[blueplum]

Before Medicare, you'd simply write it off as your good neighbor duty. Now you don't get a choice. CMMS (the actual administrative agency) requires you to send a bill. Twice. Or maybe three times. Whatever it takes to turn the bill into bad debt. Then you have to send it to a collection agency. Your only alternative is for your group to bring it up in its Board meeting and declare it a write-off that gets noted in the minutes.

the only point I'd bring up on this is, for those not on medicare or medicade, you have to be your own patient advocate. Any public hospital that accepts federal funding MUST write off a certain percentage of 'charity'. (which they in turn write off on their corporate taxes). BUT, you have to know enough to navigate the hospital's billing system to get your request for charity so you don't end up with collection agencies on your phone every two days. Most hospitals have an onsite patient advocate or information officer. They would be your contact person to explore the charity application details. Good luck.

[Pollard]

Most hospitals have an onsite patient advocate or information officer. They would be your contact person to explore the charity application details. Good luck.

One of our local hospitals is Mercy run by Baptists and they're very good about that.

[markman46]

true story

about 10 yrs ago my mother was in the hospital er, she had medicare and supplmental ins to pay what medicare didnt, anyway the hospital “forgot” to bill the supp. and my mom got forwarded to collections, i made one phone call to the hospital, and another to colllections.