Posted by Penny on February 6, 2004, at 13:52:01
In reply to last night in the Emergency Room (long), posted by socialdeviantjeff on February 6, 2004, at 1:24:58
Jeff,
I agree wholeheartedly with Toots regarding giving yourself a break about this. I am the queen of doing stupid things (and some even not necessarily stupid things, which I think is the category your trip to the ER falls under), and beating myself up about it forever.
You felt bad. You were afraid. You've had bad luck with medication (I have too - so I understand), and, considering that, you essentially are being undertreated for a disease that you have no control over (mental illness). Taking those things into consideration, I don't see how your visit to the ER wasn't perfectly justified. It's over and done with, and, I know, easier said than done, but try to let it go now.
As for insurance and hospital bills - how's your credit? If your credit is shot (as mine is :-), then forget the hospital bills. Really. Because they can't do anything about it unless you have a ton of assets lying around - but that bill is not likely to be high enough for them to go to too much trouble to collect. If your credit is good, and even if not but you want to try to pay them, then call them and work something out. Hospitals have to take whatever you can pay them - they may not like it - they may want you to pay a 'minimum' payment - but they don't ultimately have a choice. I know - I'm in the midst of this sort of myself, and I do have insurance, but my week in the hospital last summer, plus a trip to a sleep clinic at another hospital, combined with the fact that I have "too high an income", which is a load of bull, means that I qualify for no additional help - even though I owe them well over $2000. And they want minimum payments of $120 a month, for one of the hospitals. I can't swing it. Unfortunately for them, my credit is ruined anyway, due to my young adulthood stupidity, and I have a bankruptcy attorney who has advised me on all of this, and I am not paying them at this time.
Sorry for the long explanation that was, I'm sure, not necessary. To sum up, though, you can only do the best you can with what you have at the time. They can't imprison you in the US for failing to pay a debt. The worst they will do is send your debt to a collection agency, then a lawyer, then you might (at some point in the distant future) have a judgement taken out against you, but for a visit to the ER plus tests, this is not likely. The amount you owe them will not be significant enough for them to go to such trouble! Really!
Try to take care of yourself. I'm pretty sure most of us have been there at one point or another...
(((Jeff)))
Oh - one more thing - if your income is low enough, you may qualify for a waiver of your hospital bill completely. It requires that you fill out a form or two, but, truly, if you call the billing folks at the hospital, they are more likely than not to be pretty understanding. I guarantee you they deal with folks who can't afford to pay everyday.
P
poster:Penny
thread:310065
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040131/msgs/310196.html