I am sorry you are dealing with the bill after having to be there 3 times. That is intense. Sometimes the hospital sends out the bill and notifies the patient of the total first. I would make copies of the bill and send one to your insurance company. Or fax. But definitely call your insurance company. You are not the only one this happens to. It is a regular frustration amoungst many. Take some deep breaths. It will be ok. And make sure to take some time away from this, distract yourself with an activity to give your brain a break from the stress.

They are sending the fib after me. I am so scared

I just want to die how can they charge so much

what is the fib?

They can charge so much because the law allows them to do so. I am sure that if you talk to your insurance company and the hospital, you can work out a plan to pay them. If you have very little money, they cannot get money you don't have. Be nice to them and tell them you would like to work out a monthly payment plan that you can afford, explain your financial circumstances. You can also declare bankruptcy.

This is a troll.

First if all there is already a poster here Patti22.

This creative troll just added a 2.

Secondly, no emergency room is charging that kind of money unless in gross error, which would be rectified immediately.

Thirdly, the FBI couldn't care less about this posters emergency room bill.

Sad that some bored person has nothing better to do than troll a forum with people suffering from anxiety.

I agree with Dandelion

I am not a troll. My story is true my name is pat fischetti live in Covington WA and the hospital is multicare emergency I am 64 years old and this is really happening. I wish you would believe me. I went 3 times to emergency I have regence ins and they did not cover the bill. I have no idea why the FBI is involved but they are. I am scared out of my mind

Ok well I suggest you call the hospital and dispute the bill

Maybe see a PDoc about your other fears because there's nothing we can do.

If you fear for your safety call 911

Hi, I'm Patti22,

Hi, Patti222, please forgive my friend Dandelion, there was a small bit of drama yesterday and it looked a bit suspicious that you joined. I understand. My real name is patti too and when I joined, I tried the name "patti", then "patti2", and got lucky with "patti22"...so I can easily see how you just added another 2 to get your name...

A million dollars is WAY high for an ER bill.

A few possibilities;
1) You went into the ER, then ICU, and had a lot of specialized care.
2) You were given some medication that is REALLY expensive
3) Billing error


In any case, if you don't have a million dollars...actually if you don't have many millions of dollars, they're NEVER going to get their money.

If you have SOME money though, it's possible that you're not going to be able to leave any money to your children...the hospital will get it all before then.

As for the FBI, I have no idea why they'd be involved unless they suspect the Hospital of fraud...which is a possibility.


Advice: Contact your local department of aging. From what I googled, you can start here:
https://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa

More advice: AGREE to NOTHING for the time being. Even saying that you'll put $5 down on the bill could have long term legal affects.

Then you might sit down with the hospital billing department to have them explain the bills. Again...agree to NOTHING at this point.

If you have insurance, schedule a call with them to go over the bill, or sit down in person with them.

IF you have money for a lawyer, you might eventually want to get one, especially if you have a house that you OWN.
IF you do NOT have money for a lawyer; do not get one at this time.

People do NOT go to prison for owing medical debts.
If you have money, and DO owe this debt, you will eventually be required to start paying on this. It might be $500/ month, it might only be $50/month. But you WILL have enough money to live, and eat.

If you own a house, it might end up that the hospital will own the house when you DIE. But they can NOT kick you out of the house before then.

I'm NOT a lawyer, but I have known people that have gone through issues with medical bills. As I said, if you've got assets like a house, retirement fund, etc, you might NEED a lawyer to protect those.

Again, start with your Department of Aging (I don't know if I got the right website but it looks right).

Good luck

I was just looking for someone to talk to and hear my story. It sounds bizarre I know but so many things have been going wrong in our home I just wanted people to be aware of how insane things can get. I was a normal grandma until I went to emergency for things I thought were important. I had no idea you could be refuses coverage. And no idea the bill could be so high. At the first one they just did blood urine and a bladder scan and they said it cost 450000. I guess I was wondering if anyone had ever heard of such charges. The second time was for anxiety that visit was 650000. I am scared of being put in jail

This is obviously a computer glitch.

Call them and demand a correction and if it's not taken care of contact an attorney.

I can't imagine though that they wouldn't correct immediately.

If they don't, threaten to call your local news to investigate this ridiculous bill. Then do it if they don't follow through.

Thanks for the advice. I wish I could tell you,some of the crazy things that have been going on in my home since this happened you would think I was making it up. They have sent us fake bills and I haven't received any lab bills for 3months when I called they said they were paid when I asked who paid the they didn't know. All this started March 7th. My life has been terrible

Call your local news.

They love stuff like this.

Usually there's a local news with someone who does a consumer investigation segment or something like that.

Um, something is wrong. Blood tests in the ER probably cost a few hundred, same with the bladder scan.

(In the future, if you think that you have a urinary tract infection...you can go to a doctor or a "non-urgent care clinic". Call your insurance company...they can direct you.) They can treat you in the ER, but it's going to cost WAY WAY WAY more than anyplace else.

As I said, start with the Department of Aging. Then contact your insurance. Then the hospital.

Wait until ALL of the bills come in. (You will often get billed separately from the Doctor, Hospital, Medication, and Specialists (x-rays, bladder scan, etc).

So collect them ALL in a big ugly pile. Then call your insurance and go through them one by one. Find out what REASONABLE bills would be. Then call them and go through them one by one. If you have savings, you can ask what they will take as a "cash payout".

Example: So the bladder scan comes down to a somewhat reasonable $1000 (it's high because it was done in the ER). Offer to give them 1/10th to 1/5th of that to SETTLE the bill. Go into the hospital and only hand them the cash if they hand you a "PAID IN FULL" statement (you don't want unsettled parts of the bill going to collections). So for $100-200 you SETTLE it in CASH.

They WILL ask for more than that at first, but if you don't have the money...you don't have the money (you can tell them that you've got other bills too, and whoever gives you the best deal will get paid FIRST).

If they wont' give you that much of a break on the cost, then go to monthly payments. BUT REMEMBER that you're going to have MORE THAN ONE of these. If you can afford $100/month...that's going to have to be split 4 ways...so the hospital can only get $25/month. (starting to see why the hospital might be willing to take that $100 in cash offer?)

Do that with each bill. Again, remember that $100 here, $25/month there, is going to add up very fast.


***And yes, medical bills are a HUGE reason for bankruptcy. Our medical healthcare system is badly broken. We pay more, get less medical care, and it's all an incredibly huge headache.***