Got medical bills? Organize your own benefit!

[FoxPaws]

I would be sooooo tempted to write an anonymous letter to the newspaper asking if BenefitBoy was planning to sell off his extensive gun collection to help defray the cost of his medical bills.  

As for suing the production company.....if it was an independent film and they didn't have insurance, there's probably no point in a lawsuit - you could prove responsibility, but good luck collecting damages when there isn't any money.

Have they even tried to work something out with the doctor/hospital as so many posters have suggested here?

I recently went to the Urgent Care Center with a sprained ankle. The bill is going to be coming out of my pocket (my insurance has a $1000 deductible) and my plans are to.....drumroll.....figure out a way to pay for it. What a concept, huh?

[MineralDiva]

People like this make me want to smack them with an overlarge trout. It smells worse than a clue by four.

Indeed!  And thanks for the clarification on the Medicaid/Medi-Cal/Medicare issue.  That's what I meant...but I didn't explain it well.  I only remember that I didn't qualify last year, when I had my $7000 kidney stone.

[MineralDiva]

Thanks for the kidnap assistance for Mr. Diva, everyone!  LOL  I knew  I could count on you all!

As for whether BenefitBoy and EntitlementGirl have even attempted to work out a payment arrangement on these bills...I have no idea. 

An anonymous letter to the Editor is a lovely fantasy.  Unfortunately, she won't print anonymous letters.  Believe me, I would be tempted to do just THAT otherwise!

Mr. Diva's band played a gig last night, and thankfully this "benefit" was never mentioned.  I was ready if it had been though.  We have other plans for that day.

[jaxsue]

To add to MsMoonBunny's comment: In Florida (US), a disabled person who receives disability automatically receives Medicaid. In our case, our son received it at age 18 and is considered an adult, so our fiscal situation doesn't affect his receiving Medicaid. We are his guardians (a must for parents of disabled adults), so we take care of all his affairs.

BTW, we had to go through a rigorous testing/interview period so they could determine that his disability (autism) was permanent and that he would never be able to support himself. At best he can earn minimum wage, and probably the lower minimum wage that is given to disabled adults (so as not to hurt their SSDI status).

[goblue2539]

An anonymous letter to the Editor is a lovely fantasy.  Unfortunately, she won't print anonymous letters.  Believe me, I would be tempted to do just THAT otherwise!

I would be more than happy to write the letter for you, if you think they'd print one from out of state.  Or if you know an address I can use where you are. 

I still have medical bills hanging over my head, but it's partly my fault.  I waited nearly a year due to having what I considered more pressing bills, and by the time I got in contact with the hospital they wouldn't accept what I could pay.  But, it's still my responsibility.  Although, I could've asked the guy who hit me with the softball to help.  
Ok, I was playing catcher, so it wasn't like getting hit with the ball was that unexpected.  Just getting it between the eyes was surprising.

[MineralDiva]

Hmmm...that's a thought, goblue.  She DOES check the sources on those letters.  This is a rather small community.

Mr. Diva got a call from one of his bandmates today.  He didn't speak with her,but I just checked the message she left.  It was completely unrelated to performing at this "benefit."  (Thankfully!)

He expressed concern to me that we may look like we're being unsupportive to someone in need, if he's pushed about performing for this thing.

I blew up and told him:  "You BET we're being unsupportive!  What they are doing is morally WRONG, and we will have no part of it!  There's a whole thread of Ehellion responses on this issue you should read!  You have another engagement that afternoon, and for the evening's "benefit," we have "other plans."  It's as simple as that.  And if they don't like it, too bad!  I've got $30K in my OWN medical bills to pay...I'll be damned and go to Ehell, if I'm going to give them a DIME...because Miss Priss is "scared."  So was I, and I worked it out.  She can too!"

Right now we can't even afford Christmas presents for eachother or a nice Holiday dinner, because there just isn't enough to go around.  Our regular bills and rent are paid though.  Nothing's being turned off...and now I'm supposed to feel obligated to pay THEIR bills?  Who's paying OURS?  That's right, WE are!  Silly us!  We should have scheduled a benefit!  BAH!

[Suze]

I thought that if a place like a hospital - refused - what you could pay, the bill was considered paid in full.

Or is that an Urban Legend?

Suze

[kherbert05]

Urban Legend related to this one http://www.snopes.com/business/bank/paidfull.asp

[Suze]

I have read that one.  What I was refering to was that if you were willing to pay X amount a month till you could pay it off, and THEY refused the payment, it could be considered paid.

The link says that you should pay a tiny payment and then write PAID IN FULL on it.

In my tiny little brain those are not the same.  But I will not start an aurgument about it.

Suze

[IndianInlaw]

Jaxsue, I believe, your son can earn $80 a month before it affects his SSI payments.  After that, for every $2, he earns, $1 will will be deducted from his SSI.

As long as he has $1 a month in SSI, he will still qualify for medicaid.

[MineralDiva]

ANOTHER UPDATE:

Mr. Diva saw "BenefitBoy" at the Post Office this afternoon.  Nothing was mentioned about the benefit, nor the newspaper article.  But he did say he was feeling better...and handed Mr. Diva a check, made out to our theatre company for the rental of the platforms they used for their production.

AND the tuxedo that was borrowed for use during our production, has now been returned to it's owner.

So thankfully, those little details are no longer outstanding.  What will happen as far as the "benefit" is concerned....stay tuned!

[Sandi Papaya]

People like this make me want to smack them with an overlarge trout. It smells worse than a clue by four.

Indeed!  And thanks for the clarification on the Medicaid/Medi-Cal/Medicare issue.  That's what I meant...but I didn't explain it well.  I only remember that I didn't qualify last year, when I had my $7000 kidney stone.

No problem, that's what I'm here for! Medi-Cal and Medicaid are the same thing, it's just that here in California we are special and have to have everything attributed to our lovely home state. Welfare to Work is known as CalWORKs here - (Cal)ifornia (W)ork (O)pportunities and (R)esponsibility to our (K)id(s) Program. If you ask me, it's dumb and it's just easier to call it Welfare to Work. But nobody ever asked me, so it's got that really stupid acronym and an even stupider name, which sounds like a third grader made it up.

Jaxsue, I'm not sure what the laws are in your home state, so I can't comment - but here in California he age of majority for Medi-Cal is 21. I also don't know the ins and outs of SSI, except how to take deductions for SSI out of certain budgets so that families will meet their income levels.

I really need to get back to work (I go back in 2 weeks!) because I'm starting to get rusty on this stuff! I know we have a computer system that does it all for us, but we need to know the rules and regulations so we can make sure that the computer is doing the calculations right, so we still have to know how to do hand-budgets and stuff like that. I am super rusty on my hand-budgets. I'm going to have so much catching up to do!

Thank goodness I'm going to be coming back when the new On the Job training class moves in, or else I'd feel like I was really behind. Basically, I'll be starting back over with the new group, which kind of sucks, but it's better than losing my job, that's for sure!

Just think...if I lose my job, maybe y'all could help me throw a "Save MoonBunny" benefit. Forget trying to find a new job.

[MineralDiva]

Funny thing is, Moonbunny...I would have qualified for (is it Medi-Cal when you have minor children?  I forget).  BUT my former hoseband sued me for primary custody of our daughter(he decided he was paying too much in child support) and we don't have 50/50 arangements.  It's something like 75/25 (with me now being the 25%).

The caseworker said that even though the divorce decree states that it's still Joint Custody, with him now the person she lives with the majority of the time, instead of me....I wouldn't be able to get benefits because "it has to be stipulated 50/50."  Huh?

My income (according to their calculations) was too high to qualify for Medicaid.  Though not high enough to take on the extra expense of either health insurance...or a bill for not having it!

DD is 18 now, but had they approved me, it would have been good until she was 21.  Now I've given these folks my life story...and have nothing to show for it.  But they certainly know how to find ME...and know what assets I have and don't!  Scary!

It was a very vulnerable feeling to have to fill out that application.  But I did what I thought I had to do to take care of the obligation I incurred.  And the caseworker was genuinely helpful and very sorry that there was nothing she could do to help me.

[Sandi Papaya]

Yeah, that is a bit scary, isn't it? I understand why so many people are so hesitant to pursue public benefits, because it requires so much self-disclosure that it's absolutely scary. It's like laying your entire life out to some stranger in a bar, except you're perfectly sober. And you have to disclose stuff to people you don't know and are going to talk about you (in most cases - I am the rare worker who doesn't discuss my clients unless I'm having a problem, and then it only goes to my supervisor). And then, as in your case, you don't even qualify. It really sucks.

Custody arrangements can get funny, too, but I've never had a situation where it wasn't a straight 50/50 custody arrangement or full custody by one parent (yet), so those are fairly straightforward to work out. But again, I'm totally rusty and I have a loooooooooooot of reading up to do when I get back to work. I hope I'm not totally left in the dark when I go back. I studied so hard in the initial run-up to the On the Job Training phase, but putting it all into practice is where it counts, and I only had a week and a half to do that. Hopefully it'll come back to me when I go back!

[MineralDiva]

Yes it really does stink.  The custody situation was what blew my mind.  Even though it says "joint" on the paperwork, one parent has "primary" custody.  It used to be me...but now it's him.  (Well actually, now that she's 18 it's neither.)

He deliberately manipulated the percentages, to get out of paying as much child support as possible.  That was the whole idea behind suing me for primary custody in the first place. 

I didn't realize how badly I'd been scre*ed, until I had to fill out that Medi-Cal application.  Even the caseworker commented on how I'd been shafted.  She was the first one to finally say it...besides me!

It just boggles my brain that BenefitBoy and EntitlementGirl won't even TRY to fill out the applications, to see if there's anything that can be done.  I knew mine might be a long shot...but if there was even the slightest chance I could qualify, it would have been a huge help!

You'll get your sea legs back in no time!  Sounds like you're still pretty up on most of it!  A little reading up on some of the changes since you were at it before...and you'll be good to go!