A Hand Up w/Medical Bill
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On June 22, 2015, James nearly lost his left arm after falling off a ladder onto a concrete saw. The accident severed five muscles all the way down to the bone and caused nerve damage in his dominate arm and hand. It truly has been life altering for our family but for James in ways I cannot even begin to understand. James has pushed through and worked (we own a construction-based business) as much as we can but the accident has changed what and how much he can do. He tries to ignore it and push through. I love him for that because I know some days are better than others.
Since the accident, I have been fighting with the insurance company and healthcare providers regarding the cost of treatment. When James was first admitted to the ER, the doctors stated they were not qualified to perform the surgery due to the complex injury. James was then transported to another hospital for emergency surgery. That is where the problems started. The discharging hospital coded him as “stable” therefore when he was transported the insurance would not cover the charges. The hospital was in-network but the surgeon on-call was not. This small distinction has created a tremendous pain and struggle on top of everything. The massive amount of medical bills between the hospital, anesthesiologist, surgeon, ambulance, and physical therapy has been hard to manage.
The last year has meant extensive phone calls, certified letters, emails, and more to negotiate the various bills. I cannot begin to count the hours spent on insurance claims or make arrangements for payment. For the most part, that time and effort has been successful to reduce the bills down to in-network copays. There is only one account left and I have exhausted all appeals from the insurance standpoint. The out-of-network hand surgeon is balance billing us for $14,826.84 and is known for suing and garnishing wages (http://goo.gl/rfvQQr ). About 60 days ago, the collection efforts escaladed with the threat to sue us for the unpaid balance. I have never denied owning money, just wanted it to be the copay and out of pocket maximum for in-network services (which we have already fulfilled). Last ditch effort, I found a customer claims advocate, to help negotiate a settlement directly with the billing office.
Last Friday, we heard back that the surgeon will accept a settlement of $3,000 if the balance is paid in full by September 9, 2016 at 5 pm. That is a HUGE blessing and a wonderful outcome! I am so grateful BUT going to struggle to come up with that kind of money in less than two weeks.
Now that there hope and the time is short, I am asking for a hand-up not a hand-out to get through this time. Heck even if it’s just $10 that’s $10 less than we had to figure out. Hopeful for a reprieve right now. Just want to feel like we are taking a step forward and not struggling to get by. Without help, this will take every last penny we don’t have but I know we’ll figure it out. We have to. Although I am tremendously relieved at the possibility of the $15,00 debt going away, I am overwhelmed over trying to figure out how to get the $3,000 without creating even more financial pressure on our lives.
Thank you for reading this. Thank you for considering a gift to make a difference in our lives. You are wonderful.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Sasha
Since the accident, I have been fighting with the insurance company and healthcare providers regarding the cost of treatment. When James was first admitted to the ER, the doctors stated they were not qualified to perform the surgery due to the complex injury. James was then transported to another hospital for emergency surgery. That is where the problems started. The discharging hospital coded him as “stable” therefore when he was transported the insurance would not cover the charges. The hospital was in-network but the surgeon on-call was not. This small distinction has created a tremendous pain and struggle on top of everything. The massive amount of medical bills between the hospital, anesthesiologist, surgeon, ambulance, and physical therapy has been hard to manage.
The last year has meant extensive phone calls, certified letters, emails, and more to negotiate the various bills. I cannot begin to count the hours spent on insurance claims or make arrangements for payment. For the most part, that time and effort has been successful to reduce the bills down to in-network copays. There is only one account left and I have exhausted all appeals from the insurance standpoint. The out-of-network hand surgeon is balance billing us for $14,826.84 and is known for suing and garnishing wages (http://goo.gl/rfvQQr ). About 60 days ago, the collection efforts escaladed with the threat to sue us for the unpaid balance. I have never denied owning money, just wanted it to be the copay and out of pocket maximum for in-network services (which we have already fulfilled). Last ditch effort, I found a customer claims advocate, to help negotiate a settlement directly with the billing office.
Last Friday, we heard back that the surgeon will accept a settlement of $3,000 if the balance is paid in full by September 9, 2016 at 5 pm. That is a HUGE blessing and a wonderful outcome! I am so grateful BUT going to struggle to come up with that kind of money in less than two weeks.
Now that there hope and the time is short, I am asking for a hand-up not a hand-out to get through this time. Heck even if it’s just $10 that’s $10 less than we had to figure out. Hopeful for a reprieve right now. Just want to feel like we are taking a step forward and not struggling to get by. Without help, this will take every last penny we don’t have but I know we’ll figure it out. We have to. Although I am tremendously relieved at the possibility of the $15,00 debt going away, I am overwhelmed over trying to figure out how to get the $3,000 without creating even more financial pressure on our lives.
Thank you for reading this. Thank you for considering a gift to make a difference in our lives. You are wonderful.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Sasha
Organizer
Sasha Lewis
Organizer
Phoenix, AZ