Was fired, couldn't pay insurance premium, had my baby..now how to pay hospital bills?

I was fired 3 weeks before I had my baby. My employer had been paying the insurance premiums and since our income was cut in half, we couldn't afford it on our own. Now that I have had the baby, the bills for the hospital are pouring in, as well as bills from the insurance company wanting the premium payment. My husband and I have no idea how to pay for all this. Is it true that hospitals will sometimes write off the bills? Has anyone with a similiar experience have any ideas as to what we should do?
Thanks!

What did you get fired for? If the circumstances around your firing are suspicious, I would sue the employer for the portion of your hospital bills that insurance should have covered. The employer might have not wanted to pay state benifits to you, or pay the insurance premiums, ect. There are strict laws protecting pregnant employees, and employers are usually very careful as to not fire them. You should definitley seek legal counsel to weigh your options.

Most states have something like a Department of Human Services that will pick up and retroactively pay for hospital bills relating to pregnancy if you qualify.

No, the hospital won't write off the bill. They'll sell it to a collections company.

You may want to find a lawyer to talk to about your employment termination.

It seems like an insurance premium payment would be a lot cheaper than your hospital bills, and from what you've said it sounds like you might be able to reinstate your coverage if you paid it. If that's the case, you are very lucky and I would do everything possible to have insurance coverage for the period of time when you had your baby.

Here's why: (it's crazy, I know.) If you DON'T have insurance you pay "full fee" for your hospital bills. If you HAVE insurance even if you have a high deductible, if you are "in network" the cost of services gets negotiated by the insurance company to a lower rate -- so your hospital bills will either be mostly paid by the insurance company, or, if you have to pay them because of a deductibe, YOU WILL PAY FAR LESS. For example, a lab test that costs $250 for an uninsured person costs about $30 for someone with insurance. (This is a real example.)

So if at all possible to reinstate your insurance to cover the period when you had your baby I would beg or borrow to get the $$ for the insurance payment.

If this is impossible, then you should begin making immediate payments to the hospital. They can be very small payments - $5, $20, whatever you can afford, but it's really important NOT TO SKIP payments. Call them and tell them your situation, write a letter too and keep a copy. It shows good faith and you may be able to negotiate with the hospital to at least charge you the "insurance rate." Be polite, sympathic, and persistant. If you are dealing with a difficult person, try again with someone else in the billing department. A letter to the hospital president's office, public relations office, or ombudsman could be the next step if you dont' get help. There's also the media if you are in a truly terrible situation and don't have any "skeletons" in your own closet -- like you were fired for drinking on the job LOL.

If you don't make any payment it will go to collections and they will make your life miserable. They can also get a judgment against you. This can ruin your credit and make it hard to get a job. Theoretically, there could be a sherrif's sale of your goods (hardly ever happens). BUT, again, if you can document that you have tried to pay this won't happen.

I would also try negotiating with your employer to pay your insurance premium - they may do it if there's a chance that you might be able to sue for unlawful termination. This question can only be answered by an attorney who knows the particulars of your situation, but it may be worth investigating.

Of course, you should also vote in elections for people who support universal healthcare --right?

I am sorry for your situation. I hope you can contact all the charity organizations, and find out if they can extend some assistance.

There should be programs run by the state or county, such as Medical, for example. It could be different or called by a different name depending on what state you are living in- I'm not sure, but we live in California, so Medical is the name of it here and can be signed up for through social services program. They might be able to do a retrospect payment to the hospital and take care of the bill. Try contacting social services in your area to see what the options might be.

They aren't going to write off the full amount, but you can certainly call the billing office and ask them to reprice to a cash price, and THEN work out a payment plan with them.

write the hospital a letter explaining your situation and they can work out a payment plan for you.

Do the honorable and ethical thing and pay off your bills a little at a time.

Contact the hospital and work out a payment plan.

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