"You wouldn't think you'd go to jail over unpaid medical bills." - Bitch this is AMERICA

[GeneticBlueprint]

 

 

Quote

Tres and Heather Biggs' son Lane was diagnosed with leukemia when he was five years old. At the same time, Heather suffered seizures from Lyme disease. 
 
"We had so many — multiple health issues in our family at the same time, it put us in a bracket that made insurance unattainable," Heather Biggs said. "It would have made no sense. We would have had to have not eaten, not had a home."

 

Tres Biggs was working two jobs but they fell behind on their medical bills, then the unthinkable happened.

 

 "You wouldn't think you'd go to jail over medical bills," Tres Biggs said. 
 
Tres Biggs went to jail for failing to appear in court for unpaid medical bills. He described it as "scary." 

 

"I was scared to death," Tres Biggs said. "I'm a country kid  — I had to strip down, get hosed and put a jumpsuit on." 

 

Bail was $500. He said they had "maybe $50 to $100" at the time. 

 

The medical industry is doing a really good job of making people want a private system. Just look at the laws they help implement and the people who enforce them. It sure inspires confidence.

 

Quote

In rural Coffeyville, Kansas, where the poverty rate is twice the national average, attorneys like Michael Hassenplug have built successful law practices representing medical providers to collect debt owed by their neighbors. 

 

"I'm just doing my job," Hassenplug said. "They want the money collected, and I'm trying to do my job as best I can by following the law." 

 

That law [the one that put Biggs in jail] was put in place at Hassenplug's own recommendation to the local judge. The attorney uses that law by asking the court to direct people with unpaid medical bills to appear in court every three months and state they are too poor to pay in what is called a "debtors exam."

 

If two hearings are missed, the judge issues an arrest warrant for contempt of court. Bail is set at $500.

 

Hassenplug said he gets "paid on what's collected." If the bail money is applied to the judgment, then he gets a portion of that, he said. 

 

"We're sending them to jail for contempt of court for failure to appear," Hassenplug said. 

 

In most courts, bail money is returned when defendants appear in court. But in almost every case in Coffeyville, that money goes to pay attorneys like Hassenplug and the medical debt his clients are owed.

 

A ProPublica article linked in the CBS story is an infuriating read.

[Uaarkson]

Jesus fucking Christ.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

5 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

The medical industry is doing a really good job of making people want a private system.

*public system

[GeneticBlueprint]

1 minute ago, SFLUFAN said:

*public system

 

I was being sarcastic. Forgot to use my sarcasm font. I apologize. :P

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

This is a hospital invoice from a "complicated" birth for someone with health insurance:

 

[GeneticBlueprint]

59 minutes ago, SFLUFAN said:

This is a hospital invoice from a "complicated" birth for someone with health insurance:

 

 

The terrorists were right.

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

4 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

The terrorists were right.

Tbh who doesn't hate this kind of "freedom"

[Greatoneshere]

"Bitch, this is America" made me laugh.

[marioandsonic]

[chakoo]

1 hour ago, SFLUFAN said:

This is a hospital invoice from a "complicated" birth for someone with health insurance:

 

Please make sure when you take over the country you make insurance CEO and their boards go to the wall.

[Firewithin]

lol at 800k for popping a kid out.......shithole country 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

I thought debtors prisons were abolished and deemed unconstitutional. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

15 minutes ago, chakoo said:

Please make sure when you take over the country you make insurance CEO and their boards go to the wall.

I've decided upon crucifixion for them.

[Dodger]

1 hour ago, SFLUFAN said:

This is a hospital invoice from a "complicated" birth for someone with health insurance:

 

 

 

I hate to be the asshole here, but if you're going bankrupt over $713.23, you got a lot of problems. I was expecting the "your responsibility" part to be like 6 figures, which would make sense on how you go bankrupt over medical bills. 

[Reputator]

9 minutes ago, Dodger said:

I hate to be the asshole here, but if you're going bankrupt over $713.23, you got a lot of problems. I was expecting the "your responsibility" part to be like 6 figures, which would make sense on how you go bankrupt over medical bills. 

 

I believe the point wasn't what was owed, but what the insurance was charged.

 

Without insurance they charge less, but it's still tens of thousands of dollars.

[Ghost_MH]

10 minutes ago, Dodger said:

I hate to be the asshole here, but if you're going bankrupt over $713.23, you got a lot of problems. I was expecting the "your responsibility" part to be like 6 figures, which would make sense on how you go bankrupt over medical bills. 

 

No insurance or worse insurance is how people go bankrupt. Look at how much the hospital is charging there and how lucky they are they had insurance that covered the vast majority of it. I believe that's the point here.

[chakoo]

15 minutes ago, Dodger said:

I hate to be the asshole here, but if you're going bankrupt over $713.23, you got a lot of problems. I was expecting the "your responsibility" part to be like 6 figures, which would make sense on how you go bankrupt over medical bills. 

In Canada the whole thing would be $0. So $713 even with insurance is absurd.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

4 minutes ago, Reputator said:

 

I believe the point wasn't what was owed, but what the insurance was charged.

 

Without insurance they charge less, but it's still tens of thousands of dollars.

That's the correct interpretation of the bankruptcy comment.

[Dodger]

See, I'm so used to being fucked I look at that and think how the fuck do you only owe $713. My Gf had a $85,000 medical emergency bill last year and owes like $5000. So my first thought was damn this lady has some good insurance. 

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

Most people can't even handle a $400 emergency so $713 is still a problem (especially since median household income in this country is in the neighborhood of $~1k/week)

[Jason]

7 minutes ago, Dodger said:

See, I'm so used to being fucked I look at that and think how the fuck do you only owe $713. My Gf had a $85,000 medical emergency bill last year and owes like $5000. So my first thought was damn this lady has some good insurance. 

 

They probably hit the annual maximum out of pocket on the plan.

[Chadatog]

Also you may be covered and did all of your savings beforehand, but on the day your wife comes close to bleeding out after a difficult labor and the anastisiologist that you got your original spinal from was covered but the anastisiologist for the emergency C-section and  4 hours after the surgery they kept her sedated, you could end up with a bill for 5 to 10k and a depressed wife who feels like her body put your family in the poor house.

[Jason]

13 minutes ago, Chadatog said:

Also you may be covered and did all of your savings beforehand, but on the day your wife comes close to bleeding out after a difficult labor and the anastisiologist that you got your original spinal from was covered but the anastisiologist for the emergency C-section and  4 hours after the surgery they kept her sedated, you could end up with a bill for 5 to 10k and a depressed wife who feels like her body put your family in the poor house.

 

Some of the biggest bullshit is how doctors not on your plan can come in while you're unconscious and now you're on the hook for another bill.

[Zaku3]

1 hour ago, SFLUFAN said:

I've decided upon crucifixion for them.

We still need show trials and false confessions.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

13 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

Some of the biggest bullshit is how doctors not on your plan can come in while you're unconscious and now you're on the hook for another bill.

Or while you’re under the doctor sees something that needs immediate attention and the insurance seems the tool or whatever used as “unapproved” and you’re on the hook for that entire thing. 
 

shit completely out of control, that a dr would say you needed or you could die, but nope, not covered. 

[baconbits]

Medicare for All bitches.

[Anathema-]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

 

They probably hit the annual maximum out of pocket on the plan.

 

Yes, that's a line item on the bill. That $713 is on top of 3 grand they already paid this year, probably for other pregnancy related visits.

[Jwheel86]

6 hours ago, SFLUFAN said:

This is a hospital invoice from a "complicated" birth for someone with health insurance:

 

 

That's child's play. 

 

Every four months Duke buys a dose of Spinraza from Biogen for $125,000. Duke then bill BCBSNC for $765,709.00 (procedure, evaluation, labs, documentation, and doctor fees billed separately) and receives $368,306.03. $243,306.03 profit for sending a fax requesting pre authorization from BCBSNC and another to Biogen ordering the drug, every four months, per SMA patient (#1 genetic killer of infants).

[Keyser_Soze]

This reminds me of the time I canceled my cable, took all the equipment back and they said I was good. But then I guess I had $30 on the bill to pay and they sent threatening letters from a collection agency to my mom to pay the $30. But what would they be collecting?

[Scott]

My coworker’s toddler was life-flighted from their local regional hospital to a larger medical center in a bigger city about an hour away. My coworker obviously had no influence on the flight path or chosen destination. He was told by his insurer that since there was a hospital closer than the one that was ultimately used, he had to pay out of pocket for the helicopter ride. Again, my friend had no say in any of this. But because Tulsa is slightly closer to him than Little Rock, he owes the hospital $40,000 out of pocket. 

[Firewithin]

2 hours ago, Scott said:

My coworker’s toddler was life-flighted from their local regional hospital to a larger medical center in a bigger city about an hour away. My coworker obviously had no influence on the flight path or chosen destination. He was told by his insurer that since there was a hospital closer than the one that was ultimately used, he had to pay out of pocket for the helicopter ride. Again, my friend had no say in any of this. But because Tulsa is slightly closer to him than Little Rock, he owes the hospital $40,000 out of pocket. 

[GeneticBlueprint]

2 hours ago, Scott said:

My coworker’s toddler was life-flighted from their local regional hospital to a larger medical center in a bigger city about an hour away. My coworker obviously had no influence on the flight path or chosen destination. He was told by his insurer that since there was a hospital closer than the one that was ultimately used, he had to pay out of pocket for the helicopter ride. Again, my friend had no say in any of this. But because Tulsa is slightly closer to him than Little Rock, he owes the hospital $40,000 out of pocket. 

 

On 2/10/2020 at 11:39 AM, GeneticBlueprint said:

The terrorists were right.

 

On 2/10/2020 at 11:44 AM, b_m_b_m_b_m said:

Tbh who doesn't hate this kind of "freedom"

 

[Iculus]

My wife had a pretty tough pregnancy that ended with an emergency csection. After insurance we owed around 7k. We ended up paying it of with cards, because the hospital knocked off %30 for payment in full. Ridiculous...

 

Edit: and maybe more ridiculous, that kid has chronic ingrown toenails on one foot. He is too young for the typical treatment, so they knock him out for ~3 minutes in order to take care of it. After insurance we owe around $800.