A weekly thread to discuss financial matters - from personal all the way up to global.
Ground Rules
- Remember that we're all just Internet randos. Don't bet your life savings on a hot tip from this thread.
- Keep culture war in the culture war thread. Yes, global events may impact our personal finances, but that does not mean we have to incessantly harp on culture war aspects here. If you are going to discuss it, please stick to the practical impacts of it on an individual level.
- Be kind. Remember that everyone here comes from different circumstances. We all have different resources available and different risk tolerances.
- Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better is better. Celebrate people when they take a step up and work to move their finances in the right direction. Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
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Notes -
Do hospitals actually have the investigative power to go find your accounts and know if you have money? This sounds highly doubtful since the majority of uninsured probably don’t have money.
The hospital doesn't do it. they would likely outsource it to a debt collection agency, assuming it ever got that far. Because it's a service, like student loan debt, it cannot be repossessed . This means trying to garnish wages, and courts can block this. Medical debt is like delinquent student loans: a long drawn out legal process that works to the debtor's favor, and lots of wiggle room. The best bet is to negotiate as much as possible and pay as little as you can, but do not ignore the bill.
They can't collect. It won't go on your credit. And you have the legal right to tell them to stop harassing you.
For the record, I don't recommend doing this since it's morally wrong. I would pay the hospital a fair price far before it ever got to this.
If they can’t collect and you don’t take a credit hit there’s zero incentive to pay. I 100% recommend doing this, contra your point about ethics. I’m selfish. I’ll own it.
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My knowledge of this is less intimate than I'd like because most of my career involves decreasing autonomy and the hospital does shit in the background with little involvement from me, but it's usually pretty obvious that someone can't pay. You can ask for a payment plan or pretend to be homeless or whatever but you have to convince them if they are going to adjust.
As others note the amount they charge the insurance company isn't going to be the same amount they charge you (or the insurance company pays) but that's only mostly. Private equity run physician groups will be aggressive about seeking professional charges even if you are homeless or other similar things can pop up. The hospital can refuse to negotiate and does do that.
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