Urgent Help On Emergency Bills from a helpless victim?
I'm here in the states for 3 months and I'm married to a us citizen. I have not got my green card yet but me and my husband has applied for my green card and we should get it within a year.
A month ago, I had a very bad sickness and ended up visiting the emergency room in a hospital. Without knowing or being told how dreadfully expensive it would be, we thought the cost would no more than 500 bucks. But by the time we received the bill from the hospital we were thrilled. They charged us for 4500 dollars not including the payment we will need to pay the doctor.
4,500 for WHAT? I stayed like for 2 hours in a narrow emergency bed and it was not me who wanted to stay on it. They were really slow on they works, so it kept me waiting and waiting. On the bill it shows that for that bed I will have to pay 2000 bucks. I was shocked cuz nobody ever at least let me know that's what it costs just staying on a bed, which was not even quite a bed.
to be contiued
Answer:
well im a 56 year old granny who has worked since I was 14. I have raised two children by myself who are college educated with no pubic assistance or scholorships, both are top of their class, TOP< NOT SECOND OR THIRD. I have had two heart attacks and lost my job. I now have no insurance and cannot afford my medication. I've lived here 56 years and worked, you've been here how long? .go get a job and pay your dang bill, I've paid mine for years.
I am guessing your husband is either American or has been there some time, so why did he not know? does he not have insurance?
I have been told by a colleague who worked 'ER' that everything is written down. so you would be charged for each syringe used for bloods as well as for the seperate test done on it. Everything is charged.
If you still think you are being overcharged ask the hospital for an itemised bill.
And please for your own sake get insurance just in case you are sick again!
I hope you are fully recovered now...take care:)
If you are married to a US citizen, why didn't he know how expensive hospitals are? You could have gotten the same treatment if you went to a private doctor or a clinic and it would have been a lot cheaper.
You said they don't have your SSN? Did you give them your address or your real name? If not, you are home free.
Don't listen to the ice agent he's mindless but I would try to see if they have payment plans I aplode you for wanting to pay your bill there we have it an immigrant who is paying her bills when all you get on here is crap from bigots and mindless social racial idiots on here don't worry everything is gonna be ok
You are not a helpless victim. You are choosing to be here illegally. You are unable to get insurance through your husbands employer because you are here illegally.
I would contact the hospital and see if you can negotiate the price. They will come down in price, if call and negotiate with them.
~~~EDIT~~~~
You said~~~The hospital don't have my SSN. I wonder, how long dose it usually take for hospital to transfer this bill to a collecting company to collect the money from me? Will they sue me?
YOU ARE HERE ILLEGALLY, you do not have a SSN unless you stole it from an American citizen
It is true - the Emergency Room costs are quite likely the highest that you will see for medical treatment. In part this is because the system has to pay for a lot of expensive technology and people's time to 'be there when needed'. In part, it is to discourage folks who use the emergency services when they could just as easily have walked down to the local clinic or their own family doctor and been treated.
Often, the first thing the hospital will do is ask for proof of insurance. If this is obtained, they proceed to bill you based on what the insurance premiums will cover. Sometimes, they try to get some of their investment back by raising the price somewhat for those without insurance. This little detail IS something your (boyfriend at the time, husband at present) should have known, even if he'd never personally had to access the emergency services. Someone in his family must have been hurt at one time or another, or else a neighbor had!
You might get somewhere by presenting your case to hospital administration (by leveraging the fact that you were getting married, you were in the process of being put on insurance, etc). Don't count on it though ... in the US, hospitals (and their staff) are in the business of making money, as well as saving lives.
Get a complete itemized list of the expenses incurred. Then have your husband talk to his insurance company and check into the rates they would pay for those services. Compare the values ... and you might have a point to argue with the hospital about.
You might just have got bad luck, and happened to pick the most expensive ER in the city.
Most of all - be sure to pay the bill. If you default, it will affect your (and your husband's) credit rating. And, if they come after you for non-payment, it may end up in a criminal charge (for fraud, basically). If that is the case, you can pretty much count on your green card application being tossed - if you haven't received it yet. Alternatively, you could have it revoked for having a criminal charge against you as well, if it has already been issued.
Good luck.
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