bankruptcy class requirements
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
serious question about medicaid / unemployment?
base on the current economy, since there is massive unemployment and we are in the lower class, however above minimal requirement for social security and we don’t have medicaid because there is not enough working hours to cover. this means we are not covered if anything happens.
my question is if let say we make only $25,000 a year total, and one of the family member got into an accident and have a medical bill of $50,000. since we don’t have medicaid or social security/ insurance etc, how do we pay the bills, will we pay like $20,000, and the government or the billing department allow us to declare bankruptcy and let us go without paying the $30,000, or do we have to pay back the debts
I have been searching but can’t seem to find any informations, if anyone have information please help,
First off, get the kids covered under SCHIP. If your current income is solely from unemployment they’ll qualify.
As to you and your spouse it gets messier, but apply for Medicaid anyway.
For critical care, hospitals cannot turn you away for lack of ability to pay. Just don’t sign ANYTHING promising to pay! Many hospitals will try to get you to apply for credit through a 3rd party finance company or bank. DON’T DO IT!
If they present you with a bill for non-critical care, negotiate the amount. Ask them to bill you the same amount that they would be reimbursed by their lowest paying insurance company that they accept. Most hospitals and physicians will do this but you have to ask! You may be stunned to see how much the bill will drop.
At that point, pay what you can as resources permit. If they try and press the issue by suing, file bankruptcy and let them eat rocks.
Three good friends have been forced to do just this in the past couple of years. It’s absurd that the wealthiest and most powerful nation on the planet falls 35th in life expectancy due to the f*cked up medical care system. But there you have it.
