Should I feel bad about not paying hospital bills?

[carajon3]

Approximately 2 weeks ago, I texted my bf that I was depressed and I took a video of me drinking water just to see what he's gonna do, does he really don't care about me at all? (He always hurt me for his imagination that I cheat on him everytime when we fight and he left. Everytime he hurt me for nothing and abuse me with words I got mad and I kicked him out. He blockes me after everytime and come back saying I only make him leave so I can cheat on him and hurt me with that assumption like repeating. He also said he would always come back to me save me everytime when I try to kill myself, that's why I texted him with the video that day to get him back at least talking to me.) He called the police and police took me to hospital. I was fine physically. I didn't take anything. They still forced me to go to hospital and check everything. They did a short check on me at ambulance idk why they still took me to hospital. I understand they just want to save lives and just for prevention. But I don't understand I told the truth I said they shouldn't waste time on me. I told them what happened before they came. I was so depressed and sad because of my relationship but overall I acted normal. I also told them I don't have money so let me go. They said they will put me in crisis center if I don't stay at hospital for checking. I was so cold there so sad. Now they bills me 1300 it was 19 dollar before today i was gonna pay cuz it's not too much, I don't understand why it changes. And I don't want to pay because I never wanted to be there first place and I didn't lie about anything and I didn't get any help from the whole experience. I only was suffering more at hospital for one night waiting, sitting and moving from one room to another. Should I feel bad if I just don't pay them at all?

 

[Cathy Ames]

Now they bills me 1300 it was 19 dollar before today i was gonna pay cuz it's not too much, I don't understand why it changes. And I don't want to pay because I never wanted to be there first place and I didn't lie about anything and I didn't get any help from the whole experience. I only was suffering more at hospital for one night waiting, sitting and moving from one room to another. Should I feel bad if I just don't pay them at all?

If you are in the U.S., what happens is that the different parts of what happened while you are in the ER get billed separately (one bill for the doctor, one bill for the blood work, one bill for walking in the door, a bill for the ambulance, etc.), and it can take a long time for the complete total amount to be known. It really stinks! Also, they will send the bills to collections, and then you will be harrassed in a frightening way. In my experience, the best thing to do is to call them, tell them your financial situation (no insurance, etc.) and see if they will give you a break. If you have health insurance, you should see if part of the bills will be covered, and sometimes it magically makes the charges become smaller.

 

[sevenkarmas]

Most hospitals have charity departments/policies. The hospital I worked at for a while required the person to apply for aid (they did it right there in the hospital), and then removed all the other debt.

 

[western_heart]

no, you shouldn't feel bad about not paying! healthcare is a human right and getting billed for services you were coerced into receiving is unfair & unethical. fuck the hospital.

assuming you're in the US, it's best to try to get the hospital to drop it, or get insurance to cover it (if you have medicaid - hospital cannot bill you at all. if you're medicaid-eligible and don't have it, apply asap). the consequences of unpaid medical debt are not as bad as other types of debt, especially when it's a low amount (under $5,000). if it goes to collections it takes a while to get to your credit report & unpaid medical debt won't impact your credit score as much as other types of debt. If collectors contact you by phone & you don't want to pay it, do not admit the debt is yours.

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

Those goons already get paid absurd amounts of money, don't feel bad about not lining the hospital administrator's fat wallets even further. Against your will, they held you there and then dared to bill you for services that you did not consent to receiving, and never wanted in the first place. In any other business dealing, this would be seen as dishonest, underhanded, and a scam.

 

[Chinaski]

The fact that there is even such a thing as a "medical bill" in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty two is frankly revolting, do not feel bad about this imo.

 

[WhiteRabbit]

Don't feel bad about not paying your medical bills if you can't afford it. People shouldn't be denied care or forced into debt over health issues.

Approximately 2 weeks ago, I texted my bf that I was depressed and I took a video of me drinking water just to see what he's gonna do, does he really don't care about me at all? (He always hurt me for his imagination that I cheat on him everytime when we fight and he left. Everytime he hurt me for nothing and abuse me with words I got mad and I kicked him out. He blockes me after everytime and come back saying I only make him leave so I can cheat on him and hurt me with that assumption like repeating. He also said he would always come back to me save me everytime when I try to kill myself, that's why I texted him with the video that day to get him back at least talking to me.)

I'm going to just be honest here, faking a suicide attempt to scare someone into talking to you again is incredibly manipulative. This doesn't sound like a healthy relationship.

 

[affinity]

The fact that there is even such a thing as a "medical bill" in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty two is frankly revolting, do not feel bad about this imo.

I have to tell this story because it still cracks me up.

I saved a bill for $25 or whatever it was for an X-ray done after I sat in the waiting room for 3 hours with a dislocated shoulder.

During the wait, the shoulder essentially fused in place and I was in so much pain and discomfort by the time they brought me in, they couldn't find a vein to administer a sedative between 3 nurses and 2 residents, who couldn't find a vein even with an ultrasound machine. They ended up giving me this sedative/pain reliever they give to children by inhaler. In between time, one of the nurses castigated me for not having a high enough pain threshold that would allow them to put my shoulder back into place without meds. So needless to say, I called up their billing department and told them they'll get paid when I get an apology from an administrator for what happened to me.

It was a good time, but it still doesn't top the rural ER I went to for the same shoulder (for you young folks, avoid dislocating your shoulder, it pops out far too easily as you get older). I was under the care of a nurse who was mentoring a young woman who was brand new and when they went to offer me a pain reliever via needle, she didn't know how to eject the needle into the sharps box and ended up sticking the needle into her thumb. They tell me all of this while I'm waiting for the fentanyl to kick in and ask my permission for my blood to be taken, fine, no problem. They then feel like they have to ask me about my sex life and the sex of my partners. There were 8 nurses in the room and let's just say this hospital was in a "paddle faster, I hear banjos" area and being the new kid in town (I was a lawyer at the time), I didn't want to admit I was a lesbian and told them I didn't feel comfortable answering the question. This likely gave it away in any event, but I was in no mood for that foolishness, especially after I just consented to my blood being drawn. Thankfully they brought on a senior nurse and she was fantastic. But still…

Moral of the story: fuck hospital bills.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Here's my take on it. If the bills are legitimate and you have the means to pay them, you should. If you can't pay them, I'm sure you can work out a payment schedule with the hospital. If you don't want to pay, you can always file for bankruptcy, assuming you're in the US, although $1300 is really not that much and you might have trouble filing for bankruptcy on such a small amount. If you don't pay, you will ruin your credit, if that matters to you. It will hinder your ability to finance a car, but a house, even rent an apartment, or get credit of any kind. Eventually, the hospital will turn it over to a collection agency who will hound you for payment, and eventually, they will file a claim in small claims court against you. When they win, they will be able to put a lien on your car, if you have one, and make an attachment on any bank accounts you may have. They can, also, attach to your wages from a job and automatically deduct some amount out of your pay each week or however often you get paid. I'm not arguing whether that's fair or not. Just a fact.

The bigger issue, though, in my opinion, and I'm sorry if this hurts you a bit, is about your passive-aggressive behavior: "I texted my bf that I was depressed and I took a video of me drinking water just to see what he's gonna do." That kind of behavior leads to nothing good as maybe you can now see. It's really about control.

 

[autistocracy]

It's your life, so you can do whatever. I wouldn't feel bad about not paying it, however unpaid debts can be sent to collection agencies, so just be mindful of that. As others have mentioned, hospitals that accept federal funding usually offer some sort of payment plan or financial assistance, so it's worth looking into in my opinion. $1300 is actually pretty tame for a medical bill. Depending on your financial situation, you could probably get that paid off in less than a year.