Please Help
Yesterday I found out that my insurance company isn't going to pay for the surgery I had back in January. Well they are going to pay only $7,500. My surgery cost $20,000 and then I had a few complications that landed me back in the hospital twice so the figures are going to be closer to about $30,000. I feel I have been misled and misinformed by both the insurance company and my surgical group. I am currently doing all I can to fight it but I have a feeling I will be on the losing end. I am also going to see what I can do to get my costs reduced as I was completely unaware that anything like this would happen.
I am asking for your help today. Even if I do get my costs reduced I will still have to pay quite a bit of money. We do have some money in savings but it will not come close to covering this debt. I am NOT asking you for money!
My husband has asked that I get a job (I'm currently a stay at home wife and mother). I asked him if he would give me a little time to try and find a job working from home before automatically going out the home for work. I do not wish to put my son in daycare and I have strong faith that God will see us through this and provide what we need.
If you or anyone you know is looking for help in your business that I could possibly do from home on my computer will you please contact me at: amanda @ macnidermedia . com (you must remove all the spaces, naturally).
Here are some of my details:
I currently own and operate a small web design business with my husband. It does not bring in enough cash flow to be of any help in this case as we currently do not have any new customers. If you or someone you know needs a professional website please take a look at our portfolio at:
http://www.macnidermedia.com/portfolio.asp.
I can also send you a brochure for a serious inquiry.
My husband is the webdesigner and a very talented artist and also does charicatures. He was even one of those people that did your charicature at Busch Gardens when he was a teenager!
Before I was a mother I worked for two well known television networks as executive secretary and office manager. I currently type 70 wpm. I enjoy typing and database work. My hours at home are very flexible.
I used to be a nursing assistant and medical technician and so I have a working knowledge of medical terms. I am highly organized and extremely dependable and would be happy to supply several references from former bosses.
As an aside, I know that winter is fading and spring is on it's way but I make beautiful and cozy knit winter hats made out of wool. The yarn I use is soft and fuzzy and wonderful to the touch. If you'd like one or would like to get a head start on your Christmas shopping would you please consider ordering one from me? I have several different colors, I'll post samples of color shortly but in the meantime here is a picture of a completed hat in tan:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3642/1257/1600/IMG_6440.jpg
The hat costs $15.00 and shipping to US only is $4.50 (Priority Mail)
Dear readers, thank you for any help or leads you may be able to provide. Please join me in my prayer as I completely turn this burden over to God.
I am asking for your help today. Even if I do get my costs reduced I will still have to pay quite a bit of money. We do have some money in savings but it will not come close to covering this debt. I am NOT asking you for money!
My husband has asked that I get a job (I'm currently a stay at home wife and mother). I asked him if he would give me a little time to try and find a job working from home before automatically going out the home for work. I do not wish to put my son in daycare and I have strong faith that God will see us through this and provide what we need.
If you or anyone you know is looking for help in your business that I could possibly do from home on my computer will you please contact me at: amanda @ macnidermedia . com (you must remove all the spaces, naturally).
Here are some of my details:
I currently own and operate a small web design business with my husband. It does not bring in enough cash flow to be of any help in this case as we currently do not have any new customers. If you or someone you know needs a professional website please take a look at our portfolio at:
http://www.macnidermedia.com/portfolio.asp.
I can also send you a brochure for a serious inquiry.
My husband is the webdesigner and a very talented artist and also does charicatures. He was even one of those people that did your charicature at Busch Gardens when he was a teenager!
Before I was a mother I worked for two well known television networks as executive secretary and office manager. I currently type 70 wpm. I enjoy typing and database work. My hours at home are very flexible.
I used to be a nursing assistant and medical technician and so I have a working knowledge of medical terms. I am highly organized and extremely dependable and would be happy to supply several references from former bosses.
As an aside, I know that winter is fading and spring is on it's way but I make beautiful and cozy knit winter hats made out of wool. The yarn I use is soft and fuzzy and wonderful to the touch. If you'd like one or would like to get a head start on your Christmas shopping would you please consider ordering one from me? I have several different colors, I'll post samples of color shortly but in the meantime here is a picture of a completed hat in tan:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3642/1257/1600/IMG_6440.jpg
The hat costs $15.00 and shipping to US only is $4.50 (Priority Mail)
Dear readers, thank you for any help or leads you may be able to provide. Please join me in my prayer as I completely turn this burden over to God.
posted by Amanda @ 9:10 AM
7 Comments:
At 10:34 AM,
Catherine at Frugal Homemaker Plus said…
You can get through this, and God will provide. Cut every expense possible-cable, wash laundry in cold water and hang it dry, use the library, drive less or even sell your cars and use public transportation (A month long pass in my area is less than I spend in gas).
I agree with staying at home- unless you have a free source of daycare, the daycare costs will take a large portion of the money you earn.
You may try selling the hats on E-bay. I'm not sure how much setting up a store costs, if anything.
Medical transcription can be a good source of from home income, but I'm not sure how you get started. Perhaps somebody else will know.
Read frugality blogs, especally Meredith's Like Merchant Ships and Crystal's Biblical Womanhood. I also keep a frugality blog, but I am constantly inspired by them.
Do you have a build up pantry? If so, this is the to use it. Stop buying groceries. If not, this is the time to start one. Buying items in only rock bottom sales can save you a fortune in the long run.
Feel free to e-mail me with questions. My address is Frugal.Homemaker.Plus@gmail.com
You can do this. It will get better.
Also, check your insurace paperwork to see what they should cover. If this surgury was one of those things, fight it. I think they count on people giving up. Also, call your hospital and find out what they can do for you. Most places will work with you as long as you come to them before the Past Due bills start showing up. This is a sadly common problem in this country, and they are used to working with people. You're in my prayers!
At 10:44 AM,
Amanda said…
Just to make sure everyone knows, I'm as frugal as they come. I cook from scratch, pack hubby's lunch, and yes even wash in cold water!
As soon as I heard this news I immediately turned the heat down and now I'm going through all my belongings to see what I can part with and sell on ebay.
Also...
I not only want to keep my son out of daycare because of the cost but also because I don't trust anyone with this precious child. We are in a new city and we don't know a single soul. He goes where I go!
At 12:13 PM,
Anonymous said…
Read the pertinent chapters in "Total Money Makeover" and "Financial Peace Revisited." You can send a letter to your creditors, show them your budget and make them payments based on the percentage of the debt that is theirs. We had a hospital write off a bill for us as "charity." That was after a bad experience going to the gov't for Medicaid to cover $30,000 in bills for our premature son. Found out later they would have written it off after a year of faithful payments! Maybe yours will do the same. Hope this helps, and I'll lift you and your family up to the Lord in prayer.
At 12:25 PM,
Leigh said…
I am TOTALLY praying for you!! This very situation is one of my worst fears, that something would happen if I had children, where I would have to leave the home to work. I know God will work this out for you! I am praying for you and posting your blog on mine, asking people to pray for you and see if they can help in any way.
Take care,
Leigh
At 2:05 PM,
Anonymous said…
You can fight this. STart by calling and asking a manager. As you have previous medical experience, you no doubt can understand the lingo. I am known by friends and families as 'the litigator' because I have gotten things from companies that noone deems possible - nothing dishonest - but I have held them to what they said they will do.
These are the steps I take:
1. Call the company - the customer care line or whatever - I do not know who you have but if it is a giant like blue cross/ blue shield or something they are open 24/ 7. Ask to speak with the manager. They will probably try to 'help' you before putting you thru, but nicely and politely state that you have spoken in depth with customer care and will wait as long as need be to speak with a manager. If they need to put you on hold, so be it. If they want you to hang up and call another number, fine. Do whatever you need to do to get thru to a manager.
2. When you finally get said manager on the phone - verify this by nicely, in a very non-threatening way - asking for the persons' name and title. If they are indeed a manager, ask this person if they have five minutes (this puts them at ease) and explain in very simple terms your case.
When done explaining ask if they understand the dilemna and then ask them for their advice.
I do not know anything about your case, but if you TRULY were misled - as in this is no fault of your own - not a result of your negligence or just lack of understanding (which sadly, happens to all of us but is our fault nonetheless) - you probably have a case here.
Draft a letter to the president of both the insurance company and medical practice and send it, stating that you belive you were misled.
Keep rigorous copies of names, dates, and times of everyone you talk to. When talking with the insurance company ask if there is a confirmation number or any kind of ID number for the conversation.
STart a file folder and keep all the transaction details in that.
If you are truly in the right and this was not a negligent act on your part you have a true case here and you may even be able to press charges if need be. Also do a quick search on the better biz bureau to see if either company has been reported previously.
YOu will find this will take a lot of time and effort but it will be worth it.
Also, an earlier poster mentioned the hospital wrote their service off as charity, that is great for them but unfortunately that means the rest of the public must pay the bill, in most cases. Obviously I do not know anything about their situation but in general, that is what happens when someone does not or cannot pay a bill - medical costs go up as the hospital must 'eat' the costs....and they must recover it somewhere. The goal here, it sounds like, is to get the insurance and medical providers to pay for what they said they would pay for.
At 1:54 PM,
Leigh said…
Hi Pink,
How are things going??? I have been praying for you!
Take care,
Leigh
At 9:13 AM,
susntexas said…
You should look up medical transcription at Career Step. They have a website. Yes you have to pay for the training - about 4 months, but then you can get a job online and work from home. I am taking the course now and it is wonderful.
The hospital will give you (1) a new reduced fee if you do not have insurance to cover it and (2) they might wipe out the debt all together.
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