Hello! In February, I went to the ER for a mental health hold. I was there for maybe an hour, during which they put me in a suicide-proof room. Afterwards, I got a bill for $175.61 after insurance. They've sent it to collections and I just got the itemized bill in the picture. Is there a way to get this taken care of without paying them?? They didn't do anything, even a temp and weight! I don't think I should have to pay for sitting in a room for an hour. Any advice on this helps. TYIA

So, my coworker recently had a serious injury and had to get some emergency surgery. The hospital bill came in, and it was over $3,000. They were really stressed about how to pay it off, especially since they didn’t have a lot of time to deal with the paperwork or back-and-forth with the hospital.

As a friend, I started looking into ways to help them out and found out there are AI tools that can review your medical bills and negotiate discounts directly with the hospital. It sounded like something out of a tech ad, but I decided to give it a shot for my friend.

At first, I didn’t say anything because I thought they’d think I was crazy (we have a lot of inside jokes). But after a few days, the AI tool helped save them almost 25% off the bill, and they didn’t have to do anything! One service I came across is MediLoop, and it seems to have helped a lot of people.

Has anyone else tried something like this?

I recently payed a visit to the emergency room as my face had swollen up from a tooth abscess and I was scared of going septic. I was brought into a room, sat in a chair, had my vitals checked, prescribed an antibiotic and released. I am uninsured and received my bill. Which I’ve attached. I asked for an itemized receipt and this is what I’m getting.

Can someone please tell me why it’s $2000 for a vital check and a prescription? Is there anything I can do to get this lowered since I’m self pay? I’m really just trying to gauge my options here as I don’t want this sent to collections and will pay what I have to but this seems outrageous for what was done.

Thanks in advance

My bill went to a collection company, is it to late to call the hospital and try to work out a lower payment

To the families struggling to pay bills: Apply for the charity IQ , attempt to make payments , offer something and if that doesn’t work contact to have it on record contact the below ⬇️

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/

Nationwide Credit Corporation 5503 Cherokee Ave, Alexandria VA 22312 (703) 763-0645 | (844) 848-5869

The Company is a third party collector for John Hopkins. Last year I was Left with hospital bill $250. I do have medical/dental insurance& vision 😉 . I offered $75 for months to settle they didn’t. After surviving two hurricanes I continued to offer $75 to settle . The NCC didn’t want to settle and denied the offer , of $75. Said it would not affect my credit score.

Greed!

🖊️ They said all or NOTHING

“On May 28, 2025 we received your initial email detailing your efforts to settle the account in the amount of $75.00 with Johns Hopkins prior to us receiving the account. Unfortunately, NCC does not have the authority to offer you a settlement offer which is why your settlement request with us was denied. Your initial request with Johns Hopkins for patient charity was denied due to your charity IQ score. Johns Hopkins does offer an Income-Based Payment Plan for eligible consumers. This account will not affect your credit and will not be reported to any credit bureaus.

I've been to the ER several times this year for several health issues, and unfortunately I do not have insurance. I was perfectly happy setting up a payment plan and handling this, and I've been keeping track of my balance through MyChart all year.

Now they're saying I owe over $51,000 to the hospital, $35,000 of which is in collections. I told them that's impossible since MyChart says I only owe $28,000 total, $11,000 of which is in collections. I even called the collection agency they referred me to and confirmed it was the $11,000 amount in MyChart. They said they haven't received any other debt.

I bring this to the attention of the billing agent for the hospital, and she says oh well they must have sent the debt back to the hospital. No.... they never got it at all. Then she says well MyChart doesn't show what's in collections. Actually it does. It has an entire section of billing dedicated to collections accounts for the hospital. Then she says well too bad you owe $51,000 and there are 2 dates here I'm seeing that aren't in your MyChart.

So I said okay.... what dates and for what services? And why is it not on my account that I owe this money? She said she doesn't know it's a problem I need to address with MyChart. Um..no, this is a problem with the hospital not putting my bills on my account.

So at this point the billing agent is getting really pissed and disrespectful and says oh well too bad you owe $51,000 and should apply for financial assistance.

Okay great, I'll do that, but I only have up to my 2023 tax return so I'll use that. Then she's like no you can't you have to use 2024. I say ma'am, your own paperwork right in front of my face says "use most recently filed tax return, if you haven't filed explain why". She's like too bad we can't do any financial assistance for you if you don't have 2024. I pointed out that what she's saying doesn't match their own paperwork, she said oh well.

So at this point honestly I'm getting really fed up so I'm like okay let's just do a payment plan for what the balance is minus the self-pay discount (40% off) for all charges. She says I would need to pay $1,000 per month for 24 months and they can't do more than 24 months. So I say that's literally impossible no one has that kind of money. Then she's like ok we could actually do 60 months for $850. Still impossible that's more than I pay for rent. I inform her I can do $50-$100 per month max, and she's nope can't do it looks like you can't do a payment plan.

So I'm like look, I'm trying to work with the hospital here. That is what I can pay. If I pay that, are they still going to send me to collections? She said yep they're going to collections even if you make payments since it's not the amount I quoted you.

So at this point I'm like look it sounds like all this is going to collections no matter what I do, and there's no reasonable way I can afford to pay what you're asking me, so now I have to consider bankruptcy considering you threatened me with a lawsuit and wage garnishment if I don't pay. She's like well I can't advise you whether to do bankruptcy.

All this to say - this sounds really fucking shady that my records don't match their billing department? And even collections disagrees with how much I owe.

My PT office (front desk) told me multiple times (after checking with insurance) that I owed $0 copay since I had already hit my out-of-pocket max. They never gave me a written estimate, but verbally assured me 3 times that I wouldn’t owe anything BEFORE GETTING THEIR SERVICE.

After 10 visits, they suddenly billed me $750. The office manager even admitted their staff misinformed me. To make it more confusing, my plan now shows them as out-of-network/tier 2 under BCBS.

I filed 3 complaints to consumer protection, AG, insurance company. They didn’t send it the collection yet (may be within 3 weeks)

Has anyone in NY dealt with a similar situation that not in good faith? What was the outcome of your dispute? Any advice?

Hey guys. I’m sorry to ask here but I’m just not getting anywhere on my own. And I’m not asking for money, just any advice that has helped you get by with medical debt.

I’ve had this mystery illness for years. I racked up massive medical debt on credit cards and had to file bankruptcy in February. As soon as my bankruptcy was discharged, I finally got a diagnosis/surgery in April. I was forced to stop working due to this issue and still can’t work. I still had my employers insurance when i had this surgery. I am in the process of filing for disability but they told me straight up that they’re understaffed and it can be up to 10 months before I hear the FIRST decision. I didn’t know i was going to have surgery or i would have waited to do the bankruptcy lol

I keep getting more and more medical bills from this surgery and my urgent care visits for complications. I just now got a bill for $500 for a service completed in May. I already paid like $1,000 out of pocket for my surgery and with all these bills i keep getting, I have close to $5,000 in debt and the bills keep coming. I’m so overwhelmed because I just had to file bankruptcy because of this. What am i supposed to do?? I’ve called the hospitals for payment plan and they want my w-2’s from last year. This does me no good because I was working at that time.

I live with family, i drive a beater car, i don’t eat out, i literally don’t leave my house unless it’s to go to the doctor. I only shop sales, i use coupons and cash back apps. I can’t donate plasma due to my medical condition, but I do paid focus groups when I get selected for them. I’ve been selling everything i own on Depop and eBay, which has helped tremendously, but this is only really covering my basic needs like groceries and gas. I applied for food stamps but they are also backed up and i can’t get anywhere with them.

If anybody has any advice, please, I’m desperate! And i thank you in advance. If you’re dealing with this too, i hope you are feeling well now and having an easier time!

Just a rant while I figure this out but if anyone has any insights please share!

My dad is under a payment plan for a few accounts and pays $120 monthly since May 2025. Everything was fine until a bill from 8/2025 shows that 2 of those accounts were not under the payment plan and there’s an additional charge for both accounts even though a bill from 7/2025 shows those accounts indeed were under a plan. I called them last month and lady says it’s a probably a glitch because in her computer it says it is under a plan. Ok so my dad paid his monthly plus other new visits, but not including new charges from the “glitched out” accounts. New bill comes for this month and it STILL shows those 2 accounts not under payment plan. I called again and this time I get an “idk in our computer it says under payment plan, probably a glitch”. So like the last time (8/2025), new bill(9/2025) includes the $120 monthly, new visits, and the additional charges for those 2 accounts. Doesn’t make sense to me that we were paying $120 that included those accounts as initially agreed, and now we have to pay a new bill that doesn’t have those 2 accounts plus additional charges for them on top that? I’m sorry if this is confusing to you guys! I’m so confused myself and frustrated. Same billing glitch that lasts for another month?? Okay… 🙃

I was in an accident in January and the bill itself said around $10k, but on my hospital account website it said my portion was around $400, but it was covered by insurance. I thought "my portion" was what insurance didn't cover? Anyways, my insurance came back saying they aren't covering anything because the at fault person's insurance should cover it. The at fault car insurance is settling with the full amount of the bill, but does the revoking of coverage from my health insurance mean I now owe the hospital $10k? Or just my portion, the $400 ish? Thanks in advance, I'm so ready for this to be over.

Has anyone gone as far as making a written complaint to the CEO, CFO, Board of Trustees, and or the entity that accredits a hospital for charges that are fraudulent? My case:

My husband had a mental crisis in February ’25. He had a hospital stay for 2 weeks in the psych ward at a hospital that our doctors are affiliated with. Upon his discharge, he was offered to enroll in an IOP program depending on insurance coverage. I distinctly remember having to wait for word that his enrollment would be covered under his insurance. It was and he began the Monday after his hospital discharge. We were told point blank “the program is approved”.

During the 6 months he’s been attending this program, he was forced to have a 1:1 therapy session with a designated therapist. This was supposed to happen once a month. There was no canceling on these sessions. About April, we started getting EOB’s from his then insurance stating that they would not cover 2 therapy sessions on the same day. So right now, he has an extra therapy charge for each month and 2 months, they forced 2 sessions in those months.

I have called the business office complaining that this is not fair. One of the reps there sent an email to the person who is over the IOP program to call me and I have not received a call yet. That was in May. I just called again and got the name of this person and it happens to be the Director of Social Services for the hospital and this program. I have her email bc I’ve had to contact her about a number of issues with this program.

I made up my mind that I am not paying a cent towards his balance until this is addressed.

Incidentally, there are other issues that I need to address that haven’t set well with us about this program. Unfortunately, there’s no other program in the town where we live so this hospital has a monopoly over people with mental illness.

What’s the limit of asset amount for 1 individual in California?

Tldr: An explanation, with example, as to how there are companies that are leeching off of us in the medical billing system that lay outside of insurance companies and hospitals that you visit, and how they exploit our acceptance that we are getting screwed and that that's just how it is.

I wanted to post some insights about billing practices with a medical contract company called Tacoma Emergency Care Physicians. They have been around for a while and they bill separately, directly to you, and people always question if they are paying a legitimate bill or are being scammed.

In this case, it is legitimate in that they can bill you and there is a requirement to pay them. However, I believe, as well as the Better Business Bureau, that they are shady and exploitative.

The short explanation of their business is that they are a company, that represents themselves more like an "organization", that contracts out the doctors that affiliated with them. For instance, you go to the emergency rooms or urgent care centers at hospitals they work with and the doctors you see don't actually work for the hospital. They work for Tacoma Emergency Care Physicians (TECP). This distinction allows for them to bill you separately for essentially anything they want under the guise of medical services.

As an example, I went to the emergency room and they did an echocardiogram on me. They billed my insurance company and then me for the doctor's "expertise". My insurance paid their share and I was billed the rest as a Co-pay to the TECP's services. That makes me pay two co-pays for the same service.

I'm also indirectly paying that fee again to the insurance company because their loss is past onto me in the form of larger co-pays, covering less services, higher premiums, and raising deductibles. This is in addition to how medical insurance companies already screw you through protracted and convoluted billing practices that we have come to expect and therefore accept.

This is not a business practices that is strictly at the one hospital/urgent care facility that I went to. It is used at all emergency services at all hospitals in Washington. I have no doubt that these shady and egregious practices are in your state as well.

I went through multiple people at both the TEPC and the hospital to make a complaint and make sure my voice was heard. It seems like a waste of time but I explained this to every person I talked to and they had no idea it was happening and were just as mad as I was. I asked them to pass it along to others so that more people become aware of another layer that we are likely not aware of and how companies outside of medical insurance companies are profiting on our lack of knowledge and our acceptance that we have to just deal with it.

I'm hoping this post about Tacoma Emergency Care Physicians and whether they are legit finds it's way onto Google searches.

Had a potential scratched cornea. Visited three urgent cares who all turned me away even though I literally just needed someone to look at it and confirm if it was scratched or not because it was a cat scratch, I wasn’t gonna ignore something like that ON MY EYE! Forced to go to the ER instead and ended up being fine but am now getting pestered for the bills months after I thought I already paid them because surprise! Out of network doctor.

Hi there.

Family Plan. Anthem BCBS RTX. In network deductible limit is 3,700. That was reached. Out-of-pocket-max is 8,000. Spent 3,752. OUT OF NETWORK deductible is 7,400. 0 has been spent. Max is 16,000.

Had a microdiscectomy on December 17th of 2024. Luckily (due to bad events earlier in the year with another family member) that 36,000 dollar surgery was covered. But once i was 3 months into my recovery, the doctor wanted me to start PT. So I did PT where my PCP is located. My normal hospital. Core Physicians. Come to find out in the end of it all, I was getting billed per 15 minutes depending on whether I was using machinery, having them do physical work, or open stretching. So sometimes the first 15 minutes of the appointment would cost $173, while the remainder of the appointment cost $445. Only for 30 minutes!! So with insurance, out of that $618 charge- they covered 181. That is just one example out of my 11 appointments. In total I owe $2952.90 for ELEVEN thirty minute appointments. I have let the hospital bill me long enough where this is being sent to collections in 2 days. I cant apply for financial assistance because they ask for previous paychecks and such. I've worked off of the books for over a year now. But i don't collect any sort of financial assistance. I don't have a credit score, i know i should be working on that. 23 living at home struggling. I'm not sure what to do about this. If this goes to collections, what is going to happen?

How can they charge for a private room when it wasn’t private?

So I visited my PCP looking for a referral due to an extensive family history of Colon Cancer (both of my parents were screened and had polyps removed, my Paternal aunt was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer at age 40 and died shortly after. Other paternal aunt had polyps removed too. So I pushed my doctor with this information to give a referral for a preventative screening colonoscopy at an earlier age. Was referred to the GI place and did a consultation there. I was able to get a pre auth from insurance but it was mis-coded as a Diagnostic. I was hoping that due to my family history that I could get this as a preventative screening so I could have peace of mind. A friend of my girlfriend's had recently passed away from surprise colon cancer too in her early 40s so I was extremely on edge. I could use any advice or help with writing a letter to my PCP and the GI Doc to help get this coded as a preventative screen even though I am only 36, I feel like I am a high-risk individual due to my familiy history.

Any help would be appreciated with how I can write a letter or what I can say to help my case in getting this coded correctly for insurance. Thanks!

My Friend just started a new job and had to have emergency surgery on her spine. She currently doesn't have insurance yet and they told her she probably doesn't qualify for emergency Medicaid because she makes about $6500/months. She's an Indiana resident And currently still in the hospital. I told her to talk to patient services again and apply for the Medicaid anyway before I realized she is well above the poverty line. But told her to also ask if they have any other assistance programs etc...

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this and/or know of any any resources or services I can direct her to? Or any advice in general.... It doesn't seem like patient services was very helpful... I know she's stressing out about the bill to come. I googled and found a couple things online but not sure if they are useful or helpful..

Anyone use dollarfor.org or IRHAhelp?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Had a baby via c-section earlier in the week. There’s been construction happening outside our window during morning and afternoon hours every day so far and will likely continue until we leave. Anyone think there’s a chance we can argue for a lower hospital bill due to general inconvenience? It’s a bit hard to rest and recuperate when you hear loud drilling and buzzing all around you.

Looking for some advice on what options to reduce $18,000 in bills my mother and father received from a colonoscopy they got at the hospital. This is in Michigan.

My parents had health insurance that they were paying for, unfortunately one of the payments was put on hold by her credit card (she thought it was a fraud charge at first so called them questioning the charge), shortly after she realized what it was and authorized the charge. Long story short, the insurance treated it as a missed payment and they had no coverage for a few weeks.

During this, they both got colonoscopies (they didn't know that insurance was not covering them at the time), and then were billed the full amount since they didn't have insurance during this.

My parents have no way to pay this bill, my dad is on disability and mother currently does not work as she had to quit work to stay home to care for him. (Will have SS starting next year).

What she has tried so far, she has called them to try and get it lowered, they did not seem to budge and pushed her into a payment plan of $200 a month. (I believe this plan is currently in effect). They are not able to pay the $200 a month.

She has applied for financial aid help, and charity help. Both claim they have too much assets for that. (They own a home, and technically if they drained their entire 401k, it would cover the bill)

She tried to apply for Medicaid but my Dad's disability was just enough to be too much for them to be eligible.

My next plan is to have my mother call them again and see if they can give a lump sum discount. They could pay that off with their retirement money, and not have it completely drain all of it. Looking to see what other options they have, seems crazy to me that they are charging that high of an amount for a colonoscopy when I imagine if someone asked for the cash rate it would be much much less.

Update:

Double checked with my parents, turns out the bank withdrew the 2nd payment as well, so it never went through. The insurance company stopped service and cut them off. They ended up having to enroll with a new insurance company. So, no premium was paid for the month they got the procedures. It was in January with a new insurance, so the first payment was missed. Therefore no grace period.

Double Update:

Hospital said since they merged, they cannot negotiate lower amounts. Both said by the financial counselor and the billing department. Then the biller said they may be able to qualify for a discount, so they are checking that out to see if they can knock off up to 45%. Might end up just saying to send it to collections and negotiate it at that point...

I payed a medical bill and the same day got a call from collections. The bill was 300$ I sent proof of payment etc. from a hospital visit in may of this year.

With the current rules/ regulations in place does anyone know if this will negatively affect my credit score. I am getting conflicting information online due to a previous proposed statue/ law being revoked about the ability for debt collectors to report medical debit to credit aggencies