Sully Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Just wondering if anyone knows the answer to this question.. Say a person needs to go to the ER for surgery, but the person doesn't have a job or insurance. How does the bill for the surgery, ER visit, etc get paid? Is the person still liable for all charges? If this person doesn't have a job, insurance, or any income, how are they suppose to pay? I mean, the ER can't refuse someone because of no insurance or income, right? So, who picks up the tab? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Just say you are an illegal and want your free medical care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted June 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 HAHA!! Ok, but serious responses please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88lx5oh Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 i believe its just billed to you. and then you will have a debt until its payed off. your still responsible for it until the debt is payed. and will be on your credit history. a temp at work has tons of medical bills from a tumor and he didnt have a job at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorne Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Yeah they just bill you. My wife had no insurance a few years ago and when she went to the ER I'm still paying a few grand off from all the tests they ran to come back and tell her that her sugar was just screwed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhobs Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 I had to go about 7 months ago for a cyst on my ovaries thought i was having appendicitis issue. The bill was $10,000 all together then at the time i was there i applied for financial aide bc i didnt have insurance. They ended up paying $6,000 of it. SO im still left with 4 grand to pay off but better then 10 grand!! Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianZ06 Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 You get billed and then you can make a deal with them to reduce it down and they can reduce it a lot if they want.Then you can make payments or pay it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragknee66 Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Just say you are an illegal and want your free medical care. i seriously just spit coffee out all over the place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Make a fake ID with your picture but the info of someone you really don't like. They'll get the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Hey, what if you go into Mitchells and order and eat and then just leave, who gets the bill? That is called theft. Seriously, you give them your information and they bill you. You don't get the insurance company's negotiated rates you pay full rack rate. If you don't pay they send you to a collection agency. You can go to the hospital administration and negotiate a payment schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Yeah, some places will lower the bill considerably if you take the time to speak to them. They'd rather have something than nothing anyway and Im sure they're well aware of their ridiculous pricing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old dirty bastard Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 If you meet federal poverty guidelines it can be free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTHER91 Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 if you have no income and can provide proof and its nto 30 gabigillion $$ they withh charge it off as charity (i had to do this about 5 yrs ago for all my back problems) but you can have had a job for like 3 months or so i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirks5oh Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 the hospital eats the cost---period. we deal with homeless people constantly. where do we send their bill?? to the bridge under west broad st.??? i've had people come into my clinic and ask about their $30,000 bill from surgery that they received. the hospital works with them to reduce the cost, and they end up not paying for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 the hospital eats the cost---period. we deal with homeless people constantly. where do we send their bill?? to the bridge under west broad st.??? i've had people come into my clinic and ask about their $30,000 bill from surgery that they received. the hospital works with them to reduce the cost, and they end up not paying for it. Ok, so let's say this person is not homeless. They are able to make their house payment, plus utilitites, plus living costs (food, gas, water, electric, car payments, etc). So if this person was to go to the ER, does the ER collect financial information, like how much this person has in their bank accounts, etc? If the ER doesn't collect this information, does the person just not pay the bill and it will be picked up by tax payers? Or what? I'm hoping this person finds a job soon that offers insurance, but if not, the problem could become life threatening soon. I'm just trying to keep this person from dieing. Should I just call the ER and ask them how it's handled? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirks5oh Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Ok, so let's say this person is not homeless. They are able to make their house payment, plus utilitites, plus living costs (food, gas, water, electric, car payments, etc). So if this person was to go to the ER, does the ER collect financial information, like how much this person has in their bank accounts, etc? If the ER doesn't collect this information, does the person just not pay the bill and it will be picked up by tax payers? Or what? I'm hoping this person finds a job soon that offers insurance, but if not, the problem could become life threatening soon. I'm just trying to keep this person from dieing. Should I just call the ER and ask them how it's handled? if they need to go to the hospital, they need to go, regardless of insurance/money. this is why are health care system is fucked. people don't have family doctors to deal with routine problems until they get way out of hand, and become emergencies. there are plenty of clinics around town that cater to the uninsured Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodRed Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 If it is as bad as you are making it out to be, there shouldn't be a question, go and get it fixed. Worry about paying for it later. After you get the bill, there should be something on the back about how to reduce your bill if you meet certin finanical guidelines (below poverty level). I think in this case if you have no income, it is bascially done for free and they end up billing Medicare or eating the cost. Basically all hospitals have a "insurance" to cover to costs in situations like this, so they won't be out much money if any at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 I went to the hospital when I didnt have healthcare a few years ago (albeit i wasnt AWARE I didnt have healthcare at the time). What everyone said was correct, if they KNOW they can't pay it/dont have health insurance then they can work out a payment plan with the hospital and possibly get some of the cost taken off so its at least a manageable amount. As long as they contact the HOSPITALS COLLECTION AGENCY IMMEDIATLY, and they dont let it go to a third party collection's agency they SHOULD be ok. This is how it was explained to me a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.