Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: utahagen

That is amazing. Do you mean that if a person with a good job, say paying 70K per year, but has no health insurance racks up hospital and doctor bills that the hospital/doctors won’t sue?! I know they go after me for the part my insurance doesn’t pay. I understand if the person has nothing suing them is a dead end, but if they have a good income?


111 posted on 04/16/2007 11:09:06 AM PDT by GeorgefromGeorgia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 110 | View Replies ]


To: GeorgefromGeorgia
Hospitals, doctors, et al are highly unlikely to sue individuals who owe them money. Suing people itself costs money and it’s a crapshoot for hospitals to go to court against individuals. Here’s one thing that puts hospitals at a disadvantage: it is illegal for a hospital to turn people away from their emergency rooms. So, if an uninsured person is brought in unconscious and cared for, that person could later argue, “I wouldn't’t have asked for medical care I can’t pay for, but I was unconscious and the hospital treated me.” Anyone who owes a hospital money and is being badgered by calls and is worried about his credit, should go to a lawyer who specializes in debt negotiation. Hospitals are often happy to take a very small percentage of a debt as full payment because so many people don’t pay their bills at all. Some hospitals will stop badgering you completely if you call with a tale of woe. I know someone personally who had a baby out of wedlock at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. When she got the bill, she called and said, “I have no husband, no income...” Cedars said, “OK, and dropped the whole thing.” I’d tell anyone who wants to declare bankruptcy on account of medical bills that that is nuts. In answer to your question: even someone with good income and good credit is highly unlikely to be sued over medical bills. And if someone like that is sued, a lawyer could make it all go away for a significant chunk less than the total amount owed.
112 posted on 04/16/2007 11:24:24 AM PDT by utahagen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 111 | View Replies ]

To: GeorgefromGeorgia
Hospitals, doctors, et al are highly unlikely to sue individuals who owe them money. Suing people itself costs money and it’s a crapshoot for hospitals to go to court against individuals. Here’s one thing that puts hospitals at a disadvantage: it is illegal for a hospital to turn people away from their emergency rooms. So, if an uninsured person is brought in unconscious and cared for, that person could later argue, “I wouldn't’t have asked for medical care I can’t pay for, but I was unconscious and the hospital treated me.” Anyone who owes a hospital money and is being badgered by calls and is worried about his credit, should go to a lawyer who specializes in debt negotiation. Hospitals are often happy to take a very small percentage of a debt as full payment because so many people don’t pay their bills at all. Some hospitals will stop badgering you completely if you call with a tale of woe. I know someone personally who had a baby out of wedlock at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. When she got the bill, she called and said, “I have no husband, no income...” Cedars said, “OK, and dropped the whole thing.” I’d tell anyone who wants to declare bankruptcy on account of medical bills that that is nuts. In answer to your question: even someone with good income and good credit is highly unlikely to be sued over medical bills. And if someone like that is sued, a lawyer could make it all go away for a significant chunk less than the total amount owed.
113 posted on 04/16/2007 11:24:32 AM PDT by utahagen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 111 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson