a years time. We were talking about 20,000 dollars! Needless to say my husband and I had no choice but to ask for assisitance. I too was considered disabled and had the entire bill paid for thank God! It's amazing though how very unsympathatic some of these places are! Hang in there and don't get too stressed out. Things have a way of working out in the end. Good Luck and Take Care Sandi