> Unfortunately, if I am in a car accident and rack up $100,000 in bills, I am bankrupt.
...or you just have to haggle with the hospital and refuse to pay their grossly inflated funny money prices.
I have a good friend who incurred 30K in bills for a 2 day stay related to a broken femur. He has no insurance. Since seeing his bill, which wasn't itemized at all, he's basically refusing to pay anything until he sees what he's being charged for. In response to this demand the hospital reduced his bill by about 12K, magically, and still providing no itemization.
He is still refusing to pay and only time will tell what the outcome will be. It's very clear, however, that he was grossly overcharged and that the hospital has no clue what they're really billing for. It's a game. Some people roll over, others fight.
If someone really ends up with 100K+ in medical bills after adjustments then it might actually make sense to take 7 years of 'bad credit' after a bankruptcy. No easy answers here, but it's pretty clear we're all being swindled.
The rule of thumb that I've heard (from a health cost sharing ministry [0]) is that you should expect to be able to negotiate a discount of at least 40% if you're a self-pay patient.
My sister shattered an ankle a while back, and was billed around $40,000. Between reductions, writeoffs, and charities the hospital connected her to, she ended up only paying about $5000.
...or you just have to haggle with the hospital and refuse to pay their grossly inflated funny money prices.
I have a good friend who incurred 30K in bills for a 2 day stay related to a broken femur. He has no insurance. Since seeing his bill, which wasn't itemized at all, he's basically refusing to pay anything until he sees what he's being charged for. In response to this demand the hospital reduced his bill by about 12K, magically, and still providing no itemization.
He is still refusing to pay and only time will tell what the outcome will be. It's very clear, however, that he was grossly overcharged and that the hospital has no clue what they're really billing for. It's a game. Some people roll over, others fight.
If someone really ends up with 100K+ in medical bills after adjustments then it might actually make sense to take 7 years of 'bad credit' after a bankruptcy. No easy answers here, but it's pretty clear we're all being swindled.