I have an orthognathic surgery coming up that my insurance has deemed cosmetic as a way to not offer any financial assistance.
Between the surgeon, hospital, and anesthesia, I'm looking at $13K minimum.
Has anybody dealt with medical debt? Do you have any programs you applied to? Any tips would be useful.
gotta love our medical *not* for all system. My suggestions are merely ideas. You need to do some research.
see if you can get it done in MX or CAN. No idea how common that is but if it is it is probably cheaper.
Call around for different surgical centers... has to be out of network. In network will always have an agreed price with insurance. Paying cash could be cheaper. Or not. But worth calling. Also get the quote in writing... sometimes you have to be really firm. If they send you additional bills there is a fairly new law which will protect you. Your state may have one too.
Appeal. Who knows... maybe they will change their mind.
Medical debt doesn't affect your credit. So one strategy is to negotiate the bill after the fact. Since it doesn't affect your credit you have more pull. They can take you to court. You just want to reduce it to something reasonable.
I feel like Canada would be the safer. I know Canadians can get the surgery for free, but they're a) citizens and b) have to wait long periods to be approved. I've thought about going to Mexico, too.
Half my brain is like maybe it'll be cheaper. The other half of my brain is like you can't speak Spanish. They're going to harvest your organs while you're unconscious and burn your body. No one will ever find you 😨
Anyways, if anybody's done medical tourism and could advise that'd be helpful 💁🏽♀️
1. I taught ESL. The Mexican medical field is almost 100% english speaking because all the research is in English before Spanish.
2. You are a victim of misinformation. Mexico is a modern country. I have been to many cities by myself. There are millions of expats living there getting medical treatment all the time. Don't want to get killed? Don't buy illegal drugs. Don't tangle with police. Stay in Mexico City which is where the best hospitals are.
I believe Canada would indeed prioritize their own citizens but I think you are also going off rumor instead of fact.
The time to stay in the states for treatment (unless you have great insurance or money) is for treatments that are rare because we do have access to the latest treatments which has pluses and minuses.
Medical debt CAN affect your credit if turned over to collections and are left unpaid. And surgery in Canada for non citizens will not necessarily be cheaper, plus there are wait times to receive it.
medical debt under 500 will not. You have longer to negotiate payments and if you have an arrangement they are unlikely to report it. You should use that as leverage because collecting costs money.
“Paid medical debt that was in collections will no longer be included on consumer credit reports.You’ll have more time before unpaid medical debt is reported on your credit report: Unpaid medical debt that is currently in collections for one year will be reported on credit reports. This is an increase from six months that was enacted in 2017.Starting in the first half of 2023, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion will no longer include medical debt in collections under $500 on credit reports.”
I'm not sure where you're from my friend. If you're located in the United States or abroad. But I can tell you one thing for sure, if you're in the United States then medical debt usually means bankruptcy. I battled kidney cancer in 2010 and although I had medical insurance through my employer, by the time it was all over, I was in debt over $25,000 due to out of pocket copays and deductibles and had no choice but to do the typical American thing, file for bankruptcy. I can count using all my fingers and toes and it still doesn't amount to the people I know that have had to declare bankruptcy due to medical debt for a lot less than $13,000. That's the name of the game in the U.S. of A. You get seriously ill, you get seriously broke
yep but could be student debt. You can’t file for bankruptcy. Unless they forgive it there are people that could owe at 60.
You're absolutely 100% correct my friend. My ex-wife and I are still paying for our son's college tuition loans that we took in our name. That's one thing that never goes away, as far as bankruptcy goes I mean
Which I’ll add is not only cruel but is counter to the whole point of bankruptcy. The whole reason for bandruptcy law is to encourage people to take risks in business and investments. That safety valve is there to encourage innovation and competition! Isn’t learning to innovate the reason we have higher education? Sleazy banks.
My dear, dear friend you have no idea how much I agree with you. You echo my words and my feelings exactly. Unfortunately this country encourages people to file for bankruptcy for everything. I freaking hate it. The most humiliating thing in my personal life was having to face a bankruptcy judge and admit my failure. Failure to take care of myself and my family financially. Maybe it's ego, maybe it's pride but it's so harsh stare at the eyes of a judge who will determine your fate. I hope you will understand my point of view as a male. I grew up learning from all my uncles back in the old days that a man must, at all costs, take care of his family. So I felt extremely dominated when I had to file for bankruptcy due to my own personal health. In retrospect, I would rather have lost my life to kidney cancer then face my wife and son with failure to protect them. Anyway, I digress... This country does everything but encourage us to take risks. This country only encourages the wealthy to move forward because at the end, they have nothing to lose. Sorry my friend, this is a very intimate and sensitive subject for me
I would say puts up too many barriers to getting ahead. You guys sure do have an ego problem! I’m having to deal with one at work and it stinks. He thinks he should “take care” of everything which he can’t and I suffer. Heart attack is definitely a risk in his case. Check Dr Gabor Mate. I have only listened to an interview but he talks about the toxicity of our society and the effects on mental health. Your problems from my limited experience seems to be a combination of ego and societal norms that aren’t serving you.
I am assuming you are not from the UK as we are covered by the N H S, so am unable to help there. I do understand how you are feeling though. I had a mastectomy in 1994 (cancer), reconstruction was not offered or even 'the norm' in those days. I eventually had a reconstruction in 2005, the NHS paid for this, a 'nipple' was constructed 2 years later, but I need a 'tattoo' to colour the nipple, not very expensive but not done on the NHS - my dilemma is 'How do I select a tattooist in a mainly male dominated area of expertise?' However there is a 'GO FUND ME' page on the internet, where many people are being helped by others. Must be more than one of these sites, worth looking into. Hope it all goes well
Yup, no NHS. I wouldn't mind waiting in a queue either as long as eventually I get to have the surgery.
I'm glad to hear you survived cancer! Good luck with your nipple (literally, never thought I'd say that...)!
It was actually quite a privilege to have breast cancer in my early 40's, just as the grandchildren began to arrive. I had a 'silicon prosthesis', which my grandchildren used to use as a toy to throw around, we had great fun (I have to get the positive out of everything negative. My fourth granddaughter who I watched while her mum was at work used to pick the blasted thing out of its box and caress it saying, 'I love this Nan, because its part of you.' How could I not rejoice at such words.?
Probably best to consult a lawyer on this, as it could be very costly, and best to let them know you have a lawyer on hand.
Cheers, Midori
I would appeal their decision and ask what additional documentation they need. A friend of mine worked for an insurance company and told me that it is their actual policy to initially deny any request. Possibly get an attorney and see where that leads you.
The US has just reached the debt limit agreement, avoiding default.
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