Getting medical bills forgiven is nothing short of a fiasco. I've written well over four or five dozen letters to each of the institutions, specialists, cytologists, hematologists and other random doctors that are trying to extract money from me. Frankly, I'm not even sure that I ever really SAW these folks, so I've had to call and ask what procedure(s) they are billing me for. Apparently, when you have cancer, there are a bunch behind the scenes folks on your treatment team and each of them get to bill you separately for their services. Like the lovely anesthesiologist that I never really met because I was UNCONSCIOUS during my procedure; he now wants $1706.18. I think that the dumb-asses in patient accounts purposefully did not take down my insurance information correctly when I checked in. My bill states, "Insurance cannot identify patient". So, I've had to write a jillion more letters and make dozens of phone calls to get this crap straightened out. I ended up just making copies my dang insurance card and physically mailing it to them so they can't screw it up this time.
In addition to trying to figure out if I actually OWE the stated amounts, I've had to write pretty pitiful letters because I simply can't pay for this stuff. It's hard when they tell you that they can't eliminate all of your debt through charity/financial assistance programs, only some. Well, how much is "some"?!?!? The people on the other line treat me like a freeloader or talk to me like I'm lazy. I talked to someone from MultiCare about a $4k bill for a biopsy I had in November and told them over and over (in addition to the letters I sent) that I can't pay my bill. The employee on the phone said with suspicion, "You're meaning to tell me that you can't even make a small payment today, like $50.00?" YES! I am a poor, sick student who can hardly afford to feed herself and pay her bills. NO, I cannot give you money right now. Did it ever occur to you that you are not the only one trying to get me to pay for things right now? If I can't pay THEM, then I certainly can't pay YOU. Even after I asked for financial assistance information, no one seems to be able to tell me what I will eventually owe and I've been told to wait patiently for a "review" of my file and supporting documents. I need to be able to plan and figure out how much I'll be paying in monthly installments...that is if I can even get a job right now.
When I got sick, my finances were already tight. I arranged everything under the assumption that wasn't going to develop cancer and go through 6 months of sheer treatment hell. When you write these letters and call patient accounting departments, people act like you don't work hard enough; that you should be able to pay your own way for things. How can someone like me pay for a $7,000 PET scan? How could I work when I was so sick I could hardly get out of bed? Americans expect people to work despite grave illnesses. They expect them to work well into their death beds. Only after their death, it seems, is a person's medical debt forgiven. Now that I am a month and a half out of treatment, it seems that everyone is pushing me to return to work. I want to, I really do, but I have to be honest; I don't feel like the same 'ole Susie that I once was. I am extremely limited in the time of work I can pursue, largely because of where I am in my degree completion (can't teach at the university because I have incompletes on my transcripts because I got sick in the school year) and simply because I'm still recovering. My energy is still pretty low and not having a whole lot of money for proper food, it will continue to be that way for a while.
What sucks the most about my situation is that my family seems to think that everything is fine. That there is nothing wrong with me and that I'm asking for handouts when I'm asking for financial help. David and I are working so damned hard right now and it hurts to much to be treated like this. David has a job finally, but the hours are crap (less than 40 hours a month) and we don't get paid very much. I don't want to lose my apartment or my opportunity to finish school. We are living the cheapest lives possible for two adults. I spend most of my time looking for work; it has literally become a full time job for me. I don't know what more I can do right now. I WANT to focus on getting better and getting my energy and strength up, but I can't because I am so stressed about money, bills, insurance... I hate the feeling of living paycheck to paycheck and am so sick of hearing my family say, "Well, you're just going to have to make some sacrifices". Sacrifice what exactly? The only things that I could possibly "sacrifice" is my cell phone (which is the only way people can get a hold of me), laptop, wedding ring and car. Seeing as how 3 out of those 4 things are crucial to finishing my degree and getting a job, I can't sacrifice them. I don't think I could deal with the heartbreak of selling my wedding ring for rent money. We've already cut our bills down as much as possible, buying the majority of the things we need from the dollar store. Tell me, what more can I do?
Okay, I promise no more rants. I just needed to get that off my chest.
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