You’re young. You’re healthy. And then out of nowhere, you’re faced with a medical emergency, spend some time in the hospital, and are now forced with astronomical medical bills to pay.
What Now?
First things first: don’t get discouraged. It would be easy to stash away your medical bills in a drawer or sit them far back on a shelf to collect dust, but the fact is that these bills won’t disappear. And most importantly, you are much, much more likely to receive financial assistance if you work with the provider before the bill is sent to a collection agency. Luckily, there are many steps that you can take to help your situation and potentially even lower your outstanding bills!
It’s important to keep in mind that hospitals are well aware that paying medical bills without insurance can be extremely difficult, so generally they will work with you to find a reasonable way to help you pay off your debt, and can even help lower the overall amount that you owe.Of course, all of these great things can’t happen if you don’t ask. This is where a letter of hardship can help save the day.
If you genuinely have no means to pay the medical bills that you now owe, it would be in your best interest to write a letter to the provider letting them know of your situation and your inability to pay.
Be sure to include the fact that you are an international student, unfamiliar with the US healthcare system, and any additional information that could help your case.
Depending on the amount owed and your personal situation, a provider may write off a good portion, specific services, or even your entire bill! If you don’t receive a response to your letter within a few weeks, be sure to follow-up with a phone call to reconfirm your situation. Of course, this isn’t a guarantee, but it’s worth your time to try!
This step can be time-consuming, but it’s worth every moment. It’s especially important to check your bills if you spent a long period in the hospital or had a complicated procedure, as it is possible that a portion of the bill that you’ve received isn’t right. The most common errors tend to be that you’ve been billed for services or medications that you didn’t actually receive. Take into consideration the time that you stayed in the hospital as well. Sometimes if you’ve checked out in the morning you could have been charged for a full day, adding thousands of dollars to your bill.
It’s important to note that the US healthcare system is set up for individuals to have health insurance. Without insurance, you will be paying a substantial amount more for the medical treatment that you receive, compared to someone who does have insurance and receives deep in-network discounts. If a letter of distress to the provider doesn’t lower your bill enough, or at all, the next step is to try to negotiate.
As mentioned before, providers want to get paid – even if they don’t receive as much as they’ve billed you for, so you likely have some room to negotiate at least a small portion of the amount that you owe. In order to do so, it’s important that you are armed with information to help your cause. Check nearby hospitals to discern how much they would have charged for the procedure that you had. If the provider that you visited is charging grossly more, this could be a good negotiating point!
Regardless if you were able to negotiate a lower overall balance or not, providers know that a huge medical bill broken down into small, manageable payments is much more likely to be paid off, so call the provider and ask if they can set up an interest-free payment plan. It’s important to speak to the right person and let them know of your situation, and that you’re trying to pay off your debt but lack the income to do so right away.
The bottom line is that medical emergencies are never planned, but are always costly. Luckily for you, there are countless resources available to help you negotiate and even lower your bill, as well as set up payment plans. Don’t let your bills overwhelm you. As dim as the situation may seem, you can work your way out of it!
Avoid these inconvenient situations by purchasing a health insurance plan in advance, we offer different options to meet your needs.
Check our student health insurance plan options:
Student Health Insurance
The Student Secure plan provides international student health insurance in the USA and around the world, offering 4 plan levels; Smart, Budget, Select, and Elite. With comprehensive benefits and simple monthly payment options.
The Student Health Advantage provides international student health insurance to both international and study abroad students who are studying outside of their residence country. The plan is available for as little as one month, and as long as you purchase 3 months of coverage initially, the plan can be extended for up to 12 months and then renewed for up to 5 years in total.
You can always contact us if you are not sure of which is the right insurance plan for you.
Category: Health & Safety Abroad, Insurance Explained, International Students in the USA, Student Insurance
Tags: But Have Medical Bills To Pay!, I Don’t Have Insurance, international student with medical bills
Hey! Thank you so much for having a response post! I’m worried because I blacked out as a 18 year old at a party and woke up in the hospital. This was about a 2 years ago now. I’m 20 now, I want to apply for a credit card. I’m worried that collection agencies are waiting for me to sign up to throw it all on my face and give me bad credit. I was able to get Charity Care from the hospital because of how much and me not having insurance and only claiming for myself. I stopped getting bills and calls a while back. So I don’t know if they closed the case or like I said waiting on me to start up a credit card. I would fight against it but like I said it’s been two years already, and they made me sign papers without my glasses and forced me into the hospital even when I woke up scared and told them I cannot afford this. I would like to know the best plan for all this. Thank you so much 🙁
Hello Luis,
Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, we would not have a plan that can cover existing medical bills. We recommend that you contact the hospital to verify any outstanding bills.
We apologize for the inconveniences and wish you the best of luck.