Hospitalization and surgery with no insurance

[BrettS]

My wife took her cousin to the ER earlier tonight with terrible pain in her stomach. I just found out that they're admitting her to the hospital and scheduling her for gall bladder surgery tomorrow. Unfortunately she has no insurance and I have no idea how much this hospital visit will be, but I imagine it will be well out of her means to pay it. She's only working a part time job right now making a bit more than minimum wage.

I've never had to deal with anything like this before, so I'm wondering what she should expect. Are there any places she can go for financial aid after the surgery? Will the hospital be willing or able to work out payment plans... I'm thinking any payment plan that would be affordable for her would take many years to pay back.

Any other suggestions for someone in this situation?

Thanks much

 

[scrapquitler]

Normally the hospital will work out a payment plan with you if you can't pay the bill in full. When my son had surgery that my insurance did not cover, I called them and they asked me 'well how much per month can you pay?' and I gave them a figure. They never charged any interest to me. I suppose that some hospitals might not do this, but in my area from what I hear, they all do.

Also she can call the hospital and ask if there are any other financial aid programs available. When my son had that surgery I already mentioned, the bill said to call them and ask about financial aid programs based on your income, so there must be something available.

And she might not realize it, but the bill is likely to be negotiable as well.

 

[Happy vacationer]

Giving financial aid to uninsured or underinsured patients is a big part of my job. She will want to be up front with the hospital and let them know her situation right away. The worst thing she could do would be to avoid contacting the hospital or responding to their attempts to contact her. Financial assistance is based on household income and number of people in the household. She may qualify for a percentage of her bill to be written off up to 100% based on her situation. If she has a remaining balance she should be able to make affordable payments to the hospital. Also, if she receives a seperate bill for her doctor, radiologist, etc. she should contact them and see if they will honor any financial assistance she may receive from the hospital. Not all doctors will but it is becoming more common.

 

[leebee]

I agree with both PP. My DD had a tonsillectomy last spring (2009) and although we have health insurance it didn't cover the first $5000 of the bill. (yeah, we have crappy insurance; $600 oop for monthly premiums with a $5000 oop before they cover anything and even then they don't cover labs, xrays, etc... but that's another topic for a different day!)

ANYHOW... I called the hospital right away and told them I couldn't pay this. We set up a workable payment plan and I pay them monthly, in an amount I can afford. They were pleased that I was attempting to live up to my obligation and I was pleased they weren't going to slam me financially (no interest charges or anything). Hospitals understand that medical emergencies aren't something that can wait until you can afford to pay.

Happiest of all, I can make my monthly payments using my Disney VISA, and get reward points, so DD's surgery will help pay for this summer's vacation! (and before the busy-bodies start minding my business, YES, I pay the balance in full each month!)

 

[taymaesmom]

A co-workers husband had a heart attack last year, he was hospitalized and had surgery, their bill was over $80,000 and they had no insurance. They talked to the hospital and the hospital took all their financial information and found a way to pay the bill for them. They had no out of pocket cost for the surgery or the hospital stay, they did have to pay the surgeon and another doctor because they bill seperately for the hospital, but they were greatly relieved. I've heard of other hospitals having a similar program so check into yours.

 

[DisneyNutMic]

My brother was admitted to the hospital in March 08 and diagnosed with leukemia. He was on the cancer ward for over a month, had a heart attack while in there from the chemo treatments, chemo treatments were $3000 a DAY. His hospital bill was astronomical. The American Cancer Society picked up the bill. The hosptial was telling him to file bankrupcty as soon as he was admitted. There are organizations who will help.

 

[iwrbnd]

A co-workers husband had a heart attack last year, he was hospitalized and had surgery, their bill was over $80,000 and they had no insurance. They talked to the hospital and the hospital took all their financial information and found a way to pay the bill for them. They had no out of pocket cost for the surgery or the hospital stay, they did have to pay the surgeon and another doctor because they bill seperately for the hospital, but they were greatly relieved. I've heard of other hospitals having a similar program so check into yours.

Why didn't your co-worker have insurance if he had a job? Just curious.

 

[BrettS]

Thanks for the replies guys. I just talked to my wife and she said that the financial person from the hospital was in to talk to my cousin and they are certainly trying to work with her. She said that the financial person thinks that she'll qualify for Medicaid, and if she does apparently they'll cover this retroactively. Even if she doesn't qualify they do have some programs and such, so hopefully it'll all work out.

I guess she's still in a bit of pain this morning, but they've got her on some pain meds and she's doing better than she was. Her surgery is scheduled for 1PM today.

 

[bettymae1121]

A friend of mine had to have emergency surgery while uninsured a while back. She was at a Catholic hospital and they wrote off over half the bill due to her finances. Unfortuneatly she was already drowning in credit card and student loan debt, so she still had to file bankruptcy (she felt horible about it, but her minimum monthly payments to all creditors were more than what she made each month) but the hospital was willing to work with her.

I have heard of hospitals that refuse to work with patients, if you can't pay in full then they send you to collections right away. Hopefully this isn't the case for your cousin. But the best way to handle it is to be upfront with the hospital, at least then you'll know where your cousin stands.

 

[hffmnheidi]

Most hospitals have a charity program that will help pick up the tab. I was in the hospital for 8 weeks(ICU for 3 weeks) with a bill over 640,000 dollars. We are still waiting to hear on our appeal for Medicaid. Don't be surprised if she is denied on her first application and file the appeal. Usually the hospital will file the appeal for you-they did in my case. My hospital is picking up 100% of the tab if Medicaid doesn't because...I was working full-time with no insurance and I only gross 16,000 a year. I couldn't afford insurance because my student loans were taking most of my paychecks each month.

Tell her not to worry about the bills right now. Concentrate on getting well and back on her feet. There's plenty of time to worry later.

 

[mommy2_3]

2 yrs ago i had to call 911 early in the morning cause i woke up with a fever, terriable headache and stiff neck. i couldnt move i was in so much pain. they rushed me to the hospital and as soon as the parmedic told them my symptons everyone stopped what they were doing and covered up. they thought i had mengitis. i was in ICU for a few days then a reg. room for 2 days. i had so many tests from spinal tap, to x-rays, to cat scan and more! i had no insurance and let them know that when i first arrived. when they said they were admitting me to ICU i freaked! a few weeks later i had got all these bills worth over $30,000! at first i had no idea how i was going to pay for all of it. i looked more closely at the bill and saw that my balance was $0. turns out because i had no insurance and because i sick i was the hospital filled out all the paper work for me to apply for charity. a local chairty covered my whole hospital stay and all the tests. if not i would be paying those bills off for a long long time!

 

[MomRN]

This happened to me, back in 2006. I went to the ER a total of 4 times, with 2 admissions (post gall-bladder surgery needed another procedure to remove a gallstone left in the bile duct). The gallbladder issues were worse than labor. Anyway, I filled out the financial aid form, and all the hospital charges were written off. I still had to pay the surgeon that took out my gallbladder though. The doctor that did the ERCP to remove the bile duct stone wrote his bill off though...

 

[iwrbnd]

I think all these stories are so nice of what hospitals and doctors have done. I have to say, though, I hope people weren't going on Disney vacations instead of buying health insurance.

 

[mrsklamc]

Why didn't your co-worker have insurance if he had a job? Just curious.

Why would having a job mean you automatically have insurance? There are lots of jobs that don't offer benefits.

 

[Mskanga]

My brother was admitted to the hospital in March 08 and diagnosed with leukemia. He was on the cancer ward for over a month, had a heart attack while in there from the chemo treatments, chemo treatments were $3000 a DAY. His hospital bill was astronomical. The American Cancer Society picked up the bill. .

I find this interesting , my daughter was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and the only thing the ACS gave us was $300 a year for meals and gas. The following year they told me she was not eligible for anything because she was not in "active treatment" because she was no longer getting chemo , but she was still getting physical therapy to learn how to walk again with the implant she got on her knee thanks to cancer , go figure.

Anyway , speak to the hospital's social worker , that is a good way to start.

 

[iwrbnd]

Why would having a job mean you automatically have insurance? There are lots of jobs that don't offer benefits.

I know, my job doesn't offer benefits. I was just thinking that if you have a job you would buy insurance. I know it's expensive but it should be a priority.

 

[mrsklamc]

I know, my job doesn't offer benefits. I was just thinking that if you have a job you would buy insurance. I know it's expensive but it should be a priority.

Sure, but many people have bad priorities.

 

[hffmnheidi]

I have to disagree with the comments about having a job and should have health insurance.

First of all, a lot of the insurance companies won't cover you with a pre-existing condition if it is noted in your medical records and you've had treatment or seen a doctor for the condition. I should know-I was turned down by four of the major medical insurance companies(United, Blue Cross, ie), including the company that covers my employer. So, I had no option other than to be uninsured because there was nowhere else to go since I had a pre-existing, chronic condition at the time I applied for insurance. It wasn't like I wanted to be uninsured, but there were no options in my particular situation and not every situation is like mine, granted.

So, priority or not, insurance is an option for some people, but not others, no matter how hard you've tried to get insurance. Now, that my medical issues have been "fixed", I am hoping to apply and get health insurance once I get back to work.

 

[Ava]

Sure, but many people have bad priorities.

Or they make too much money to qualify for subsidized insurance, but not enough money to afford an individual insurance plan on top of their other monthly bills.

 

[mrsklamc]

Yeah, sorry- I was just surprised by the question I guess. I don't know about you guys...but the person who posted was talking about a co-worker, and I personally couldn't begin to fathom why some of my co-workers do what they do.