putting prepping on hold

We will be praying for you! We have no insurance. I was in the hospital a few years ago for heart and gallbladder for 7 days. We made a deal with the hospital .... they lowered the bill twice once when we said we have no insurance..... cause they hike up the price for them and then we offered to pay right away and they cut it down to HALF! We took out a loan and paid it that way instead of little by little through them because it was half the price. All they wanted we our tax return to see how much we made that year.
Above all things ... don't worry it will all work out. And encourage your hubby not to worry. It can seem scary.... but be at peace.
Just keep bargaining and bugging them.

 

prayers are with you from Ohio...

... as much as I absolutely hate to play the 'litigation card'... you might want to check with a lawyer to see if you have a fraud case, if you were under the impression that you had insurance you might have a case, also as far as I can tell (in Ohio, anyway) when your coverage is dropped you are supposed to get notified of discounted COBRA for up to 6 months (which is still pretty pricey), many states have 'good faith' clauses whereupon employees can retroactively retain coverage if within a certain 'notification grace period'... :dunno: I'm no lawyer

everybody else, this is a very good example of why, especially as preppers, we should look into MSAs (a $2k-$3k MSA coupled with a fully customized coverage insurance policy with the same deductible will save you much $$$)

I have no idea why people don't spend a weekend going over their 'all inclusive' policies and getting rid of extraneous items they don't need covered... ie mammograms for single men

going the MSA route is NOT recommended (by me) if you have small children

 

:club:Glad hubby's okay!!! Just take a deep breath, it will be some hassle but the medical bills will all work out. Ya'll focus on getting him well. Even if they stay exactly the same, $10K is a bargain for an already trained & housebroke husband!

Seriously though, I'm with Blob & would definately consider suing. Having folks think they have health insurance then letting them find out they don't when something bad happens is sorry. They need to be straightened out.:club:

 

We're glad he's doing well. Do what you can with the bills but don't let them get you down. If they start pressuring you with threats to collect go see a lawyer for options.

One employer I had dropped our insurance and neglected to tell us about it. I learned about it several months later when the insurance company notified me. His excuse? "I thought I told you." Right!

 

I'm relieved to hear that he's going to be okay. It's a scary thing to have happen, but don't worry over the medical bills. Keep talking to the doctors, labs, hospitals, etc., to bring down the bills, and see about a lawyer over the insurance thing. Especially if part of his income had gone to alleged insurance payments. First and foremost, cherish your husband and enjoy time with him, and live in a restful, happy way with him.

If we can do anything for you, let us know. Heck, we'll have a bake sale or something, right here on the forum for you!

 

My mom has been there done that (she would would have bought the t-shirt but she didn't have any money left for that)!! My dad's was over a million $$ and he did not have insurance. My dad was on a ventilator for 17 days in Pittsburgh Hospital. Then in rehab for 45 days afterwards at St. E's. Negotiate and keep track of EVERY BILL! Make sure they do not double and triple bill you! Get itemized bills too. Write down the doctors that did see your DH. My mom got bills from doctors because my dad's doctors CALLED them for a consult! My mom said the worst thing she ever did was let the bills go to collections at first because she was so overwhelmed with my dad being in the hospital for so long. Call and negotiate payment plans and sign up for all the assistance you can. Then make the minimum payments. They will call you to try to get you to pay more but you do not have to...just be polite and let them know that they are on the LONG list of other people that also want paid and that you are trying your best. The one thing my mom also learned was if you did not tell them about savings accounts they could not go looking for them because of privacy acts. She did however wipe out their entire retirement to pay medical bills.
My dad got sick 5 years ago (and in and out of doctor care) and passed away last Nov. My mom still got some bills last week! Once those are paid she thinks that they will all be taken care.
I am glad your DH is doing better! I pray that he has a speedy recovery!

 

Our prayers are with you. I had quardruple bypass surgery in '08 and my bill was $200,000, we had insurance but still had to pay 20%. Paid what we could afford every month and am still paying on one. Hang in there. May God grant him a speedy recovery.

 

I agree with the idea of getting a lawyer because your circumstances are already complicated and a lawyer could help. You should also go back and look at the paycheck stubs to see if there is anything on there that would indicate that the company was taking money out of his check to pay for the insurance. I say this because this morning I got a bill from the hospital from my second stay over high blood pressure for $35,589.50 and my insurance didn't pay it. I had to look online at my check stubs and on every one it had the insurance payment listed. The insurance ended up paying for their part of the bill, but it took a lot of time to sort through all of the details and figure out what happened. Getting as much paperwork together as you can and having an attorney help you would be a really good step in resolving things.

 

Your hubby and you are in my prayers.

just a thought...don't we have a Thrive consultant here? What if we do a party for you and you can get some food storage items ...

 

Your husband (and the rest of your family) will be in my prayers. I agree with Elinor, check your husband's pay stubs, if there is a deduction for health care insurance get a lawyer and sue. I don't know your financial status, but you may want to consider filing for bankruptcy. It'll be on your credit record for 10 years, but will let you keep your home, etc.

 

What's "Thrive"? I'm all for it, if it helps stayingthegame. Or we could have a food storage drive and each of us some something from our preps?

Also, if he's going to be off work long enough for recovery, is there any change of getting some kind of SS disabliity that will also help with the bills? I'm not familiar with how that sort of thing works.

 

I'm so glad others have suggestions for you - I'm afraid I don't have any words of wisdom. But you both are most definitely in my prayers. I'm so glad your hubby is okay.

 

small point of information

This won't apply to most folks but...

Like many Veterans I was never really aware of my benefits , I was talking with a co worker one day and he mentioned he was on BP meds I said I was too but since we were in Commission sales there were times when I just flat could not afford mine he looked at me like I was crazy and said weren't you in the Military? yes I says..he told me I needed to get to the local VA center and get signed up I told him I was never wounded in the service and he laughed and explained the whole thing to me..
I truly was under the impression that I wasn't eligible for Bennies..

Next day I ran out to the VA hospital and in 15 minutes was signed up , had my card and was set up to have my first complete exam later that week.. after the exam the Doc sent my Meds request to the Pharm and I got my BP meds plus some other stuff, my co pay was 2 dollars per script.. since then I've had the very best care a person can have...when I was still working I had Insurance and it covered all my co pays...

My point is that there are many folks like me who were never really told just what our rights were...

So..any of you who served and have never signed up you need to do so...

I looked on it as charity or welfare at first and my pride took a hit but that changed.. it was something we earned for our service... I figured out based on my pay for the time I served and it came out to 13 cents an hour ..based on 24/7/365 so I guess we did pay....

Everybody gave some...Some gave All...

 

Stayingthegame-good thoughts sent your way.

Hozay-I never served, but as far as I'm concerned, anyone who does deserves the best care that this nation can provide-you men and women made this country what is is and the least we can do is take care of you.

 

My thoughts are with you and yours ...

Best Wishes.

 

Stayingthegame-being with each other is the best thing you can do right now. Just ride it out and sort out the details later. Once again-good thoughts coming your way.

 

I'm pretty sure someone on one of these other threads said that they dry their squash, and it rehydrates pretty well...just a little extra squishy, but the flavor is still very good. I'll try to find the exact place for you.

I'm praying for you and your husband.

Found it: http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f36/preserving-summer-squash-1651/index2.html

 

I keep reading advice to get a lawyer,LOL, they'll skin you faster than the hospitals and Drs, they're all in bed together. I don't know of any lawyer who dosen't charge 500. just to say hello and they will just give you another bill on top of what you already have, it'll be a toss up on who'll get your property, the DR or the lawyer and my money is on the lawyer. pay what you can afford without changing your life style and let the med bills wait.