US hopsital bills for UK citizen

My husband who is a Brit (with no insurance) ended up going to an emergency room at the beginning of the month. We have now just got the bill for it adding up to nearly $3000. We are rather upset about this because they never told us what was wrong with him and he has had a pain in his arm since them because of the IV they put in him. Really really don't feel this amount is right for the 3 hours we sat in there to get xrays and blood work done.

I was wondering if anyone has had to deal with hospital bills? Since he has no credit here being a Brit we are really sure if we want to even try and pay it and just let it go into collections since it wont hurt anything. They do have my parents address and my American cell phone number (which will be off for the next year). I don't think I as his wife signed anything so i have no responsibility to pay that i know of. We really don't know what to do other then pay the ridiculous amount.

Any suggestions?

I am not sure why he wasn't told what the issue was but I am sure you could call to find out. That said, they normally give you a diagnosis and if they send you home they will give meds and/or instructions and a firm direction to follow up with your GP. Remember, in the US, they always make sure they cover their back, they don't just release you without an explanation and paperwork.

I am not sure of his US status but if he in the US and doesn't have insurance then you guys will have to pay for it. If he is a visitor (non-green card) then he needed travel insurance to pay for it. So again, its on your dime.

My Brit husband and myself (US/UK citizen) have to purchase travel insurance when we visit the UK because even though my DH paid into the system for 20+ years and I did for 4.5 yrs (big time taxation), we are no longer covered over there for anything medical.

As for just letting it go to collections....that is a bit shite, he received a service and if he can't pay for it then try to negotiate the fees (you can do that). Our healthcare costs for the average person are OTT and that is due in large part (not solely) to those folks that don't pay.

Again, I don't know his status but if he has a SS# and doesn't pay then a judgement for nonpayment may go on his credit report. As for your responsibility as his wife, I am not sure but there are folks on this site that can advise.

Pay the bill, though you may try to renegotiate the amount.

But seriously, your husband received treatment.  The high cost of hospitals is not unknown in the US.  He chose not to have travel insurance.  He may disagree with the cost but again he chose to go to the hospital.  It is people like this that help drive up the cost of medical bills and I find it sad that he is trying to rationalise not paying and deciding if non-payment will negatively affect him in any way.

I agree with Sara.

I can't believe in this day and age that people travel anywhere without insurance...!!!!

Especially to the USA! We buy a annual worldwide policy to cover in case we need to go anywhere in a hurry.

But I agree with Jules call and find out what they think might have been wrong...

I was wondering if anyone has had to deal with hospital bills? Since he has no credit here being a Brit we are really sure if we want to even try and pay it and just let it go into collections since it wont hurt anything. They do have my parents address and my American cell phone number (which will be off for the next year). I don't think I as his wife signed anything so i have no responsibility to pay that i know of. We really don't know what to do other then pay the ridiculous amount.

Any suggestions?

The thing is that it will hurt something - someone will have to cover the cost of this, and if it isn't you guys it will be passed on to everyone else. This is part of the reason the cost of healthcare in the US is so high, and I am really annoyed that you think because you don't live in the US you shouldn't have to cover it. Your husband was sick, and went to the hospital and was taken care of. Own up to it and pay what you owe. If you can't pay the full amount all hospitals will work out a payment plan with you.

I also am skeptical that they released you without telling your husband what was wrong with him. Did you not think to ask?

And next time get travel insurance.

This makes me laugh my parents came to the UK without travel cover they thought their med card covered them lol they are a bit older and it just never occurred to them they just thought they had to pay like they do in the US and we had to explain to them they should have got med travel insurance.

Indy

In the end, you'll pay or you won't and nothing we'll say will probably change your mind. But from your post it seems like you just want to know if you're right in thinking you can get away consequence-free with not paying, and its doubtful you'll get any advice that might encourage that view.

im going to ATTEMPT to defend myself here, as I am the husband in question.

We received the paperwork and the conclusion (if you can call it that) was 'Uncertain cause'.

I was quite prepared to pay this bill, even though I am disabled, and jobless cant afford insurance etc. (all regular excuses i know, of which i expect no sympathy) but receiving a bill for $2,751.51 for less than 3 hrs in an emergency room, and them finding nothing wrong with me, is in my view, ridiculous, and also an extreme amount that I would never have dreamed of being charged. Aside from anything else, this amount is something I simply cannot afford.

There is so much wrong with this bill, and the social ramifications on people who have tgo live every day in America and cant afford insurance in their life, it just completely boggles my mind how, in this day and age, someone can be charged so much for so little treatment.

While I feel badly that you didn't get the diagnosis you wanted, it is still your responsibility to pay for the treatment you received. If you had been given a diagnosis would you be saying you don't want to pay it because you didn't like what they said? Clearly they did tests and couldn't find a diagnosis, which is not unheard of. They could have continued on with test after test, racking up higher bills, but they didn't. So pay what you owe and move on. I am sorry you can't afford it, but frankly many people can't afford it, you aren't alone. And again you should have purchased travel insurance, which at, what, maybe 100GBP for a year is surely a better option than the almost $3000 bill you are now owing on.

Not paying it is simply passing on the burden to other people, which is both unethical and immoral, IMO.

While you say pay it, how is that possible as a disabled person without the means to do so? diagnosis or no diagnosis, the only factor that is deciding whether I pay the bill or not is the ABILITY to do so. such an extortionate amount is completely out of reach for me, even if i saved my 'income' for a year or two

Then you need to work out a payment plan with the hospital. They will work with you so you can pay it off over time.

I am sorry, I am not unsympathetic but I don't understand why you think that being disabled means you can opt out of paying for a bill that you rightfully owe on?

Right or wrong this is the way the US system works and if you didn't realize that then perhaps your US citizen wife should have explained it to you. Going to the ER is NEVER cheap.

Yes, the ER, unfortunately, is always the priciest place to go. You need to phone them and try to work out some sort of payment plan, no matter how small amount a month it is. Frankly, you probably have the upper hand. There is nothing stopping you from saying you don't live in the US and IMPLY you could just walk away. So you can probably negotiate a really reasonable plan.

That said, if you DO choose to walk away, this could bite either your wife or her parents in the butt. They WILL send collections to whatever address you provided and they will try to find any phone number they can. I don't know about the legal ramifications, but your wife *might* be liable which, if she ever returns to the US, could end up being a real problem.

As someone with a great deal of debt myself, I can sympathize with you. But I can tell you from personal experience, it's really embarassing to have debt collectors phoning your parents or your inlaws.

If nothing else, you need to phone them.

Oh, BTW, an ER visit alone can cost $700. That's not including any tests or medications (i.e. you were obviously on some sort of IV drip). So, honestly, $3000 doesn't surprise me at all.

That said, if you DO choose to walk away, this could bite either your wife or her parents in the butt. They WILL send collections to whatever address you provided and they will try to find any phone number they can. I don't know about the legal ramifications, but your wife *might* be liable which, if she ever returns to the US, could end up being a real problem.

This is very true.  In highschool I worked part time at a collection agency doing filing etc.  They way it works is the hospital has an accounts receivable department that chases the bills for a few months.  After that they sell the "debt" to an outside agency of quite honestly - ruthless bulldogs.  These guys will call any phone number given, send threatening letters to the address you gave and use whatever resources at their disposal to find alternate numbers or addresses for the debtor.  They could end up calling your parents a couple of times a day trying to track you down.  It can be very annoying.  It's part of their tactic though. 

The good news is, that at this point - the collection agency bought the debt for 50-60% of it's value from the hospital, so they will be willing to work a deal with you for a payment plan as they have that margin to work with.

Being disabled makes it far harder if not impossible in some cases to get insurance of any type and it does not always allow for issues that are already there, (if you can get cover) there are possibly 2 insurance companies that might give a person with a disability cover but it really depends on what the disability or illness is.

I think we might just put off going to the US now as I am disabled and I am the USC but would I be covered I doubt it since I have been out of the US for almost 4 years now.

Sorry about your problem munkor.

Indy