Submitted by xamiblue t3_xxprxz in personalfinance
Southern California incase that helps.
So quick story, my 28 week pregnant wife died almost 2 years ago, an emergency C-section was done. The baby was not doing well and he had to be transported to a children’s hospital 100 miles away by helicopter due to the more advanced ventilators they had.
I got billed for 75k, which my insurance company paid 35k of so now the transportation company is coming after me for the remaining balance.
Talking to my insurance company, they said 35k is the average cost and what they billed was ridiculous compared to what other medical helicopter transports charge. They agreed to dispute the charges on my behalf.
Today I received a call from the a collection agency telling me that negotiations fell apart as they would not accept my insurance companies offer of $3,000 to settle the remaining charges.
I’m at a loss on what to try next, obviously going from a 2 income home to a 1 income home has taken a great deal of stretching and cutting to a point that a 40,000 payment plan wouldn’t be possible.
I never had to deal with a collection agency before so I don’t know what they can or can’t do. I’m guessing they would take me to court if I gave them the middle finger? And I’ve heard they’ll settle for way less than the initial bill just because some money is better than no money.
Can anyone point me in the right direction where to go from here? Can’t afford a payment plan, maybe a lump sum of around 6k when I get my tax return in January
PS. My son is a champ and overcame all his initial problems when he was born. Happy and healthy to this day! Shoutout to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madeira.