Money Trouble :(

[AmberK]

I could just scream! I have been fighting this stupid disease for 5 years now. I did fairly well until the last 18 months. Remicade stopped working and I developed a perforation. We were able to heal it with meds but my docs started talking about surgery. In an attempt to avoid this we decided to visit Mayo. I checked with our insurance and was told it was out of network so I'd have to pay that deductible. I was told TWICE that my max out of pocket would be $6000. Long story short we went and my bill is $12000 because Mayo doesn't write off any charges that insurance doesn't cover! I have fought insurance only to be told they can't help me. I have fought Mayo who says the best they can do is $10000 that has to be paid by the end of the year or set a payment plan of $500 a month. Who has this? I saved the $6000 but I can't do anymore! Also surgery is going to happen anyway in 3 weeks so ill be off work for that too with no income. I am sinking!! Sorry but I needed to vent :'(

 

[KRT]

I'm so sorry..As far a medical bills are concerned I pay what I can and the rest has wait. I know this hurts a persons credit but sometimes that can't be helped. A friend told me one time "What's the worse they can do--they can't eat you."
Again I'm sorry. I have been where you are. I did sink, but after years I'm finally getting our credit lined out.
Praying for you.

 

[AmberK]

Thank you Kelly! I have worked so hard to keep good credit and pay anyone that I owe. I just wish I'd never made that trip to Mayo. I have a family to support and I feel like they are suffering from all the backlash of this disease. I try to stay positive most days but I'm really struggling today.

 

[Ihurt]

I also went to mayo clinic In Jasksonville Florida years back for another health issue. I also got socked with a $10,000 bill! The bad thing was that my insurance said they would cover it, but ended up that I talked to an idiot on the phone who did not know what she was talking about. The only covered a percentage of it and we also had to pay the first $2,500 of our deductible( which was fine as we knew this). But the lady neglected to tell me they would only cover 40% after that! So we ended up with a $10,000 bill. We were floored. Luckily my dad helped up with some of it, but the rest we just paid what we could. I mean you can only pay for what you can pay for. I would call the billing dapartment and ask if they have financial assistance there. My son recently had knee surgery( he is going to be 21 next week). Well since he is on our insurance still he also has a $2,500 dedcutible. Well we paid $ 400 up front. Well he got a bill for the rest which was close to $ 2000. He could not pay that( he had no job, and was in school at the time). Well we called the hospital and explained the situation. We did not have the money to pay it either( we are going broke as well due to all my health issues). Well the hospital sent my son these forms to fill out, it was for financial assistance( like a charity from the hospital for people who cannot pay their full bills). In the end, the covered his bill, he did not have to pay. Now of course this was easier for him since he was not working and was of age and in school so they automatically covered the whole bill. If you are making some money, they will likely cover part of it and you may have to pay some amount of the bill. It is worth looking into. I so feel for ya. And worse was for me, I found the mayo clinic to be a complete WASTE of money. They did nothing to help me!! Mayo clinic is good for black and white clear cut issues, but no good for chronic illness or complex issues from what I learned..

 

[LisaL]

I am sorry you are having to deal with the stress of money issues on top of everything else. My advise is to take a deep breath, call the May Clinic and tell them what you can pay each moth. Whether it is $500 or $50.00 or something in between. Most hospitals will make a workable plan, as the alternative is getting nothing. If it takes you 10 years to pay them...who cares. It is important for you to make a plan that is doable for you...not to give the hospital more money a moth than you can shell out and still take care of your own stuff.

I hope you feel better soon.

 

[AmberK]

Thank you both! Ihurt, I too was told that insurance would cover it by someone who also did not understand how Mayo works. It's very frustrating knowing that we went there in order to avoid surgery that I will still have to have in 2.5 weeks. So I have a $12,000 bill and have to be off work for 4-8 weeks... Awesome :/ But I'm keeping my head up and remaining thankful for the things I do have. Like an amazingly supportive and understanding family. And of course you guys who listen to me vent with things get too heavy Thank you!

 

[Spooky1]

I'm surprised you didn't think to become a health tourist to UK. Many in the world do, lol. I don't think it costs!!! I really am sad for you. you just don't need that kind of stress to make the crohns worse.

 

[Tenacity]

I would arrange the lowest monthly payment plan possible. Especially in light of your upcoming surgery. That way, you could pay it off at your own pace. Also, there is no interest to worry about. It's an interest free debt, so no disadvantage to making minimal payments.

Most companies ignore medical bills on your credit report. Get a free annual credit report at freeannualcreditreport.com. Dispute any bad reports, and if the creditor does not respond within 30 days, they have to remove the debt from your file. Once you get set up, it is very easy to do - just a click of the button.

 

[AmberK]

Thank you! I will be calling Mayo again in the next couple of days to renegotiate a payment plan that is more reasonable! I'll keep you all updated

 

[muppet]

We've also been clobbered with 20+ years of medical bills and the cascading financial damage caused by the effects on our credit, which makes things like car loans more expensive, rising deductibles and insurance premiums and copays, our tendency to take in hard-luck animals, the "screw it I'm just going to spend this" binges that are sometimes caused by the depression and sense of futility when trying to get it all under control...

Been there. :-(

If it's any consolation, the sum I'm worrying about right now is something like 5 times the one mentioned in your OP, but that doesn't make yours any less stressful. Lots of us are in this boat.

 

[AmberK]

Oh my Muppet! I'm sorry you have to deal with that stress as well. Financial stress (or any stress for that matter) is the last thing we all need. Good luck!

 

[Lisa]

I paid off a bill 5-10 dollars at a time.....remember, as long as you are making payments regularly (in good faith) - you cannot be charged interest either! I don't know if the bill can be sent collections either as long as payments are being made.....which would not affect credit then.

 

[muppet]

I'm not sure if that's true about interest? Is that peculiar to medical bills?

 

[Lisa]

I'm not sure if that's true about interest? Is that peculiar to medical bills?

I think so. I know when my bill was first overdue there was interest - I challenged it and there wax never any additional interest charged.

 

[Scaryman]

This is why I have been approved financial aid from the university of Chicago. This disease financially bankrupted me. I make min wage currently and may have to have surgery if they can't taper me off pred without flaring. There is no way anyone can pay for surgery. But not to get political...if they'd actually FIX some parts of healthcare......sorry needed to vent.

 

[Spooky1]

that is so sad, scaryman. Looks like you fail meds like i did lol. Hope things get easier for you soon.

 

[Scaryman]

Spooky we both fail medications on a epic level. Look what Imuran did to me in my sig.