What can they do?
Burkettmom3 asked:
My daughter was life flighted to a Childrens Hospital in 2005. We have insurance and they paid 2000.00 and the bill was 18000.00. The company has not accepted my payments of what I could pay on a mothly basis. They want payments from 300.00-5000.00 at a time. We have tried to pay the bill we don’t have 18000.00. I got a letter today saying they are going to sue us. What can they do? We live in Florida. If they garnish wages we won’t beable to live. My daughter gets $750.00 worth of medicine in a month before we even buy food. We make to much money to get help but not enough money to pay all these medical bills. WE DO NOT LIVE BEYOND OUR MEANS!! Worried, Please help!!
Pauline
My daughter was life flighted to a Childrens Hospital in 2005. We have insurance and they paid 2000.00 and the bill was 18000.00. The company has not accepted my payments of what I could pay on a mothly basis. They want payments from 300.00-5000.00 at a time. We have tried to pay the bill we don’t have 18000.00. I got a letter today saying they are going to sue us. What can they do? We live in Florida. If they garnish wages we won’t beable to live. My daughter gets $750.00 worth of medicine in a month before we even buy food. We make to much money to get help but not enough money to pay all these medical bills. WE DO NOT LIVE BEYOND OUR MEANS!! Worried, Please help!!
Pauline
Tags: Enough Money, Insurance, Much Money
March 14th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
William
You need to look into the drug program that offers a lot of drugs for min amount. You can also look for clinical trials that can help with exspence
March 17th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Marjorie
They can not garnish your wages if you have honestly made attempts to make payments that are fair and within your means. And, even if they sue you in civil court, they will not get that much of an award anyway. So, worst case scenario, they sue you and you lose and it ends up in the hands of a collection agency, then you can tell them to take your payments according to what you can afford or go take a hike.
And did you know, most creditors do not look at medical expenses anyway…
March 20th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Colleen
I feel awful about your situation. I can’t believe your insurance paid only 2000. I would contact a lawyer to know your rights. I’m sure that is a huge amount of extra stress in your life not knowing what is going to happen. I think that a lawyer is the only one who will know what can and can’t happen with your situation. I hope everything works out.
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:32 am
Jeffery
A few years ago, you could have declared bankruptcy, but Congress recently let the banking industry revamp the laws to better suit them and better screw us (the consumers).
I’d look for a bankruptcy lawyer, though. Give one a call and see if you can get a free consultation or case evaluation or something.
Something you may want to do that won’t help in the immediate future but might make a difference one day, is support political candidates who are in favor of universal healthcare… too many Americans are getting screwed by the healthcare/insurance “industry”. It’s very sad.
Best of luck.
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:06 am
Maurice
I checked on-line and Florida has a lawyer referral service so call your state bar office on Monday at 850-561-5600. I could suggest bankruptcy, but I don’t know if your whole financial picture warrants it. You could go to Consumer Credit Counseling. The central Florida office is 1-800-984-0977. Be careful with credit counseling agencies. Some are scams, but Consumer Credit Counseling is an old established and reputable non-profit. Florida has free attorney services available and free legal aid for most or every county. I think the state bar number I gave you could direct you to the right legal aid office.
Anyway, having said all that, please have faith and know you situation is not at all hopeless. Owing money is probably not something you are used to facing, but medical bills are actually the leading cause of U.S. bankruptcies. You can exempt assets from collection and a good attorney can force the hospital into a reduced lump sum and lower monthly payments. Florida has a state health care fund you may be able to access, also. Please get a lawyer on Monday. Even if you do not qualify for free legal services in Florida, your money is better spent with an attorney right now than with a health care system who refuses to work with you. Your family is going to be fine–you just need to explore these options. This is exactly why we need a health care solution from this do-nothing federal government we seem to have. However, it looks like your state legislature has some programs for Florida citizens. Good luck.