Collection calls for medical debts and bills

Help with paying medical bills
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JenniferSmiA1
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Collection calls for medical debts and bills

Post by JenniferSmiA1 »

Hi, I live in Fairfax, Virginia. Recently my dad has gotten close to $5000 medical bills from various places, such as doctor offices, collections offices and lawyer offices. Our family is a low income family, I am still in college and I can't find job yet. My mom and dad are the only once working in the family and the both make less then 20k a year. I get calls from those people and I don't know how to pay for these bills. Which charities would willing to help us? Please give your advise.
Thank you,
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Re: Collection calls for medical debts and bills

Post by Admin »

I think the first thing you want to do is to look into your rights when it comes to debt collectors. There are only some things they can do, only call at certain times of days, and the federal government does have protections for consumers. Find a listing of how to get help from debt collectors and what your rights are. This site also has specific information on medical debt collection laws and rights too, so that should help. Programs are also noted for Virginia.
JenniferSmiA1 wrote:Hi, I live in Fairfax, Virginia. Recently my dad has gotten close to $5000 medical bills from various places, such as doctor offices, collections offices and lawyer offices. Our family is a low income family, I am still in college and I can't find job yet. My mom and dad are the only once working in the family and the both make less then 20k a year. I get calls from those people and I don't know how to pay for these bills. Which charities would willing to help us? Please give your advise.
Thank you,
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Re: Collection calls for medical debts and bills

Post by Lisbon »

I am in need of some assistance. I am trying to help my parents out with paying for my dad's medical bills. In August of 2011 my dad had several major surgeries done on his both his arms. His left hand had a lot of vascular work done on it and unfortunately his right arm (from the elbow down) was amputated. My dad has Medicare which has covered only part of his medical bills. My dad has over $100,000 in medical debt right now and I am not sure where to get some help from. Collectors are starting to call. I went to our local Department of Social Services to apply for Medicaid but I was told that my dad would have to still pay $9,200 towards the deductible for Medicaid before Medicaid will kick in to help with the bills. And also they only cover medical bills for the last 3 months, and my dad's surgery was about 9 months ago. And those are the most expensive bills too. We live in the state of Michigan. If you are able to provide me with any government programs or state listings that can assist with these medical bills I would greatly appreciate it. I am just stuck and don't know what direction to go in.
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Re: Collection calls for medical debts and bills

Post by Admin »

When debt collectors start calling it can be scary. That is great that you are trying to help out your parents with their medical bills and expenses. 100K in medical debt is so high that not much you can do with it. You can call hospital and doctors and ask for payment plans, lower interest rates, etc. Also try working with a non-profit credit counseling agency. As far as the phone calls, look into help with debt collectors and learn your rights and what they can or can't do. There are federal laws, and Michigan has its own too.
Lisbon wrote:I am in need of some assistance. I am trying to help my parents out with paying for my dad's medical bills. In August of 2011 my dad had several major surgeries done on his both his arms. His left hand had a lot of vascular work done on it and unfortunately his right arm (from the elbow down) was amputated. My dad has Medicare which has covered only part of his medical bills. My dad has over $100,000 in medical debt right now and I am not sure where to get some help from. Collectors are starting to call. I went to our local Department of Social Services to apply for Medicaid but I was told that my dad would have to still pay $9,200 towards the deductible for Medicaid before Medicaid will kick in to help with the bills. And also they only cover medical bills for the last 3 months, and my dad's surgery was about 9 months ago. And those are the most expensive bills too. We live in the state of Michigan. If you are able to provide me with any government programs or state listings that can assist with these medical bills I would greatly appreciate it. I am just stuck and don't know what direction to go in.
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Re: Collection calls for medical debts and bills

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To whom it may concern:
I found your information online in a desperate attempt to get some information or assistance with a medical bill that was recently sent to a collections agency. A little background: we have Healthy Family Insurance for my 3 year old daughter. We pay a monthly premium of $20.00 for health ins. for both my children. My son was admitted to a hospital in Los Angeles, CA on 3/9 with a condition. Once she was admitted, a few days later we were contacted by California Children's Services (CCS) informing us that their branch would be taking over medical expenses for our son since Healthy Family does not cover hospital stay. During his stay, he had several surgeries to "drain” the bacteria. Thankfully, she made a full recovery and was released on 4/15. We received an information package from CCS instructing us to send any medical bills directly to them and they would handle approval & payment. We of course received bills, all of which were paid and covered by CCS. One bill in particular from the Dr. (he performed surgery) for over $11K was not covered by CCS with a notation that they did not accept our provider and we needed to pay for services rendered. I forwarded the Bill to CCS. The case worker assured me that they would handle the bill. I subsequently received two more bills showing payment not received. I again forwarded the bills to CCS. The agent told me that they were having problems with the doctors office, namely he refused to become "Paneled" with CCS so that he could be paid. The agent informed his billing office of our insurance status in particularly that we have CCS because we qualified with the State of CA for low cost insurance coverage. The agent told the billing personnel that if the Dr refuses to become "Paneled" then he will not be paid through the State. Also he stated that the Dr shouldn't Bill the family for payment since they obviously cannot afford the expense. The doctors office adamantly refused to get "Paneled" and said that the family is ultimately responsible for payment. They never suggested a lower cost for services nor reducing the amount due. So now the Bill is in collections. We have no clue how we are going to pay off this debt. Side note: we did not request for doctor as a specialist on our son's case. The hospital informed us that they were bringing him on the case since he is a specialist in this type of infection. CPMC has told me that on-call doctors on staff Bill directly and the hospital had no control how they bill. Would your firm be able to direct me to some sort of medical billing advocate or assist me in getting this Bill reduced or waived. It just seems so wrong to me that all the doctor had to do was get "Paneled" then he would've been paid! Please contact me with any assistance you can provide. Thank you in advanced for your help.
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Re: Collection calls for medical debts and bills

Post by LittleBigTown »

I am trying to find a company to consolidate a handful of medical bills that came from a knee surgery and having an ovary removed as well as medical help to stop taking the pain medication afterwards. I have a job and insurance that doesn't pay that well and I keep getting called by collectors. I have custody of my son and after the cost of living and paying for the things a fast growing 11 year old boy needs. I just can't keep track of the bills and payments and if I did pay them each every month which is what I have been trying to do, it is $10 or $20 because there ARE a few I believe 6 total.
I think the total cost is around 3,000 plus a little more. I do not know how or who to contact to help me I am a resident of Jackson, MS. Can you please help me to get in touch with someone who can help me. I do not want to ruin my credit that I am just now building.
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Re: Collection calls for medical debts and bills

Post by Joaquin »

Hello
I am hoping to find help paying medical bills from 2013, when I gave birth to my daughter. I tried paying them but just didn't have the "extra" funds to keep up with the payments. At this point the bills have gone to collections. One has gone to a lawyer. Please help!!! I live in Apple Valley MN.
Thank you.
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