Doctor office refuses to treat my son and I because of past

not too much advice but i was hospitalized in 2005. i was taken by ambulance and was forced to go. Around late 2006, I recieved a letter stating that insurance won't pay because I went by choice (who signs up to go the hospital??) Anyway, I argued it and in the end, a year mark has passed and the hospital had to eat it. I have no idea how any of that worked though.. Could you ex husband call his insurance company to work it out? That's who I went through with my problem and it worked out ok..

Well..............my ex is the type of person who says ' he'll get right on it', but...he never does. He's the type of person, if something doesn't benefit HIM, it doesn't get done. With my ex, is more of an 'ME,ME,ME' attitude.

oohhh, I understand 100%, I have an ex like that myself.. hmm.. this really doesn't sound right but I do not know laws well enough to really offer good advice.. to be honest, I am not sure if they can refuse treatments - i know hospitals have to treat anyone and everyone but maybe a doctor can refuse? I'm sorry - I really don't know.

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You can be held responsible under the doctrine of necessities law. Since this is a private doctor,they can refuse treatment. Your only real recourse is to pay the bill when you are presented with a full account history from doctor& then go after your ex for reimbursement.

sdchargers - I had this happen once in the past - we were told that because we owed $150 that the insurance didn't pay (which we hadn't even gotten a statement of benefits from our insurance company on yet!) that the doctor would basically no logner be our doctor and would refuse to see us until we paid it.

Even some hospitals can refuse treatment and if it is an emergency all they have to do is stabilize you and transfer you to another hospital. And the cost of the transfer is on you not the hospital.

FYI I went through that myself with my husband who is 30 yrs older. He has several serious illnesses including Coronary artery disease. They basically are required to stabilize you after a heart attack and then send you home to die... not much caring in the medical realm. Sad but true.

Removed!

I thank everyone for their advice. I KNOW my ex won't take care of it. I just don't know what to do. What if my sin needs a physical for something, or just a 'check up'? OMG!! My ex has made my life a LIVING HELL!!

Is the medical payment for your son, your husband's responsibility part of the Divorce Decree?

If so he is in violation of a court order and can be held in contempt of court.

I would see if you can contact the insurance carrier. Most of the time if they haven't paid on something it's becuase there is a minor change to the policy number and it wasn't filed correctly. I had this happen once and it was quickly resolvd with the office refiling the claim. If the charges were not covered by the policy I would check your custody agreement and try and recover some of the expenses through the ex and in the meantime work with the office to set up a repayment plan while it is being worked out.

Hate to say it, that's why I got out of the medical profession myself. I was a Hospital Corpsman in the Navy and went to two years of nursing school. While going to college, I worked as a phlebotomist. I think one thing that sticks in my head was walking into an elderly woman's room to draw her blood and she was crying, not because she was sick but because she said there was no way she could afford the hospital bill. I pretty much started to reconsider whether it was the profession for me, or not.

Pretty sad when you go into the hospital for medical treatment and all you can worry about is how much it's costing and you can't afford it. And I am speaking form firsthand experience on this.

The Divorce Decree wasn't 'specific' in that way, CELLULAR. My ex and I agreed my son would be covered under him ( my ex) because I don't have medical insurance. WEll....... ( the plot thickens!!). I thought the claim was 'denied'..however.., I found out the claim was NOT denied. The $301.00 was a 'deductable' that wasn't paid by my ex. SOO...what I did was I called the Billing Department, at the Dr'd office and explained what was going on. the Rep was very understanding about the ENTIRE issue. I worked ALOT with her. She said if I can't get my ex to pay what he owes, she ( the Rep) will file an application, on my behalf to 'delete' 90% of the amount owed ( amount is $301.00). And when my ex goes to the Dr for WHATEVER reason, he would have to pay the deductable, before they see HIM. Sometimes, I feel so 'alone' reguarding medical responsibility, for my son. My ex has never 'stepped up up the plate.'

Good news is, it seems you have someone on your side at the Dr's billing office. Glad she was able to help you out.

Yep..what a nightmare, it seems. I wish CA's were as easy to deal with. :roll:

Not all hospitals are as what unemployedron described.
If you are really destitute,with no insurance, you will fall under "Free Care." All you or a loved one has to do is complete the paper work. However,this also creates long waits in the local ED.

I do hope I did not give the impression all hospital were that way, that wasn't what I meant to say at all. Just sharing a personal experience that made me decide that health care, in general, isn't what it used to be. When a doctor's office calls to remind you of an appointment, and feels compelled to remind you that you have a co-payment at the time of service in the phone message, I feel there's something wrong with the system. I realize the doctor's have to pay their operating costs too, but it seems a bit "something" (I have no idea what word to use to describe it) to remind a patient to make sure to bring their money with them when they come for the appointment.

From personal experience in the last year,I have managed to rack up about $40K worth of medical bills.Thank god for insurance even though they are probably hating life now since my premiums paid are finally being put to use. Hell my family doctor would be unaffordable without insurance as hi is a certified internist with surgical experience. I would still gladly pay him as he is one of the few who actually care about his patients & is very good at his job.

Hey unemployedRon.....

I didnt get that impression at all. I apologize if my
comment came across that way.

No, no, I just wanted to make sure people didn't think I was down on health care in general. Considering my personal experiences the past year, and the fact I have no insurance, healthcare is a pretty touchy subject for me.

I just didn't want to come off as sounding like a hard-@$$.

Stories like Cajun's tend to mellow the harsh feelings I have, somewhat so at least. It's nice when I hear of Doctors that seem to actually care for their patients, instead of just making a buck.

I once had a doctor like yours, Cajun. I have a herniated disc in my back and had been seeing this particular doctor for four years. When I lost my job (and my health insurance), he either allowed me to pay $65.00 for an office visit or didn't charge me at all, when I didn't have the money. Once, when I was in horriffic pain and needed a spinal injection, he "lost" the paperwork and gave it to me for free. He was THE most caring and compassionate doctor I ever had the pleasure of knowing. Unfortunately the hospital system he was affilitated with was bought out last year, and he sold his practice and moved away. The scumbags who bought it made it ABUNDANTLY clear to me (and within earshot of everyone else who was in that office at the time), that they not only do NOT treat charity cases...but also do not accept anything BUT PAYMENT IN FULL at the time of my visit...or I couldn't see the doctor. Period. I left their office (the same one I had been coming to since 2003) TOTALLY humiliated and in tears. I had to wait and reschedule the visit when I could come up with the $230.00 they were demanding up front. And, when I finally got to see this so-called "doctor", he was HATEFUL, rude and condescending.

And, even though I am once again "gainfully employed" and will have health benefits beginning June 1st, guess what?: I get a letter from my employer's insurance carrier just last week informing me that my back condition is excluded from coverage "due to a pre-existing condition". :evil:

Poor people in this country don't have a chance in HELL.

Gosh, TABBY...what a nightmare!! I DO know a few Drs that are VERY sympathetic. However....I just can't travel as far as they are NOW. Well......as I said, I took care of the issue I was having. My ex, of course took no responsibilty toward anything ( as usual).

I know what you all are talking about when it comes to insurance.Tabby, I,too, have pre-existing conditions--heart trouble, malignant skin cancer, etc. Have you checked to see if your condition is not covered at all, or you have a waiting period? My pre-existings were covered, but had a three moth waiting period.
It would cost my husband and me over $1200.oo a month for insurance-thank God for his company.

We were out of insurance for 4 years-that was a nightmare, trying to afford meds, etc.

It has indeed changed over the years. My brother-in-law had a heart attack Friday, and we went to the ER. There were dozens of people there, and I heard them tell others the wait would be about 8 hours. When my mom went to the ER the last time with chest pains, she has congestive heart failure, they told her she would have to wait for 8 hours :shock: I took her to another hospital, and then a couple of days later found out that someones baby had died in the ER that night waiting, and they were suing.

On the other hand, when mom was in the hospital for the6 or 7 weeks, her bill was a over a quarter of a million dollars. Thank God she had a supplement!

I am fortunate now, our Dr. is my husbands fishing buddy :lol: he still treats us, but has gone to O.B. patients now. I look pretty pathetic in his waiting roon full of expectant mothers :lol: karen

Any treatment related my herniated disc is excluded from coverage until March of 2009. Everything else is covered.

I'm so grateful for my health insurance - I've dealt with BC/BS for years now, and they've always treated me fairly. I actually hit the "stop loss limit" once, when I was pregnant with my youngest child - that's a long story, but I was in the hospital more than I was home during that one, and off my feet for 4 months, then unable to work for another 7 after he was born. I actually hit the point where the insurance stopped paying and I had to go on Medicaid to get everything covered. Then after I had him, I had 3 surgeries in the space of 1 year to correct all the problems from the pregnancy...and after the first surgery, I met my deductible and the other two surgeries (and an additional hospital stay for an infection) were covered 100%.

I feel terrible for those who don't have insurance or can't afford it - the only way my kids and I are covered is through my work - and though it costs me around $200 a month to cover them, it's worth it, because I know if I don't keep the coverage on them, they won't get it any other way.

ROADWARRIOR........yep..'Free Care' does come in handy. the problem was that my son's bill was under my ex's insurance, but, it was sent to me. what I had to do was change the 'status' from my ex to me. When i did that, I qualified for the 'Free Care'. The peson, at the Billing office was SOOO helpful with this!! Now...my ex is 'on his own.' I recently found out my ex's is not 'covered at all' because he never paid his deductible. And, of couse ( like everything that 'goes wrong' in his life..) this is my fault, too ( according to him).

[quote=UnemployedRon]I realize the doctor's have to pay their operating costs too, but it seems a bit "something" (I have no idea what word to use to describe it) to remind a patient to make sure to bring their money with them when they come for the appointment.[/quote]

Mercenary?

I went to the urgency care today.I have a bill there not caught up.Blood pressure was really high but they refused me said I had been disnissed fromtheir care.I have good insurance and they have paid their part.I am just giving up.

it is against the law for any medical provider to deny access to medical treatment to anyone if the medical provider receives any federal funding or government monies. Just simply ask them when they refuse to treat your son, tyo put it into writing. Legally they can NOT deny anyone access to medical treatment despite theire inabilitiy to pay...

just real quick, can a hospital refuse treatement for breast cancer surgery for a past due debt.

I worked for a Doctor once and he never turned anyone away because they couldn't pay a past bill.

Some Doctors are REAL doctors....in it for treating and caring for people...not making money.