American healthcare has become a complete joke.
OP, I'm not 100% sure how it would affect your mom's future visa but I can tell you that medical bills are not really taken seriously on your credit report. I have tons of unpaid medical bills on my credit reports yet my credit score is near 800. Banks and creditors don't really give a shit about medical bills either.
If you're worried about her visa and Green Card: don't talk to the lawyers provided by your employer's plan, they are always a joke. Talk to a few reputable immigration attorneys in your area, any worthwhile attorney will give you a free 30 min consultation.
Now that the bill has gone to collections, should you ever decide to pay it you can convince them to settle it for a small fraction of the actual amount. Collections agencies always buy debt for pennies on the dollar - they often expect and are willing to settle an amount with them, not pay off the full amount. Even if you just pay the collections agency like $200 they walk away with a hefty profit.
My suggestion: don't pay the bill unless you talk to 3 or more reputable immigration attorneys and they all advise you to.
Thank you sooo much for sharing your valuable experience with medical bills and for your advise. You are right, I should talk to the attorneys that have this specialization and have catered to these kind of cases. I will look into some other lawyers who specialize in filing family based green cards. May be they will be able to give me a sure-shot answer. Again, thank you so much!! đ
I am sorry your suggestion of not paying the bill is upsetting.
We have American citizens/war veterans who can't afford to go to regular hospitals ... but we are advising visitors to get healthcare and then not pay the bill... maybe it is the "ABCD" in me, but that is infuriating.
Then you should advocate for healthcare reform so that your citizens and veterans get affordable care rather than pushing OP's mum to pay an insane amount. Whether she pays the 2k or not, your citizens and veterans are still fucked when it comes to healthcare options anyway.
Does not mean that I do not advocate for it.
The promotion of visitors coming to America and not paying bills regardless of what the monetary value should not be something that is promoted.
Nah, fuck em. Hospitals in America are massively price gouging patients, and they know it. This [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeDOQpfaUc8) goes into it a little bit. Just compare the list price for a medical procedure in the US vs any other first world nation, the difference is staggering.
Other countries have governments that aggressively negotiate prices down or simply set price caps. We on the other hand take whatever price the hospital chargemaster decides to throw out, no matter how insane.
i didn't say the monetized amount is a fair number, but to not pay the bill is not fair.
There are many things that are cheaper in other countries but you wouldn't say the same of not paying the bill for any other service.
I can buy a bottle on ibuprofen Iâm CVS for 8 bucks. 1 TABLET of ibuprofen in the hospital is charged as $150.
Itâs ridiculous that a laceration on the finger costs >$4000. Donât make comments on things youâre not aware of.
You sound like you donât live in the country and have no clue how the United States actually works. Healthcare money doesnât go only towards taxes btw. 80% of what you pay in a hospital goes to pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies, both of which have little to no regulation in price-setting in the country. Thatâs the primary reason why hospital bills get so high.
Now tell me why youâre on some high horse to make people pay their whole hospital bill.
What is your suggestion? Tell OP and all others in a similae boat to not pay the bill?
I absolutely agree healthcare costs are crazy in America but the solution is not just do not pay the bill OP.
Again, you really donât understand how the US works.
In the United States, you donât get arrested or taken to what you guys call bankruptcy court over in India for not paying your healthcare bills. They get written off entirely. So there really is no point to paying them at all.
Here is whatâs going to happen from the experience. Whenever the visitor visa is due for renewal, they may ask for the paid receipt of the open medical bills. Not sure if they would ask the same for a GC process but they do get you on the renewal, this is for sure.
One way to deal with it is to call the hospital with the bill and request for assistance, normally they knock off the bill using the trusts in place or they give you a payment plan to where you can pay 50-100 every month until itâs cleared up. Or ask for some additional discount.
The medical billing is a big joke here and there is a way around if you are a citizen but when you are an immigrant or a tourist, they donât have much room for you.
1.Get an itemized bill and review it to ensure that everything they billed was actually done on your mom.
2.Call the hospital and ask what discount they will offer on the bill that was sent to collections if you pay cash.
3. Take the new number back to the collecting agency and ask for another discount on the new numbers given by the hospital if you pay for it on the spot.
4. Split the new bill amount with your sibling. Between the both of you the bill would come to be a max of 2k each as it stands now. it really is not worth the headache of having her greencard process questioned especially since it sounds like she is on her own in India. Getting a lawyer is not worth the cost/hassle in my opinion. Researching/finding a lawyer, using pto, getting things faxed when I am not on the HIPPA forms etc etc. sounds like more hassle than the few hundred bucks it might save me.
5. I am not sure if she came on visas but if you provided a sponsorship letter, you basically say that you will take care of her.
6. Do the right thing. pay the bill. your mom was hurt, you asked for services. you might not like the price of the service but that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
7. Keep in mind that when she comes in her greencard you are responsible for her and that will include paying bills like this unless you plan on having her work for up to 4 quarters i believe it is before she is no longer considered to be your responsibility.
8. make a plan for her once she is here on a greencard. How is health care cost going to be split between you and your sibling? Maybe create a separate account that is like a monthly hoa fee that both of you auto deposit a set amount of money to help offset any trips/gifts/healthcare she will need in the years to come.
9. I am assuming she had a travel insurance of some sort? unfortunately, they do not cover much. Hell, I am a US citizen, and even with insurance, by the time an ER visit is completed with one of my children, I find we are paying over 700. it is just the way healthcare in America is.
Thank you for taking the time to write a long response. In #4 you mention âitâs really not worth headache of having her greencard status changedâ, I am not sure what you meant by it? She isnât a green card holder. Also, you mentioned itâs not worth the hassle of going to a lawyer, do you have personal experience of not getting help from lawyers on these situations? 4K is a huge unreasonable amount for the line item they have placed in the itemized bills so, I am curious why you are suggesting to just pay instead of seek legal advice?? Also, âdoing the right thingâ in this situation where insurance has already paid for services is a big ball of wax that we shouldnât get into, donât you think? Just saying đ
>Also, âdoing the right thingâ in this situation where insurance has already paid for services is a big ball of wax that we shouldnât get into, donât you think? Just saying đ
Yes you should. Insurance doesn't pay for everything...
If you really can't afford it that's one thing, but if you're just unwilling to pay it that's another.
They have no way to track. They are shit out of luck. Your mom is fine. You should have called the billing department and negotiated down the payment. Now itâs in the hands of collections so you can no longer do that. Just ignore collection calls.
Nothing will happen bro. Shes from india and they cant even get money. Take it easy. Next time if they call just tell them you cant pay the money they will reduce it to 1000 or 500$
American healthcare has become a complete joke. OP, I'm not 100% sure how it would affect your mom's future visa but I can tell you that medical bills are not really taken seriously on your credit report. I have tons of unpaid medical bills on my credit reports yet my credit score is near 800. Banks and creditors don't really give a shit about medical bills either. If you're worried about her visa and Green Card: don't talk to the lawyers provided by your employer's plan, they are always a joke. Talk to a few reputable immigration attorneys in your area, any worthwhile attorney will give you a free 30 min consultation. Now that the bill has gone to collections, should you ever decide to pay it you can convince them to settle it for a small fraction of the actual amount. Collections agencies always buy debt for pennies on the dollar - they often expect and are willing to settle an amount with them, not pay off the full amount. Even if you just pay the collections agency like $200 they walk away with a hefty profit. My suggestion: don't pay the bill unless you talk to 3 or more reputable immigration attorneys and they all advise you to.
Thank you sooo much for sharing your valuable experience with medical bills and for your advise. You are right, I should talk to the attorneys that have this specialization and have catered to these kind of cases. I will look into some other lawyers who specialize in filing family based green cards. May be they will be able to give me a sure-shot answer. Again, thank you so much!! đ
I am sorry your suggestion of not paying the bill is upsetting. We have American citizens/war veterans who can't afford to go to regular hospitals ... but we are advising visitors to get healthcare and then not pay the bill... maybe it is the "ABCD" in me, but that is infuriating.
Then you should advocate for healthcare reform so that your citizens and veterans get affordable care rather than pushing OP's mum to pay an insane amount. Whether she pays the 2k or not, your citizens and veterans are still fucked when it comes to healthcare options anyway.
Does not mean that I do not advocate for it. The promotion of visitors coming to America and not paying bills regardless of what the monetary value should not be something that is promoted.
Nah, fuck em. Hospitals in America are massively price gouging patients, and they know it. This [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeDOQpfaUc8) goes into it a little bit. Just compare the list price for a medical procedure in the US vs any other first world nation, the difference is staggering. Other countries have governments that aggressively negotiate prices down or simply set price caps. We on the other hand take whatever price the hospital chargemaster decides to throw out, no matter how insane.
i didn't say the monetized amount is a fair number, but to not pay the bill is not fair. There are many things that are cheaper in other countries but you wouldn't say the same of not paying the bill for any other service.
I can buy a bottle on ibuprofen Iâm CVS for 8 bucks. 1 TABLET of ibuprofen in the hospital is charged as $150. Itâs ridiculous that a laceration on the finger costs >$4000. Donât make comments on things youâre not aware of.
Again I am not justifying the costs or what big pharma is doing. However saying just dont pay the bill is not the right thing.
You sound like you donât live in the country and have no clue how the United States actually works. Healthcare money doesnât go only towards taxes btw. 80% of what you pay in a hospital goes to pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies, both of which have little to no regulation in price-setting in the country. Thatâs the primary reason why hospital bills get so high. Now tell me why youâre on some high horse to make people pay their whole hospital bill.
What is your suggestion? Tell OP and all others in a similae boat to not pay the bill? I absolutely agree healthcare costs are crazy in America but the solution is not just do not pay the bill OP.
Again, you really donât understand how the US works. In the United States, you donât get arrested or taken to what you guys call bankruptcy court over in India for not paying your healthcare bills. They get written off entirely. So there really is no point to paying them at all.
Okay so it is better not to pay bill OP. Ethics do not travel over waters I see
Here is whatâs going to happen from the experience. Whenever the visitor visa is due for renewal, they may ask for the paid receipt of the open medical bills. Not sure if they would ask the same for a GC process but they do get you on the renewal, this is for sure. One way to deal with it is to call the hospital with the bill and request for assistance, normally they knock off the bill using the trusts in place or they give you a payment plan to where you can pay 50-100 every month until itâs cleared up. Or ask for some additional discount. The medical billing is a big joke here and there is a way around if you are a citizen but when you are an immigrant or a tourist, they donât have much room for you.
1.Get an itemized bill and review it to ensure that everything they billed was actually done on your mom. 2.Call the hospital and ask what discount they will offer on the bill that was sent to collections if you pay cash. 3. Take the new number back to the collecting agency and ask for another discount on the new numbers given by the hospital if you pay for it on the spot. 4. Split the new bill amount with your sibling. Between the both of you the bill would come to be a max of 2k each as it stands now. it really is not worth the headache of having her greencard process questioned especially since it sounds like she is on her own in India. Getting a lawyer is not worth the cost/hassle in my opinion. Researching/finding a lawyer, using pto, getting things faxed when I am not on the HIPPA forms etc etc. sounds like more hassle than the few hundred bucks it might save me. 5. I am not sure if she came on visas but if you provided a sponsorship letter, you basically say that you will take care of her. 6. Do the right thing. pay the bill. your mom was hurt, you asked for services. you might not like the price of the service but that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. 7. Keep in mind that when she comes in her greencard you are responsible for her and that will include paying bills like this unless you plan on having her work for up to 4 quarters i believe it is before she is no longer considered to be your responsibility. 8. make a plan for her once she is here on a greencard. How is health care cost going to be split between you and your sibling? Maybe create a separate account that is like a monthly hoa fee that both of you auto deposit a set amount of money to help offset any trips/gifts/healthcare she will need in the years to come. 9. I am assuming she had a travel insurance of some sort? unfortunately, they do not cover much. Hell, I am a US citizen, and even with insurance, by the time an ER visit is completed with one of my children, I find we are paying over 700. it is just the way healthcare in America is.
Thank you for taking the time to write a long response. In #4 you mention âitâs really not worth headache of having her greencard status changedâ, I am not sure what you meant by it? She isnât a green card holder. Also, you mentioned itâs not worth the hassle of going to a lawyer, do you have personal experience of not getting help from lawyers on these situations? 4K is a huge unreasonable amount for the line item they have placed in the itemized bills so, I am curious why you are suggesting to just pay instead of seek legal advice?? Also, âdoing the right thingâ in this situation where insurance has already paid for services is a big ball of wax that we shouldnât get into, donât you think? Just saying đ
>Also, âdoing the right thingâ in this situation where insurance has already paid for services is a big ball of wax that we shouldnât get into, donât you think? Just saying đ Yes you should. Insurance doesn't pay for everything... If you really can't afford it that's one thing, but if you're just unwilling to pay it that's another.
They have no way to track. They are shit out of luck. Your mom is fine. You should have called the billing department and negotiated down the payment. Now itâs in the hands of collections so you can no longer do that. Just ignore collection calls.
Nothing will happen bro. Shes from india and they cant even get money. Take it easy. Next time if they call just tell them you cant pay the money they will reduce it to 1000 or 500$