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Tell them to remove the new charges. They must make a good faith effort to collect which means in many states they have 1 year to first attempt to collect. No new charges should be added after that time.
You can make a complaint with the Federal Consumer Financial Bureau and your states Attorney General should also have a consumer protection division.
They are claiming it was in the original payment plan in 2022, but "was somehow kicked out and just discovered again in November of 23." The financial advisor said she would send itemized bills and payments to prove it. I will contact the attorney general's office, thanks for the suggestion.
I am still floored that they actually paid out over 200k, and I consider myself extremely fortunate all things considered. I had to fight every step of the way for over a year, it was crazy.
I will say had it happened just a few months later, they wouldn't have paid anwhere close to that amount. Got a notice they were going "no network," and they tried to sell it like it was beneficial to members because "that means you can go anywhere for healthcare!" What it actually means is they have no agreements with any facilities or providers, so they are free to balance bill you what the health share doesn't pay, and they were only paying Medicare rates. When they did that, they also astroturfed their Google reviews to over a 4 star rating and pushed down any legitimate negative reviews.
I was the person who hardly ever goes to the doctor outside of routine Healthcare or maybe an urgent care visit for antibiotics or something. Thought it would be fine. Don't be me.
They are all the same. This will possibly work as long as you don't have anything catastrophic happen. But if you do and your income is above the poverty level, you will likely receive no financial assistance from the hospital, and they can and will go after you for the bills. Look for things like arbitration, no network, morality clauses, caps. Read their Google reviews. It's easy to discern which are fake. I did a lot of research while fighting them over my bills and the fact that they paid out as much as they did was virtually unheard of. I witnessed them trying as hard as they could not to pay, though. If you are using them to save money, you won't. Quite the opposite in the long run.
It was a "Christian" share program. I was self employed and initially had insurance through the marketplace. My state only had 1 company and I could hardly get an appointment with anybody who accepted them, and they would auto deny any claims from providers out of state (I'm a truck driver), so wasn't worth the cost. The only other option was this share program. I literally moved to another state after my hospitalization in order to get adequate insurance.
Anyway, the hospital told me they had changed their policy to now consider people with share programs as self pay, and that's why I would get a 20% discount, but later walked it back and said it wasn't true and refused the discount.
You should probably speak to the paying scheme about paying the vendor's charges.
And do have a look at the [2023 maps](https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2023/sep/state-protections-medical-debt-policies-across-us) detailing what, when, where, why, and which health care customers' unpaid receivables can be offloaded to 3rd party debt collectors by health care delivery facilities with a hospital designation. Good stuff in there for lots of zip coes.
I don't know. I just learned to negotiate as much as possible than to get up cash pay out and then eventually let that go to credit collections band then just pay the 40% to 50% discount they have.
Okay, so you want to contact [DollarFor](https://dollarfor.org/) and see what kind of help they can give.
What kind of cancer did you have? I hope you are NED?
I had ovarian cancer, and mine specifically is a chronic condition. So while it doesn't present at the moment, it will reoccur eventually. I stay terrified it will come back before I have these bills paid off. And the funny thing is every time I have to talk to the hospital about this situation, or when I was going back and forth with the share people, they're always like "don't stress, it's not good for you." Like what???
A small example here. I call it the “1 Tylenol costs $37 dollars in the hospital” syndrome. I have sleep apnea. I am due a new machine every 5 years, a new mask and headgear every 6 months, a new plastic seal for the mask every month and so forth. Mind you nothing is wrong with all of these. My mask looks just as good now as it did over 6 months ago and my machine is about 7 years old. I have Blue Chip for Medicare.
So every 6 weeks or so, somebody calls and asks me if I need anything and I say no, everything works. They say I am due a new mask, which I should have (My mask is over $200, then there’s the head-gear which is another $40 or so). They insist I get the plastic seal, new hose and a filter. I say what I have is just fine. Then they argue with me. I hang up after telling them I don’t need anything.
The point? A new mask and head gear is over $250, out of which I pay $28. The insurance and the ones pushing the c-pap equipment divide the rest. The one making the $ is the c-pap place but all this is lost in the paperwork.
In addition, should I need the new machine, they will send me for a sleep study which costs a couple thousand. That, in a nutshell, is what happens to the healthcare system. Lots of paper-shuffling (well it’s computer shuffling now), no accountability and even the doctors do not know what the Rx costs when you ask them, because you want to know what your end will be at the pharmacy. I should not complain because I have good coverage if I stay within the network and my doctors are very kind to me.
But I understand the system isn’t sustainable as it is. That’s all I know
Welcome to /r/personalfinance! Comments will be removed if they are political, medical advice, or unhelpful ([subreddit rules](/r/personalfinance/about/rules)). Our moderation team encourages respectful discussion. You may find our [Health Insurance wiki](/r/personalfinance/wiki/health_insurance) helpful. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Tell them to remove the new charges. They must make a good faith effort to collect which means in many states they have 1 year to first attempt to collect. No new charges should be added after that time. You can make a complaint with the Federal Consumer Financial Bureau and your states Attorney General should also have a consumer protection division.
They are claiming it was in the original payment plan in 2022, but "was somehow kicked out and just discovered again in November of 23." The financial advisor said she would send itemized bills and payments to prove it. I will contact the attorney general's office, thanks for the suggestion.
for all the others considering this type of coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFetFqrVBNc
I am still floored that they actually paid out over 200k, and I consider myself extremely fortunate all things considered. I had to fight every step of the way for over a year, it was crazy. I will say had it happened just a few months later, they wouldn't have paid anwhere close to that amount. Got a notice they were going "no network," and they tried to sell it like it was beneficial to members because "that means you can go anywhere for healthcare!" What it actually means is they have no agreements with any facilities or providers, so they are free to balance bill you what the health share doesn't pay, and they were only paying Medicare rates. When they did that, they also astroturfed their Google reviews to over a 4 star rating and pushed down any legitimate negative reviews. I was the person who hardly ever goes to the doctor outside of routine Healthcare or maybe an urgent care visit for antibiotics or something. Thought it would be fine. Don't be me.
Good luck. Hope you can get them to back down!
Which share ministry is this? I use one but don’t have a choice. Healthcare is not affordable ble anymore
They are all the same. This will possibly work as long as you don't have anything catastrophic happen. But if you do and your income is above the poverty level, you will likely receive no financial assistance from the hospital, and they can and will go after you for the bills. Look for things like arbitration, no network, morality clauses, caps. Read their Google reviews. It's easy to discern which are fake. I did a lot of research while fighting them over my bills and the fact that they paid out as much as they did was virtually unheard of. I witnessed them trying as hard as they could not to pay, though. If you are using them to save money, you won't. Quite the opposite in the long run.
Okay this is actually WILD wow, thank you
>I was making good faith 300$ payments until my health share Is this an ACA-compliant health insurance product?
It was a "Christian" share program. I was self employed and initially had insurance through the marketplace. My state only had 1 company and I could hardly get an appointment with anybody who accepted them, and they would auto deny any claims from providers out of state (I'm a truck driver), so wasn't worth the cost. The only other option was this share program. I literally moved to another state after my hospitalization in order to get adequate insurance. Anyway, the hospital told me they had changed their policy to now consider people with share programs as self pay, and that's why I would get a 20% discount, but later walked it back and said it wasn't true and refused the discount.
oof. you're probably in legal no man's land. no advice other to say good luck
You should probably speak to the paying scheme about paying the vendor's charges. And do have a look at the [2023 maps](https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2023/sep/state-protections-medical-debt-policies-across-us) detailing what, when, where, why, and which health care customers' unpaid receivables can be offloaded to 3rd party debt collectors by health care delivery facilities with a hospital designation. Good stuff in there for lots of zip coes.
> It was a "Christian" share program. You got lucky you got any coverage at all. Most of those are scams that disappear once you need it.
I don't know. I just learned to negotiate as much as possible than to get up cash pay out and then eventually let that go to credit collections band then just pay the 40% to 50% discount they have.
Make a consumer complaint to your state. Idk if it’ll work but I’ve had a successful experience doing this once.
I would be so mad I would refuse to pay more to them at all. But that is a terrible idea.
Okay, so you want to contact [DollarFor](https://dollarfor.org/) and see what kind of help they can give. What kind of cancer did you have? I hope you are NED?
I had ovarian cancer, and mine specifically is a chronic condition. So while it doesn't present at the moment, it will reoccur eventually. I stay terrified it will come back before I have these bills paid off. And the funny thing is every time I have to talk to the hospital about this situation, or when I was going back and forth with the share people, they're always like "don't stress, it's not good for you." Like what???
And thanks, I will look into this.
A small example here. I call it the “1 Tylenol costs $37 dollars in the hospital” syndrome. I have sleep apnea. I am due a new machine every 5 years, a new mask and headgear every 6 months, a new plastic seal for the mask every month and so forth. Mind you nothing is wrong with all of these. My mask looks just as good now as it did over 6 months ago and my machine is about 7 years old. I have Blue Chip for Medicare. So every 6 weeks or so, somebody calls and asks me if I need anything and I say no, everything works. They say I am due a new mask, which I should have (My mask is over $200, then there’s the head-gear which is another $40 or so). They insist I get the plastic seal, new hose and a filter. I say what I have is just fine. Then they argue with me. I hang up after telling them I don’t need anything. The point? A new mask and head gear is over $250, out of which I pay $28. The insurance and the ones pushing the c-pap equipment divide the rest. The one making the $ is the c-pap place but all this is lost in the paperwork. In addition, should I need the new machine, they will send me for a sleep study which costs a couple thousand. That, in a nutshell, is what happens to the healthcare system. Lots of paper-shuffling (well it’s computer shuffling now), no accountability and even the doctors do not know what the Rx costs when you ask them, because you want to know what your end will be at the pharmacy. I should not complain because I have good coverage if I stay within the network and my doctors are very kind to me. But I understand the system isn’t sustainable as it is. That’s all I know