Strategy

Financial Assistance

Nonprofit hospitals are required to provide financial assistance to qualifying patients to reduce medical bills. You may be eligible for a discount or even be able to eliminate the entire bill.

The problem is hospitals do a poor job of making patients aware of financial aid that’s available and make it difficult to apply. For many, the process can be overwhelming. We can help you apply for financial aid.

Medicaid

You may qualify for Medicaid, a public health insurance program that provides free or low-cost health coverage to eligible low-income individuals and families.

Medicaid is designed to help certain groups of people, including low-income children, pregnant women, elderly adults, people and with disabilities. You must meet income and other eligibility requirements set by the state.

The program covers a wide range of health services. These typically include doctor visits, hospital stays, long-term care, preventive care like vaccines and screenings, mental health and substance use treatment, prescription drugs. as well as dental and vision care.

We can refer you to professionals who specialize in Medicaid planning to help you qualify for Medicaid.

Medical Bill Review

Medical bills, especially hospital bills, may contain errors or charges for services that were not provided. Uninsured and out of network patients often are charged arbitrary, inflated amounts far in excess of the insurance reimbursement they would accept.

To make matters worse, reviewing insurance Explanation of Benefits (“EOB”) can be extremely frustrating. We can refer you to medical billing advocates to review your bills and EOB to be sure they accurately reflect what you should have to pay. They also typically have access to the reimbursement your provider would accept from insurance and cash price they would charge and can be very helpful in negotiating the amount of the debt.

Insurance Denials

Insurance companies are notorious for unjustified denials of pre authorization requests and insurance claims even though the treatment or medication is recommended by your doctor

This is extremely frustrating with the result that most people won’t challenge the denial and end up with medical debt or foregoing needed medical care. We can refer you to healthcare advocates who have the expertise to help you fill an appeal.

Harassment by Debt Collectors

We can recommend a consultation with a consumer law attorney to stop harassment by debt collectors. Usually there is no charge for the initial consultation. You may even have a claim for damages.

These cases are typically handled on a contingent fee basis with the debt collector required to pay your attorney fees if you are successful. Filing an action for damages against the debt collector gives us tremendous leverage in negotiating a settlement of your debt.

Debts in Collection or Litigation

If your debt is in collection or a lawsuit has been filed, you need to be proactive. Doing nothing is not an option; the debt will not just go away.

If a lawsuit has been filed, you need to immediately contact an attorney to file an answer; otherwise, a default judgment will be entered against you.

Then you risk having your wages garnished, a lien filed against your home and other assets seized to satisfy the judgment. Unfortunately, if a default judgment is entered, the only option for most people may be to file bankruptcy. That should never happen.

We can recommend an attorney that specializes in defending debt collection actions. Filing an answer to the complaint lets the creditor know further collection efforts will be costly. If necessary, as a last resort, we can refer you to a bankruptcy attorney to review what you can do to protect your property.

Our Fees

There is no charge for our initial consultation. If you decide to retain us, we charge a consulting fee of $300 to review your medical debt and financial situation to determine the best strategy for you.

Our fee includes the following services:

  • Unlimited phone consultation for 30 days to answer questions and provide guidance;

  • Determining if you may qualify for hospital financial assistance and, if so, helping you apply;

  • Referrals to medical debt advocates who can review your medical bills to eliminate errors and excessive charges and to file appeals of insurance denials;

  • Referrals to attorneys to stop harassment by debt collectors or represent you if a lawsuit has been filed; and

  • Referrals to Medicaid planning professionals to help you qualify for Medicaid.

If you are not able to pay our fee, no worries; just let us know and pay what you can. We will still try to help. We really do want to eliminate medical debt.

Disclaimer

Our mission is to provide the information, and connect you with the help you need, to eliminate your medical debt. Our services are not intended nor should they be considered to be legal advice.