Help! $10,000 plus in Medical Bills, no Insurance!!?

Help! $10,000 plus in Medical Bills, no Insurance!!? My husband and I had our son 4/11/2008, we are uninsured. We were denied the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) because we %26quot;make too much money!%26quot; PLEASE!W e are both working at fast food joints and making $10.50 and $12 respectively. Anyway, the point is, is that we are now in debt over $10,000 due to the hospital visit when my son was born and don%26#039;t know what to do. It took 2 months for them to process our application for the OHP only to be denied and now 2 months of bills are building up. I feel like the state of Oregon screwed me over and I am being punished for bringing a life into this world. Is there any help out there?

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2 days ago

Dear Rick B, did you ever think that people get pregnant on accident? Thanks! Excuse me for feeling like Oregon screwed me over because we are living at the poverty level and were told that applying for the OHP would be our best bet, when we were denied, it was very unfair!

1 day ago

OK wow, so I really was just venting... does anyone have any REAL suggestions? I DID apply before I got pregnant and was told the same thing %26quot; YOU MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY%26quot;. We got pregnant on ACCIDENT, they DO NOT provide health insurance at my place of employment, SO SUE ME!!!! My husband turned down insurance because it didn%26#039;t cover maternity costs. **** people, can%26#039;t someone make a mistake? We make enough money to pay our bills, rent, food, etc, but NOT ENOUGH TO PAY $10,000 in medical bills all at once, anyone out there who cares? GOD DAMN!

You didn%26#039;t get screwed over. You just made bad choices, and now are upset that someone else didn%26#039;t pick up the pieces.

Bad Choice #1: What fast food place doesn%26#039;t offer insurance to full time employees? Did either you or your husband (or both) turn down the opportunity for insurance coverage through work? (By my calculations, surely you must have known you were pregnant at open enrollment time. Even if you had previously declined insurance coverage, you could have signed up during open enrollment.)

Bad Choice #2: Why did you wait so long to apply for Medicaid? You%26#039;re complaining that the state took 2 months to process your application...why didn%26#039;t you apply earlier in your pregnancy? This would have allowed you more leeway to develop a backup plan and/or appeal the State%26#039;s decision before your child was born.

Bad Choice #3: Not being more careful, knowing that you were uninsured and can%26#039;t afford to pay the out of pocket costs for having your child. If you can%26#039;t afford to give birth to the child, how in the world are you going to handle raising him?

You%26#039;re not %26quot;being punished for bringing a life into this world.%26quot; You%26#039;re having to deal with the consequences of your irresponsibility.

Call the hospital and work out a payment plan. They%26#039;ll likely give a self-pay discount to you, and then you%26#039;ll just have to make payments until the debt is satisfied.

And please stop blaming everyone but yourselves for the predicament you%26#039;re in - part of being a good parent is learning how to be responsible, and you%26#039;re learning an important (though expensive) lesson here.

Edit to add: You *have* received real suggestions here...negotiate a cash price with the hospital, and then make a payment plan for the remaining balance. No one is saying that you have to pay the $10K all at once, but you are going to have to make proper arrangements to deal with the issue. There is no magic wand to make it all go away. Find out what the hospital%26#039;s self-pay discount is...you may be able to knock a few thousand off the balance. Then arrange monthly payments for what%26#039;s left. Yes, it will take you awhile to pay it off, and no, it won%26#039;t be easy. But its the only real option you have. 15 years working for medical providers and health insurance companies, mom of 2

You need to call the hospital, and ask them to reprice to a cash price.

Not qualifying for welfare insurance is NOT being %26quot;screwed over%26quot;. The PROBLEM is, you guys don%26#039;t make enough to cover what you want to spend (apparently), and have no health insurance. It%26#039;s not a punishmnet, it%26#039;s a natural consequence.

You COULD have done a homebirth, with all prenatal care, for under $2,000. You chose the most expensive route. Heck, women give birth, several a year, in those fast food restaurant parking lots on the WAY to the hospital.

You need a plan. Your current plan (which, btw, should be grossing you $45,000 a year full time, which is slightly over the national household average), if it%26#039;s not working for you, needs to include increasing your income. Or spending less. Or both. I%26#039;d STRONGLY suggest starting by signing up for health insurance with your employer. agent, 21+ years

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