My brother is in the hospital

[ancientlight]

Hi all. 
I hope everyone is doing well and had a great Halloween 

Yesterday my brother went to the ER and was admitted to a hospital for colon problems. 
His colon had knotted in on itself (can't rememeber the term ) and they corrected it through a colonopsy .
He will need another colonopsy (spelling sorry) on Friday and possibly surgery.

His surgeon thinks it's a 50% chance of it happening again within a year without surgery. So he will need surgery as well.

And not only do we have the stress/worries of this medical situation, we also need to worry about how to pay for this.
He's uninsured, and unemployed. He does have some savings from an inheritance(father) , I'm not sure how much , but around 200-300k. He lives of that basically, no other income. He has some mental health issues imo, and has never worked. 

We are in Florida, alachua county. Does anyone know what to expect? Will he have to pay a 300k bill (don't know the amount yet)  with all his money and be left penniless, or are there other options?  Can they force any of us to pay his bills?
Off course I would help him and sell my house if I have to, but I'm hoping to avoid that.  

Thanks for any input 

[BIAD]

My prayers and goodwill are with you and your brother.

[GeauxHomeLittleD]

Hi all. 
I hope everyone is doing well and had a great Halloween 

Yesterday my brother went to the ER and was admitted to a hospital for colon problems. 
His colon had knotted in on itself (can't rememeber the term ) and they corrected it through a colonopsy .
He will need another colonopsy (spelling sorry) on Friday and possibly surgery.

His surgeon thinks it's a 50% chance of it happening again within a year without surgery. So he will need surgery as well.

And not only do we have the stress/worries of this medical situation, we also need to worry about how to pay for this.
He's uninsured, and unemployed. He does have some savings from an inheritance(father) , I'm not sure how much , but around 200-300k. He lives of that basically, no other income. He has some mental health issues imo, and has never worked. 

We are in Florida, alachua county. Does anyone know what to expect? Will he have to pay a 300k bill (don't know the amount yet)  with all his money and be left penniless, or are there other options?  Can they force any of us to pay his bills?
Off course I would help him and sell my house if I have to, but I'm hoping to avoid that.  

Thanks for any input 

Pretty much almost all hospitals in the US do payment plans for those without insurance but the question is: Is it considered an emergency, necessary procedure or do they consider it an elective procedure? Because by law emergency procedures must be done and they have to accept a payment plan (as little as paying $20 per month keeps it out of court and off of your credit regardless of how much money you have) but with elective procedures they can demand payment up front. Regardless, they can only go after your brother for payment and nobody else. Edit to add: Unless he is legally married, then they can go after legal spouse.

[Schmoe]

Yep, what Geaux said.  Best of luck to you and your brother.  Hospital care, medicine, the pricing of it all is ludicrous.

[ancientlight]

Hi all. 
I hope everyone is doing well and had a great Halloween 

Yesterday my brother went to the ER and was admitted to a hospital for colon problems. 
His colon had knotted in on itself (can't rememeber the term ) and they corrected it through a colonopsy .
He will need another colonopsy (spelling sorry) on Friday and possibly surgery.

His surgeon thinks it's a 50% chance of it happening again within a year without surgery. So he will need surgery as well.

And not only do we have the stress/worries of this medical situation, we also need to worry about how to pay for this.
He's uninsured, and unemployed. He does have some savings from an inheritance(father) , I'm not sure how much , but around 200-300k. He lives of that basically, no other income. He has some mental health issues imo, and has never worked. 

We are in Florida, alachua county. Does anyone know what to expect? Will he have to pay a 300k bill (don't know the amount yet)  with all his money and be left penniless, or are there other options?  Can they force any of us to pay his bills?
Off course I would help him and sell my house if I have to, but I'm hoping to avoid that.  

Thanks for any input 

Pretty much almost all hospitals in the US do payment plans for those without insurance but the question is: Is it considered an emergency, necessary procedure or do they consider it an elective procedure? Because by law emergency procedures must be done and they have to accept a payment plan (as little as paying $20 per month keeps it out of court and off of your credit regardless of how much money you have) but with elective procedures they can demand payment up front. Regardless, they can only go after your brother for payment and nobody else. Edit to add: Unless he is legally married, then they can go after legal spouse.

His colon was completely blocked because of the knot, it had knotted in on itself? It sounds like an emergency at least. 
$20/month would be great, than it's not a problem. Off course he'll likely have that payment then the rest of his life as it's so low. But at least it feels less stressful.

Thanks for the reply

[Grace]

Hi all. 
I hope everyone is doing well and had a great Halloween 

Yesterday my brother went to the ER and was admitted to a hospital for colon problems. 
His colon had knotted in on itself (can't rememeber the term ) and they corrected it through a colonopsy .
He will need another colonopsy (spelling sorry) on Friday and possibly surgery.

His surgeon thinks it's a 50% chance of it happening again within a year without surgery. So he will need surgery as well.

And not only do we have the stress/worries of this medical situation, we also need to worry about how to pay for this.
He's uninsured, and unemployed. He does have some savings from an inheritance(father) , I'm not sure how much , but around 200-300k. He lives of that basically, no other income. He has some mental health issues imo, and has never worked. 

We are in Florida, alachua county. Does anyone know what to expect? Will he have to pay a 300k bill (don't know the amount yet)  with all his money and be left penniless, or are there other options?  Can they force any of us to pay his bills?
Off course I would help him and sell my house if I have to, but I'm hoping to avoid that.  

Thanks for any input 

Teaching hospitals go by income and ability to pay, and are more lenient with savings than medicaid programs. If you can't get the whole bill completely waived they will at least seriously decrease the amount you owe. 

That said, I would literally apply for every kind of help you can get. If he's never worked then there must be some inability so I'd try and get him on disability - they give checks for the mentally insufficient as well. 

I understand if he doesn't need the check itself - but clearly he does need the medical health insurance that comes with it, and the disability check will help pay for any out of pocket premiums. 

It takes a while to get on disability so I'd just work towards that goal for next time. 

There's no such thing as debtors prison so the most they can do is take you to small claims court - and whether they would just depends on the state and the hospital itself. 

In most states non payment of hospital bills just ruins your credit and that's that.

[ChiefD]

Hi all. 
I hope everyone is doing well and had a great Halloween 

Yesterday my brother went to the ER and was admitted to a hospital for colon problems. 
His colon had knotted in on itself (can't rememeber the term ) and they corrected it through a colonopsy .
He will need another colonopsy (spelling sorry) on Friday and possibly surgery.

His surgeon thinks it's a 50% chance of it happening again within a year without surgery. So he will need surgery as well.

And not only do we have the stress/worries of this medical situation, we also need to worry about how to pay for this.
He's uninsured, and unemployed. He does have some savings from an inheritance(father) , I'm not sure how much , but around 200-300k. He lives of that basically, no other income. He has some mental health issues imo, and has never worked. 

We are in Florida, alachua county. Does anyone know what to expect? Will he have to pay a 300k bill (don't know the amount yet)  with all his money and be left penniless, or are there other options?  Can they force any of us to pay his bills?
Off course I would help him and sell my house if I have to, but I'm hoping to avoid that.  

Thanks for any input 

Just know your brother and you are in my prayers. As others have said, they should be able to arrange a payment plan with your brother. They want to get paid, so it's in their best interests to work out a payment plan so they get something. Is there a way your brother can sign up for healthcare.gov? They may have affordable plans.

[Macsen191]

Sending healing vibes/praying for you and your brother! I have a bill for a little over 1,000 from when I was in the hospital and they want $150 at lowest payment, but I haven't talked to them on the phone to see if I can get it lowered at all, this was all through the internet though.  Is he on state insurance? Hopefully they should pay some of it.

[dbcowboy]

Hi all. 
I hope everyone is doing well and had a great Halloween 

Yesterday my brother went to the ER and was admitted to a hospital for colon problems. 
His colon had knotted in on itself (can't rememeber the term ) and they corrected it through a colonopsy .
He will need another colonopsy (spelling sorry) on Friday and possibly surgery.

His surgeon thinks it's a 50% chance of it happening again within a year without surgery. So he will need surgery as well.

And not only do we have the stress/worries of this medical situation, we also need to worry about how to pay for this.
He's uninsured, and unemployed. He does have some savings from an inheritance(father) , I'm not sure how much , but around 200-300k. He lives of that basically, no other income. He has some mental health issues imo, and has never worked. 

We are in Florida, alachua county. Does anyone know what to expect? Will he have to pay a 300k bill (don't know the amount yet)  with all his money and be left penniless, or are there other options?  Can they force any of us to pay his bills?
Off course I would help him and sell my house if I have to, but I'm hoping to avoid that.  

Thanks for any input 

I hope your brother recovers, and to add, depending on the hospital, some have the ability to do a charitable write-off.

[Chiefsmom]

Best wishes for your brother!

I would check, to see what the law is, for payment options.  First, ask the hospital if there is any type of help available, and then, see if there is any type of help outside, salvation army, volunteers of America, senior center, if applicable.

As far has paying, here in Michigan, if you make a payment, of at least 5.00 a month, and don't miss a payment, there is nothing they can do to you.  They threaten, they cry, but nothing they can do.   I would find out if that is the case down there, as a last resort.   A collection agency can tell you, if they are a decent one.