Help!!!!! Being billed $500!!!!!!!

I think six months. I'm not sure though because I always pay in full on time. I gotta keep my credit good for the student loan I want to get next year.

I also have 100% coverage and did not realize (I didn't look closely!) that I had a $500.00 co-pay for hospitalization, I made a payment plan with the hospital and I send them $50 a month for 10 months, no biggie in the long run. I think you will firn in this day and age most insrance companies do have a co-pay, some more than others, $500.00 is now relatively small.

If you get all this done and only a $500.00 out of pocket, count your blessings. I am sure you can come up with five or ten bucks a month to pay it off.  Remember, many people here have had to wait decades in poor helth to even think there would be help for their plight. WHile this may seem like the end of the world at the moment, count your blessings, young lady. You will enjoy years more in quality health and nobody is going to reposess your band over 500 bux.

I certainly don't consider this the end of the world and I'm happy to have the band I just don't know how I'm going to pay it. Idid pay more out of pocket, including $40 copays for each of my six monthly doc supervised weight loss attempts visits plus the copay for all the tests ordered by this doc to approve me for surgery, plus the psych and nutritionist consults plus my pcp clearance and a copay for preop testing and surgeon consult. I paid about $1000 so far. Originally I was going to go with and out of network surgeon that would have cost me $3000 and I was prepared to do that (I don't know how! but I was going to figure it out!). Oh, and I also had to pay like $200 for a taxi to each of my appointments (about five or six total so I paid a LOT for this already!).

Sheesh, give her a break. This is HER reality, not any of yours. If she can't come here to vent and ask for guidance, what is this board for? Haven't any of you had an unexpected bill come up and had to fret a little about how to pay for it?

It's just a little hard to relate to this. I know $500 is a lot, but it's not life altering, or worth getting in a fret over. In this day and age, making payments on $500 means skipping Starbucks, movie rentals and bottled water. It can be done...I've done it. Some people just keep asking the same question over and over until they get the answer they want. She asked for guidance and got good suggestions. She can either pay it or not pay it. I run credit checks on people all the time, and the majority have some sort of medical collection on their credit.

Thank God $500 is not life altering in my case, but it is definitely something to fret over and find out if you can get out of paying it! I know many people for whom $500 is VERY life altering, and in one case I know of it is not only the difference of having heat in the winter for her own cancer ridden body but also for that of her two cancer ridden toddlers, or even having a roof over her head on a monthly basis. $500 is a LOT of money, but you probably don't understand it, becaue apparantly you have a lot if you were self pay. I never could have done that. 

I'm not trying to sound "flip" about this. And we're not talking about people who don't have a roof over their heads or have cancer. A $500 hospital co-pay would be the least of their problems.  I'm assuming you're young if you are on your fathers insurance. I didn't have this surgery until I was 45, because I didn't have the money for it earlier in my life. Had to work and save for it. I DO understand money. This surgery was important enough for me to pay out of pocket. I don't ***** about the cost of fills or anything else related. I appreciate it and what it has done for me. I hope you can get to the same place when you put it into perspective.

So long as we are clear that $500 is a lot of money. Um, I didn't notice myself *****ing about any money. All I did was ask if this is normal and if I really owe it and if there is a way around it. Yes, I'm young and I grew up poor and have to work to pay for every little thing. Financially I never got off easy but that is not the point. I don't want to pay it if I don't have to and wanted to see if anyone else had this and had to pay. It seems they did and it seems I will have to too. In which case I will probably have to cancel my next few fills but such is life. Still no *****ing here.

Hospitals are normally very easy-going when it comes to payment plans. Also, make sure you inquire about a sliding scale discount based on your income. They may be able to lop some of the balance off. I know when I did hospital billing, we would take ANY sort of payment plan (sometimes we hired a collection agency just to monitor the account-but the account wasn't in collection status). So you may be able to get a substantial discount and a very reasonable payment plan. No need to freak out. Good luck!