Do you have Medical Bills? Are Medical Bill Collectors Harassing You?
Have your medical bills resulted in a Hospital or Medical Provider Putting a Lien on Your Home?
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which obtained this information from the U.S. Census estimates, a tenth of all seniors (65+) had medical debt in 2018. With the pandemic, I would venture to guess this number has only increased since 2018.
While New York State continues to deliberate over Bills A7363 (Assembly) and S06522 (Senate), here are some other ways to help yourself if Medical Bills are keeping you up at night.
Don’t think this is happening in your area, read this publication by the Community Service Society. Discharged Into Debt: Nonprofit Hospitals File Liens On Patients’ Homes
Available Resources if Medical Bills are Keeping you up at night!
The CFPB has teamed up with CMS (the government organization that runs Medicare) to help seniors understand their rights under Medicare. For instance, in most situations, if you have Medicare (through the Federal Government) or Medicare Advantage (through an insurance company), a provider can only bill the agreed-upon rate and is forbidden to bill the difference between what Medicare pays and what the provider bills. To learn more, check out this link to the CFPB website: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/what-do-if-youre-wrongfully-billed-medicare-costs/
Based on your income, you may qualify for additional federal resources. This link can help you identify programs available. https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/help.
State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP) offers “Trusted, unbiased, one-on-one counseling and assistance” and can be accessed here: https://www.shiphelp.org/ for assistance understanding your Medicare Coverage.
Your Medicare Advantage insurance company is always available to assist you in understanding your coverage. Here is the capital district of New York, your regional insurance companies have excellent customer service ratings and are eager to answer your questions.
The Patient Advocate Foundation can help you find a patient advocate to assist in navigating the health care world Understand your medical coverage. Learn more about the Patient Advocate Foundation here: https://www.patientadvocate.org/
The CFPB has a wealth of resources available to help, check out their site here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/educator-tools/resources-for-older-adults/
Or I can help!
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