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HIPAA letter program question


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I have six figure medical debt due to a 3 day stay in the hospital last year. I had just started a new job but was 3 weeks from getting my new insurance through them when I was hospitalized. 
 

I have never received a bill for any of the services provided but now there are more than a dozen collections on my reports. The hospital itself sent a “statement” but it just included a total amount due, not an itemization. Calls to the hospital billing department only get me more “statements”. 
 

I filled out and gave them a charity application while I was there and never heard back. Follow up calls continue to go unanswered. 
 

My question is if I don’t have the ability to pay what amounts to basically a mortgage payment (if I had 15-30 years to pay it, otherwise 2-3 mortgage payments), is there anything I can do or must I wait out the 7.5 year reporting cycle or file BK?

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Follow the guides;

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

https://whychat.me/GUIDE HIPAA PROGRAM.html

 

Do you have rejection letter from the hospital for the charity application??

Send a REGISTERED LETTER to the hospital requesting the results of your application. If you get no response contact the consumer protection office of your State to file a complaint against the hospital and/or contact legal aid.

 

Once you have filed for assistance you need to maintain your situation without panicking.Are you recovered?? Do you now have insurance??

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18 hours ago, Why Chat said:

Follow the guides;

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

https://whychat.me/GUIDE HIPAA PROGRAM.html

 

Do you have rejection letter from the hospital for the charity application??

Send a REGISTERED LETTER to the hospital requesting the results of your application. If you get no response contact the consumer protection office of your State to file a complaint against the hospital and/or contact legal aid.

 

Once you have filed for assistance you need to maintain your situation without panicking.Are you recovered?? Do you now have insurance??

Yes I am recovered and I currently have the same insurance I got 3 weeks after discharge. 
 

There was no rejection letter received. My calls to the hospital end up going in circles. 
 

I will try sending a registered letter and if no appropriate response then contact the state HHS. 
 

Thank you!

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On 10/11/2020 at 7:12 AM, clean_it_up said:

I have six figure medical debt due to a 3 day stay in the hospital last year. I had just started a new job but was 3 weeks from getting my new insurance through them when I was hospitalized. 
 

I have never received a bill for any of the services provided but now there are more than a dozen collections on my reports. The hospital itself sent a “statement” but it just included a total amount due, not an itemization. Calls to the hospital billing department only get me more “statements”. 
 

I filled out and gave them a charity application while I was there and never heard back. Follow up calls continue to go unanswered. 
 

My question is if I don’t have the ability to pay what amounts to basically a mortgage payment (if I had 15-30 years to pay it, otherwise 2-3 mortgage payments), is there anything I can do or must I wait out the 7.5 year reporting cycle or file BK?

Follow up on the charity aid.  Otherwise you're likely going to end up filing BK.  This is mortgage level debt and even hospitals that normally don't sue, will likely sue. My only concern with filing BK now is if your employment may be lost during the pandemic or if you fall ill from Covid-19. I would wait until a vaccine or cure is developed. Once the pandemic settles down, I would file BK. The only exception might be if you have significant non-exempt assets and want to roll the dice with the long shot hope you aren't sued. Once the debt is beyond the statute of limitations, then you can try waiting it out or getting it taken off early. The odds of you not being sued are very small though.

 

P.S. Also was this a hospital affiliated with a state university? If so, it may be considered an instrumentality of the state.  In my state, the SOL doesn't run against the state or instrumentalities of the state so the debt could haunt you for a long time.  

Edited by CreditCurious20
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On 10/11/2020 at 11:37 AM, Why Chat said:

Follow the guides;

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

https://whychat.me/GUIDE HIPAA PROGRAM.html

 

 

Do you have rejection letter from the hospital for the charity application??

Send a REGISTERED LETTER to the hospital requesting the results of your application. If you get no response contact the consumer protection office of your State to file a complaint against the hospital and/or contact legal aid.

 

Once you have filed for assistance you need to maintain your situation without panicking.Are you recovered?? Do you now have insurance??

1.) Disputing six figures of debt that is within the statute of limitations will almost certainly get you sued. 
2.)There is no obligation that the hospital grant him charity aid. What are you suggesting a complaint for exactly? 

3.) OP, speak to an attorney before you do ANYTHING.

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23 hours ago, Why Chat said:

There IS a law stating that hospitals MUST provide data on aid. 

You are also advised that you may be in violation of the Notice of Proposed Procedures for Charitable Hospitals to Correct and Disclose Failures to Meet Section 501(r) of the Affordable Care Act.

I

The law only applies to charitable organizations/non-profit hospitals claiming tax exempt status as 501(c)(3) entities. Do you know this is such an entity? There is no way to know. Moreover we are beyond the 240 day application period. Even if there was a technical violation (doubtful), that is between the IRS and the hospital. It does not guarantee him aid or render the trade lines less valid.

 

@clean_it_up Following the advice given here is akin to taking a baseball bat to the biggest hornet's nest you can find. See a lawyer ASAP.

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When my son was shot in the head and face, I knew he had no insurance. There was a hospital assigned social worker who visited right after the rounds. She (social worker) asked me about insurance and I told her he had none. She told me to get his social security number and she would initiate getting him covered under Medi-CAL (Medicaid in states outside California). This was a not for profit hospital. 

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13 hours ago, CreditCurious20 said:

The law only applies to charitable organizations/non-profit hospitals claiming tax exempt status as 501(c)(3) entities. Do you know this is such an entity? There is no way to know. Moreover we are beyond the 240 day application period. Even if there was a technical violation (doubtful), that is between the IRS and the hospital. It does not guarantee him aid or render the trade lines less valid.

 

@clean_it_up Following the advice given here is akin to taking a baseball bat to the biggest hornet's nest you can find. See a lawyer ASAP.

CredidtCurious20:  try slinging another insult on our forums and I'll sling you out of here.

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12 hours ago, StarkRaven$ said:

When my son was shot in the head and face, I knew he had no insurance. There was a hospital assigned social worker who visited right after the rounds. She (social worker) asked me about insurance and I told her he had none. She told me to get his social security number and she would initiate getting him covered under Medi-CAL (Medicaid in states outside California). This was a not for profit hospital. 

This was in Nevada. The hospital is a for profit. 
 

There was a social worker that gave me the charity application. I returned it a week or so later after gathering the required documentation. Follow up calls have gone unanswered since. 
 

I applied for Medicaid after my visit but was denied due to income. 

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