Fighting Hospital Bills - No Medical Insurance

Well, it all depends on what hospital you went to. I know Metro has something where if you don't make enough money they have you fill out a form and you pay less or nothing. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the form. I used to work at Southwest as a nurse and am a little more familiar with them. Hopefully, whoever you get in billing is willing to work with you on either a payment schedule or some papers for you to fill out if you can't afford to pay. Either way, they can't refuse care. And, the most you can do is pay 5.00 a month just to show you're trying to pay something. If you have any more ?'s let me know.
T. D.

L.,
Sorry to hear about your situation. My suggestion is that you ask if they will mediate your situation before going to a lawyer to litigate. Many problems can be solved without that expense. You may find that the lawyer costs as much (or more) than the hospital stay in the end.

As a professional mediator, I donate 10% of my time to such causes. I will mediate this issue at NO CHARGE to you whatsoever. You may reach me via the email address given by MAMAsource.

Also, I don't know what hospital you are dealing with; some are better in dealing with such issues than others. I suggest that you call St. John's Hospital and ask their billing department for advice. They are one of the better institutions in dealing with this type of problem. They may guide you to an appropriate agency for help.

Best Regards, H.

Have you tried Healthy Start/ Healthy Families? Depending on your income, your daughter could be eligible for free coverage. The income guidelines are higher for children. If you're eligible, they will pay for any medical expenses you've incurred for the past three months. You can either go to their website at www.employment.cuyahogacounty.us/healthystart.htm or call their hotline at ###-###-####. Please let me know how it went.

Just scanning through old e-mail msg. I know this information is llate coming, but your childs hospital should have a social worker and some type of funding program in which you should be able to apply for financial help to pay the medical bills. This program is not linked with the Dept. of Welfare.

Check with the hospital billing office or the attorney, most hospitals have some type of program to help people with no insurance and if they are on a fixed income or have a certain income range. You may qualify for assistance or your bill being written off by the hospital. If you get no where call the admitting department for information on the programs offered at the hospital.

What hospital did you go to? If it's a public hospital, there are several programs that can help you. Have you tried to apply for medicaid? If you apply for medicaid within three months of your hospital visit, they will retro-actively cover your bill, as long as you meet the requirements for medicaid.

Have you checked out Care Source? I believe all you have to do is call and they will send an application for you. Also, if you cannot get that and you are waiting for your insurance to kick in there are places listed in the phone book that can get you temporary coverage for a pretty low cost. I have used both and they were both nice to have. I think the name from the phone book was supermed plus?? Good Luck! And what kind of hospital does not accept a payment plan???