INSURANCE out-of-pocket question

[angwill]

In the past, "hardship" money was generally reserved to help out those who are uninsured. You're going to see a lot less of it available now that carrying insurance is mandatory in this country. Providers will also be less inclined to cut patients a break on their bills when their own reimbursements from insurance companies remain stagnant or become reduced.

My hospital explained to me this year that they will not even talk to anyone without insurance. They still are required to treat, stabalize, and release in the ER but when it comes to necessary surgery, labs, scans etc. your screwed if you don't have cash up front or insurance. With insurance if you want to set up a payment plan they want all your financial information from taxes, bills, and bank statements to prove you need to be put on a payment plan. I am wondering if it is even legal but that is how they are handling things there now.

I am pretty sure in the past they did give hardship money to both uninsured and under insured though. If you had a high deductible but low pay.

 

[mafibisha]

You are not alone OP and many are in the same situation. I cried all day after finding out the hospital was charging me $11,000 for 2 shots that I could get for $1400 and inject in my muscle myself. It passed my $6000 deductible but in order to get that deductible paid off I have to pay $500 a month on top of the $582 for the insurance. That is more than our mortgage. Now we need to pray my husband or son do not get sick and we have to pay their deductible. We too are on a payment plan and it is going to take us a lot longer than a year to pay it off. I finally decided I can worry about it or I will die of stress. lol I will just pay what we can afford each month and only think of it when paying the bill. It was that or ignore my cancer. We have to do what we have to do. No more Disney trips for us but our health is worth more than that anyway.

I hear you totally. There are no words.... but sadly, many.... (most?)... are likely to experience this, sooner or later....

My hospital explained to me this year that they will not even talk to anyone without insurance. They still are required to treat, stabalize, and release in the ER but when it comes to necessary surgery, labs, scans etc. your screwed if you don't have cash up front or insurance. With insurance if you want to set up a payment plan they want all your financial information from taxes, bills, and bank statements to prove you need to be put on a payment plan. I am wondering if it is even legal but that is how they are handling things there now.
I am pretty sure in the past they did give hardship money to both uninsured and under insured though. If you had a high deductible but low pay.

 

[kathie859]

OP, we had the lousy luck last year of a hospital stay for DH (heart related-one overnight--cost $88,000---we owed a few thousand dollars and I had 2 5 day stays (different insurance plan but my deductible was $2500)

All 3 times, after verifying what we truly owed (unfortunately no mistakes in any billing) I called and asked for a discount if I paid I full. I was told that the hospital and the doctors (and there was 2 different hospitals and different doctors) offer a discount if you pay in full. We saved a few thousand dollars by just asking. I even put it on a credit card to get the points and paid it off the next billing cycle.

Good luck!

 

[kkwis2]

Our insurance cycle is July 1 - June 30. Last summer our son broke his arm on June 30 (trip to the ER), but couldn't have surgery to repair the break until the next day, July 1. We also have a very high deductible ($6000). So we had OOP to pay for both plan years. Of course these expenses were unplanned, and we didn't have that kind of money sitting around looking for a place to be spent.

I called each place that billed us ~ two hospitals, surgeon, anesthesia, etc. ~ to see if they could reduce the amount we owed in any way (discount for cash? for paying in full?). Not one of them was able to budge at all. When asked, one allowed me to wait until my next credit card billing cycle to charge my account but that was it.

I guess I just wanted to let you know that I know what you're going through. It is really tough to have large unexpected bills that will now continue to drain your finances until they are paid off.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

We have been in a high deductible plan for years now, and there are ways to manage it to make it better. When we opted for this plan, dh's co actually offered both major medical ("traditional") plans and the high deductible plan. It was about $250 a month cheaper to go with the hd plan. We plowed the "saved" $250 into an HSA account, and have done so ever since. It's rough the first year, b/c we meet our $3000 deductible in the first 3-5 months each year, but once we got past that first year, it got easier. We pay 90% of our bills from the tax deductible HSA, so the impact on our budget is minimal. When we don't have enough in the HSA to pay bills, we are usually able to negotiate partial payments with the providers and send them some money each month (did this when ds was hospitalized for a week and took about 6 mos to pay it off interest free). As long as they are getting some money, almost all providers will let you pay over time. We also take a look at how much we have in regular savings, and will transfer money to the HSA in order to pay the bill from the tax free account.

Families can put $6350 in these accounts in 2014 (obviously less for singles), and you have until April 15 to put money into the 2013 account ($6250 limit).

 

[OnlyDisney]

It wouldn't hurt to ask about financial aid. When our son had his tonsils out last July we had already planned on paying for it out of our HSA as we are on a High Deductible plan.
After the procedure we got a call from the Children's Hospital suggesting we apply for their financial aid. I was surprised they suggested this since DH makes pretty good money. I was even more surprised when they said we were approved at 100%! Of course this only covered the hospital part of the bill (but that was about $2000); we still had to pay the anesthesiologist and doctor bill.

 

[angwill]

It wouldn't hurt to ask about financial aid. When our son had his tonsils out last July we had already planned on paying for it out of our HSA as we are on a High Deductible plan.
After the procedure we got a call from the Children's Hospital suggesting we apply for their financial aid. I was surprised they suggested this since DH makes pretty good money. I was even more surprised when they said we were approved at 100%! Of course this only covered the hospital part of the bill (but that was about $2000); we still had to pay the anesthesiologist and doctor bill.

Good idea. Keep in mind all hospitals are different and this year from what my hospital told me they are offering a lot less charity. I know someone who made $29,000 last year with a family of 3 and qualified for 50% charity. Every little bit helps.

 

[mafibisha]

It wouldn't hurt to ask about financial aid. When our son had his tonsils out last July we had already planned on paying for it out of our HSA as we are on a High Deductible plan.
After the procedure we got a call from the Children's Hospital suggesting we apply for their financial aid. I was surprised they suggested this since DH makes pretty good money. I was even more surprised when they said we were approved at 100%! Of course this only covered the hospital part of the bill (but that was about $2000); we still had to pay the anesthesiologist and doctor bill.

How does this compare to getting part written off?
IOW, how do they differ, or are they basically just the same thing, but with different names? (for different hospitals?)

 

[bumbershoot]

Our insurance cycle is July 1 - June 30. Last summer our son broke his arm on June 30 (trip to the ER), but couldn't have surgery to repair the break until the next day, July 1. We also have a very high deductible ($6000). So we had OOP to pay for both plan years. Of course these expenses were unplanned, and we didn't have that kind of money sitting around looking for a place to be spent.

Ugh. Similar situation happened two us twice. First time with a normal insurance plan and the second time with a HD plan . After the second HD visit (both were for a rambunctious 3 year old) I realized that HD plans and families aren't a marriage made in heaven if you have any sort of chance.

How does this compare to getting part written off?
IOW, how do they differ, or are they basically just the same thing, but with different names? (for different hospitals?)

Most hospitals have funds that you can apply for. Being written off means no one has tried to get those funds, or has just not paid.

 

[angwill]

How does this compare to getting part written off?
IOW, how do they differ, or are they basically just the same thing, but with different names? (for different hospitals?)

The way I understand it is charity is applied for before the bill comes. Written off is what happens when they give up on trying to collect the money. I am pretty sure they write both off on their taxes at the end of the year as a loss. I could be wrong and the charity might now be able to be written off because it was explained to me charity comes from people who donate to help those in need and is a set amount each year.