Example of ER bills for an uninsured

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What state are you in that the ACA plans are 1k per month for an 18k deductible for a single person?

Family of 4

Put the kids on CHIP and you go on an ACA plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What state are you in that the ACA plans are 1k per month for an 18k deductible for a single person?

Family of 4

Put the kids on CHIP and you go on an ACA plan.

Thank you for trying to help. Don't qualify for CHIP based on income. Just checked.

[Anonymous]

Can you or your spouse get a corporate job so that you have group health insurance?

I know it sucks having to work for the man and not follow your dreams; I’ve been doing it for 20 years because I need health insurance. But sometimes we need to put our dreams aside and make responsible choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am uninsured because ACA is not A for me, it's Unafforadble (UCA). I am not entirely low income but in the very uncomfortable middle for whom ACA costs are too expensive. Monthly premiums higher than 1,000 and a deductible of $18,000. What would the ACA coverage help me with in this case? Nada, for $1,000+ a month, I would have to pay this 2,350 bill out of pocket as part of deductible!

You would actually be paying the insurance negotiated rate which would be substantially lower. Curious what you would do if you were in an accident or diagnosed with something chronic or terminal? You need insurance for the unpredictable. Also there are 24 hour urgent cares in many places or your just wait until the am.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am uninsured because ACA is not A for me, it's Unafforadble (UCA). I am not entirely low income but in the very uncomfortable middle for whom ACA costs are too expensive. Monthly premiums higher than 1,000 and a deductible of $18,000. What would the ACA coverage help me with in this case? Nada, for $1,000+ a month, I would have to pay this 2,350 bill out of pocket as part of deductible!

Ok so it sounds like you’ve come out ahead.

Yes, I have. My only regret is that I didn't wait until the morning to go to urgent care. I think this case was minor enough to wait. I really did not know that the ER would be so horribly expensive! So, just mentioning this for others, who might be in a similar situation, insured or not. I think the ERs have a new practice now too--maybe starting this year only, where they bill separately for the ER and then you get aggressive messages with a second bill for the doctor. And not all insurances have these doctors in-network, so even insured people can get stuck with a huge bill unreimbursed by insurance. Just avoid the ER like the plague for minor things that can wait till the morning. Always choose urgent care.[/quote]

Yes this is exactly what everyone is supposed to do, even if you have insurance.

I'm curious OP, do you have savings? Bc a real medical emergency can wipe that out. That's the value of an ACA plan, even with a high deductible and premiums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you or your spouse get a corporate job so that you have group health insurance?

I know it sucks having to work for the man and not follow your dreams; I’ve been doing it for 20 years because I need health insurance. But sometimes we need to put our dreams aside and make responsible choices.

Sure, I'd get any corporate job that pays. What about preschool children? Where do I find 4,000 a month to pay for their daycare? Do you think the corporate job will even bring me 4,000 a month?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am uninsured because ACA is not A for me, it's Unafforadble (UCA). I am not entirely low income but in the very uncomfortable middle for whom ACA costs are too expensive. Monthly premiums higher than 1,000 and a deductible of $18,000. What would the ACA coverage help me with in this case? Nada, for $1,000+ a month, I would have to pay this 2,350 bill out of pocket as part of deductible!

Ok so it sounds like you’ve come out ahead.

Yes, I have. My only regret is that I didn't wait until the morning to go to urgent care. I think this case was minor enough to wait. I really did not know that the ER would be so horribly expensive! So, just mentioning this for others, who might be in a similar situation, insured or not. I think the ERs have a new practice now too--maybe starting this year only, where they bill separately for the ER and then you get aggressive messages with a second bill for the doctor. And not all insurances have these doctors in-network, so even insured people can get stuck with a huge bill unreimbursed by insurance. Just avoid the ER like the plague for minor things that can wait till the morning. Always choose urgent care.[/quote]

Yes this is exactly what everyone is supposed to do, even if you have insurance.

I'm curious OP, do you have savings? Bc a real medical emergency can wipe that out. That's the value of an ACA plan, even with a high deductible and premiums.

zero savings, mountain of credit card debt. Does this answer your question? No money to pay for UCA premiums.

[Anonymous]

Medical billing in the US is infuriating. I bet if you walked into the ER right now, and asked how much is the pregnancy test, no one there could tell you it's $224. Can you think of another business where you go in and ask for service and no one there can provide a price?

Then, the bill you got is list prices. Those with insurance have a negotiated rate that is steeply discounted. I had a 1-hour surgery on my leg a few years ago (broken bone, needed a screw inserted). The list price on the bill was $33k. The discounted price was about $4k, and I had to pay about $600 and insurance covered the rest.

So as others have mentioned, call up biling and tell them you have little money, and offer to settle. Start at 10% of the bill and go up to about 30%.

If you have a little time... the government finally required hospitals to post their pricing... sort of. Here's a price list for all hospitals run by Hopkins, like Sibley and Suburban:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/patient-care/patients-visitors/billing-insurance/pay-bill/charges-fees

The price list for Sibley is over 450,000 lines (I'm not kidding!) but it does list the price insurers have negotiated. If you can wade through such a file for your hospital, you know what kind of rate you can get. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you or your spouse get a corporate job so that you have group health insurance?

I know it sucks having to work for the man and not follow your dreams; I’ve been doing it for 20 years because I need health insurance. But sometimes we need to put our dreams aside and make responsible choices.

Sure, I'd get any corporate job that pays. What about preschool children? Where do I find 4,000 a month to pay for their daycare? Do you think the corporate job will even bring me 4,000 a month?

If you do not currently work, you get a job at Target on nights and weekends to qualify for their insurance. It’s unconscionable that you do not have health insurance for your children. Your spouse could prioritize getting a job with insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Medical billing in the US is infuriating. I bet if you walked into the ER right now, and asked how much is the pregnancy test, no one there could tell you it's $224. Can you think of another business where you go in and ask for service and no one there can provide a price?

Then, the bill you got is list prices. Those with insurance have a negotiated rate that is steeply discounted. I had a 1-hour surgery on my leg a few years ago (broken bone, needed a screw inserted). The list price on the bill was $33k. The discounted price was about $4k, and I had to pay about $600 and insurance covered the rest.

So as others have mentioned, call up biling and tell them you have little money, and offer to settle. Start at 10% of the bill and go up to about 30%.

If you have a little time... the government finally required hospitals to post their pricing... sort of. Here's a price list for all hospitals run by Hopkins, like Sibley and Suburban:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/patient-care/patients-visitors/billing-insurance/pay-bill/charges-fees

The price list for Sibley is over 450,000 lines (I'm not kidding!) but it does list the price insurers have negotiated. If you can wade through such a file for your hospital, you know what kind of rate you can get. Good luck!

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you or your spouse get a corporate job so that you have group health insurance?

I know it sucks having to work for the man and not follow your dreams; I’ve been doing it for 20 years because I need health insurance. But sometimes we need to put our dreams aside and make responsible choices.

Sure, I'd get any corporate job that pays. What about preschool children? Where do I find 4,000 a month to pay for their daycare? Do you think the corporate job will even bring me 4,000 a month?

If you do not currently work, you get a job at Target on nights and weekends to qualify for their insurance. It’s unconscionable that you do not have health insurance for your children. Your spouse could prioritize getting a job with insurance.

He is trying and it takes him weeknights and weekends to get training and apply for a better job. Thank you for caring. He could probably get a much lower paying job with insurance faster, but what's the point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you or your spouse get a corporate job so that you have group health insurance?

I know it sucks having to work for the man and not follow your dreams; I’ve been doing it for 20 years because I need health insurance. But sometimes we need to put our dreams aside and make responsible choices.

Sure, I'd get any corporate job that pays. What about preschool children? Where do I find 4,000 a month to pay for their daycare? Do you think the corporate job will even bring me 4,000 a month?

If you do not currently work, you get a job at Target on nights and weekends to qualify for their insurance. It’s unconscionable that you do not have health insurance for your children. Your spouse could prioritize getting a job with insurance.

He is trying and it takes him weeknights and weekends to get training and apply for a better job. Thank you for caring. He could probably get a much lower paying job with insurance faster, but what's the point?

Then you get the night/weekend job that offers insurance. You chose to have 2 kids and are not providing them with basic care even though you have the ability too. You really think it’s justifiable to not provide your kids with health insurance when you have the ability to?

Also, the ACA subsidiaries phase out at 120k for a family of 4. So you could choose to buy insurance, and not a bronze plan with a high deductible. But you’re not.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry OP.

It's a pain, but you should request an itemized bill and go through each of the charges. Sometimes there are errors. Also, checking to see if you qualify for "charity care" or whatever the equivalent is, can be worthwhile.

https://www.health.com/money/negotiate-medical-bills

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you or your spouse get a corporate job so that you have group health insurance?

I know it sucks having to work for the man and not follow your dreams; I’ve been doing it for 20 years because I need health insurance. But sometimes we need to put our dreams aside and make responsible choices.

Sure, I'd get any corporate job that pays. What about preschool children? Where do I find 4,000 a month to pay for their daycare? Do you think the corporate job will even bring me 4,000 a month?

If you do not currently work, you get a job at Target on nights and weekends to qualify for their insurance. It’s unconscionable that you do not have health insurance for your children. Your spouse could prioritize getting a job with insurance.

He is trying and it takes him weeknights and weekends to get training and apply for a better job. Thank you for caring. He could probably get a much lower paying job with insurance faster, but what's the point?

Then you get the night/weekend job that offers insurance. You chose to have 2 kids and are not providing them with basic care even though you have the ability too. You really think it’s justifiable to not provide your kids with health insurance when you have the ability to?

Also, the ACA subsidiaries phase out at 120k for a family of 4. So you could choose to buy insurance, and not a bronze plan with a high deductible. But you’re not.

Maybe we should just get a basic job and make sure we earn no more than 70K? because at that level the hospital I went to would offer us services for free. (free services for those earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level). I wonder what we would eat and where we would live then. Oh, wait, should we apply for government assistance for food and housing? We have never received any public assistance and don't plan on doing it as long as we can work.

And buying insurance would cost how much? I mean, maybe I don't understand something. Where do I find an insurance that does not cost thousands of dollars in order to get a reasonable deductible? You just don't seem to understand that there is a painful middle ground between those qualifying for free healthcare and those with very high income or very good employer insurance.

I did not post in money and finance forum for a reason. My point was to update whoever might benefit from it that ER costs 20+ times more than urgent care. If anyone is in a situation like ours (and I hope it is temporary). I didn't expect such bills. And pregnancy test does not cost $224. Take the facts if you need, leave the thread if you don't.

[Anonymous]

People here will be horrified but don't pay it. Don't pay a dime. Don't call to negotiate. Just don't pay.

If they were billing your health insurance the cost would be a third or less of what they're charging you. Frankly, they don't expect you to pay. Most people with insurance don't.

It won't go on your credit. You can check because the law varies from state to state, but in quite a few of them there's very little collectors can do to get medical debt.