...and it seems as though they want a leg too!
Let me start off by stating that i have already gone thru a bankruptcy in March of 2004 stemming from my inability to pay off years of CC debt. Well I sure did learn a lesson regarding the use of CCs, & since the BR I've done just fine with one card ~ that being my financial institutions own credit/debit card that is linked directly to my account. Everything is dandy these days on that end ... however:
Flash forward to Dec 30/08 - Jan 8/09, I had some kind of weird bone infection in my left elbow that almost caused me to lose my arm after it became septic. On a 2nd visit to the ER to get it drained, I was hastily admitted & surgery was immediately sceduled. Well, Happy New Year to me!
This would probably be a good time to mention these facts: I am now married (since Halloween 2005), & I have a job with insurance that pays for 80% of my medical. We've always set up payment arrangements with doctors, dentists, other debtors, etc. Up until now, everybody across the board gets no more than $25 per month because no matter how hard you squeeze you just can't get blood from a rock. This arrangement has been working fine until now.
I knew all along that I was going to have a hard time paying my 20% whenever the bill finally came. To add to my confusion is the fact that this hospital in Seattle (Virginia Mason Med Ctr) doesn't just send one bill. I received close to a dozen different ones from every Dr, & every different hospital department that they wheeled me to - totaling over $2,500! So when the billS started coming, I went down to the billing department & tried to explain that I could at most bump payments for all up to a total of $50 per month maximum, but that payment has to spread out to every different bill from that same hospital. Well needless to say they were not too keen on that idea, & told me that I had 3 months to pay them or they would immediately be sent to their in-house collection agency. Another big slap in the face is that even though we qualified for low income assistance with the bills (which pays approx 1/3), the assistance is only applied if you can pay off the rest of it within the allotted 3 months! Whaaaat?
So here where I'm sure my faults come into play. My organizational skills suck (but slightly better than my Wife's). So even though i tried to pay off the smaller ones in one shot, I sent in a few payments of $5-$10 sporadically (perhaps every other month?) until i saw that after the second three month period, it goes from their in-house collection team to an outside one called Merchants Credit, & not only did they take away my low income aid, but they started to tack on interest. I suppose it was also my way of protesting this health care debacle we're in by basically avoiding their bills & phone calls.
Merchants credit called my parents in Pennsylvania, & me at my place of employment one time ~ which i promptly told her never to use this number again & hung up. I did call back when my boss wasn't looking & tried to explain that sorry he doesn't take kindly to personal phone calls, could we consolidate these bills, & i could ONLY do $25 per month max on everything? Well, they said no I could not pay that little ~ so I didn't pay anything to them.
Honestly I was waiting for ALL of these bills from this hospital to hit Merchants Credit (of which they still all have not) & then I was hoping we could consolidate them & negotiate knocking that 1/3 back off.
Well, they served me a summons on the 3rd of this new year (again, Happy New Year to me!) saying that I have 20 days to respond. Thanks to this forum & all of the reading I have done here in the past 48 hours, I think I know how to take care of the response part within the time frame. But I do have some questions...
My Wife is listed as co-defendant 'Jane Doe his wife' even though SHE has some bills now coming in from them too. I understand that they can try to garnish my wages if it comes to that, but does this mean that they van also garnish hers??? (she only works part time + also goes part time to community college.)
What about our very meager joint checking account? We have ZERO savings.
Is it possible that I have a leg to stand on regarding disputing this new total & getting the low income assistance reinstated??
Should I bother asking for validation of this debt?
Is there some kind of monthly income/expenses form that we could fill out that might make a judge take our side? (we're certainly not taking vacations or paying on jet skis!)
How long before I should expect things to happen once I file the Response? Such as a hearing, wage garnishment, etc. I would much prefer to settle for less w/payments before it comes to a hearing.
Not that I could afford one, but do I need an attorney??
We really do appreciate any & all advice!!! THANKS for your time :P
Hello Katbone, I really understand your frustration because I have had this same nightmare with med. bills myself. It never went to court and eneded at a collection office but still. I can not see how your wife would be held accountable for your medical bills. Did she sign anything? Validation probably is wise if the debt was purchased by the outside collections dept.
Here is what I imagine would happen. As long as you show up at court they should set up a mediation meeting. This is when they try to get an agreement both you and your creditor agree upon. They may set up repayment plans if the other company is willing.
I would advise taking copies showing that you were paying on this debt and all the other med bills you have.
I know hosp. visits result in a thousand bills for one visit. I was always told as long as you paid $10 a month every month they could not sue but I am not sure how true the statement is. Others will stop in and give you more advice so please keep checking back.
credit
Here's my (personal) advice: one of my Medical Bills I DID pay $10.00 per month. Took a long time to pay off..that's for sure!! I kept getting calls from the Billing Department that. "$10.00 wasn't good enough and I needed to send more." I told them that's all they will get, since that's all I could afford. As long as you are making an effort, they really can't do anything. Also....I qualified for the 'Low Income' thing, too, concerning some smaller Med bills. I paid 1/3 of the bill and they paid the rest. I've NEVER heard I had so much time to pay the rest of the bill! OP..didn't you say you only had 3 months, or something like that?! I live in PA.
The medical billing companies can be a big pain in the arm, my problem is they usually don't bill right, then they come after me and I have to call them up and let them know that there is a secondary insurance they should be billing.
In fact, I have to do it today with a bill for my husband, they billed me as a primary and did not bill him, they should have then billed the remainder to my insurance as secondary. Now it will take a few phone calls to straighten it all out.
credit
Doesn't it ALWAYS seem that way. GN? That Billing Departments ( I don't care where it is) seem to NOT bill the right Insurance or they bill you AFTER situations were explained by you (or the 'owner' of the policies)? Really frustrating, I think. It's like the Billing Departments give 'you' alot of , "Uh-huhs" and hang up.
SDC, yes 3 months or I lose the aid is exactly what the sweet old billing lady at the hospital told me in person (with a bit of a growl i did notice.)
So I think when I go to file my response this week, I'm going to deny their allegations based on the amount they're asking for. It is my understanding that when I do file the response they will then set me up for a hearing, right?
Should I bother contacting them directly (merchantscredit.com) & attempt negotiations of this nature BEFORE the hearing?
Also I'm wondering if they could hold our income tax refund hostage over this???
other than the advice above not sure if this is available in your area or not. But check to see if Medkey is available where you live. I got help with my medical bills because of income and put the rest on medkey. It is like a credit card but your credit isn't a issue they set your payments up according to your income and it is for medical bills only. It's worth checking on. I don't know what I would have done without it. And the interest rate is 5.99% which is pretty good.
If the plaintiff gets a judgment they could seize your bank account as well as your income tax refund. A request for validation won't work now because you need to request a validation within 30 days of initial contact from the collector- it sounds like it's been longer than that now.
Will a judge take into account the percentage of my income that I'm already paying out for several other unrelated monthly healthcare related bills, medicines, etc, when considering garnishment?
I know the amount they're allowed to take in my state, but what other possible influencing factors do they weigh before deciding how much to garnish per check??
Judges and courts have no say at all on HOW the judgment is collected. If the court/judge finds in favor of the Plaintiff and awards a judgment, the Plaintiff can do everything within the laws of your State to collect on that judgment. The only one who has any control over the collection of the judgment is the Plaintiff, that is as long as it is within the laws of your State. These can include garnishment of up to whatever percentage your State allows of your income, seizure of bank accounts and tax refunds, liens on property and in some states liens on your autos or sheriff's sale of personal items (some States exclude engagement rings, etc.)