bills - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

weasel · 01-21-2004, 02:09 PM

i owe the hospital thousands of dollars. the bill collector keeps calling me. i have nothing to say to him. i have no money. i owe more than i made last year, which i might add is not very much, and this is stressing me out so much i think im going to end up in the hospital again, making the problem bigger. i have no insurance, do not qualify for state assistance with the bills because i am not a citizen of that state. (my residency is in one, i live in another, and the bills are at a hospital in another) this is really stressing me out. i cant talk to these people cause i immediatly start crying and cant talk. i dont know what to do. my therapist and pdoc are not helpful, but i cant afford to go to anyone else (they are undestanding of my financial situation and let me pay them when i can, if i can) i dont know what to do.

Ruth6:11 · 01-21-2004, 05:26 PM

Hi Weasel, what an awful thing to deal with when we all know that stress is the worst thing for us...
I think that first you need to get your situation OUT of the hospital's accounting office and into an area where there is someone who can actually do something about it.
If you can, write a letter and address it to the Hospital Attn: Patient Services.
Tell them exactly what you told us. In detail. Be sure to add that you have Bipolar Disorder, cannot work, and are in danger of being re-hospitalized due to the stress of their collection efforts.
Ask what they can do for you at this point. Could they reduce the amount of the bill, or write it off in full as a benevolence.
Sound appreciative for anything they can do for you in advance - and hopefully they will work with you... It's been a long long time but a hospital did it for me once... And, never underestimate the emotional impact of your tears.
If I could win the lottery I would pay that bill off for you today...