I'm uninsured, had to go to the emergency room, and now I cannot pay the bill. It's well over 2k. and I can barely afford to buy cigarettes let alone pay that!
I have no credit due to being a NEET. Can I ignore the bill or will this hurt me in some way? I have nothing to my name. I don't even know what credit is or if I have it. Can this effect future credit? Can they take jail me?
I didn't even want to go, but the assholes took me there. This is making super anxious! What do /adv/?
Aaaaah, America. Gotta love it.
>>17161571
>can they take my to jail
no. if that was the case half of america would be in jail.
it will effect your credit. your credit is essnetially a number that indicates to companies whether or not they can trust you.
for instance, if you want to buy a car, you dont pay for it all at once. you make small monthly payments. but if you cannot pay back your hospital bill, then that means you cannot be trusted to pay your car bill, and it would NOT be in their interest to give you this car.
same logic applied to a house or credit card. you are in the beginning stages of figuring out adult life so for now, you cant really do anything but wait. ask if you can set up a payment plan. then just ignore it. pay ltitle bit when you can.
eventually you will (hopefully) Get a real job with real money and slowly start fixing your debts.
>>17161571
It shitty that you're in this situation.
>Can I ignore this bill
Doing so will destroy your credit, but if you can't pay you can work out a payment plan with hospital/caregivers. They'll do anything to avoid sending it to collections or writing it off.
There are also regulations that limit the interest on medical bills, so don't be in a hurry to pay them off.
>>17161592
I was already hopelessly depressed about not being able to change my life around, and then suddenly this is thrust on me. What a joke, I'm in debt because of pure circumstance. I barely leave my room for Christ sake.
I got beat up for living in a shitty neighborhood and had to get stitches. Not only did they beat the ever living shit out of me, I'm in debt too. I seriously feel like an heroing
never leave your room, the world is against you.
>>17161624
i leave my room daily, stop being a drama queen. yes that sucks, and yes this sucks, but in a year its not going to matter that much.
keep going outside. you can turn your life around. dont be a twat.
>>17161624
How the fuck does stitches cost $2k?
>>17161571
>being NEET
>being a smoker despite no money
>not having insurance despite ACA being around for a while now
Karma.
>>17161624
Step 1) Call the number on your bill, tell them you can't afford to pay, ask about payment plans
Step 2) Get a fucking job
>>17161624
The law hasn't protected you. There's only one person that will ever care and look out for you. It is up to you to enact justice and no one else...
>>17161646
Health care in the US is massively inflated due to a lack of insurance coverage combined with the requirements of working in health care.
When Joe Homeless comes into the ER for the third time in a month because he's malnourished and half-frozen they can't deny treatment, but they'll never see a dime for it from anyone. That cost gets passed on to everyone who does pay for their medical care.
There are other things that contribute, like legit gouging of the price on basic supplies that aren't specifically medical (fucking paper trays sold to hospitals at a thousand bucks a pop), and the fact that medical insurance companies will do absolutely anything to deny your claim, but it basically boils down to the lack of a government option.
they halved the bill to 1.2k and put me on a 18$ a month plan. Thanks to those who told me to call I was freaking out... this is manageable.
>>17161767
wow not bad man, congrats.
>>17161848
>not bad
Jesus christ am I glad I am not american. Paying 2k for stitches is like playing 3k for hamburger.
Yes you can ignore the bill, yes it will hurt you in the future if you ever want to buy a car or house. You will also get harassed by a collection agency.
Why didn't you just use obamacare?
>>17161646
The cost of healthcare is inflated because we have to pay for people like OP.
>>17162215
obamacare isn't free, you have to pay for it
>>17162222
that is possibly the most retarded circular logic I have seen in my life.
"Healthcare is expensive because it's expensive"
>>17161571
Lol, that's what you get for living in a american shithole which is basically a third world country with nukes.
I bet you even voted trump before you got ill, and made fun of the "libfags" who wanted a free healthcare system for ya, like we have over here.
Enjoy your suffering.
>>17161646
Yeah, that is so fucking crazy.
Here in Germany if the same think as op would happen to me, I would walk in, give em my insurance bill, pay my 10€ deductable, and the rest is taken care of of the good old gesetzliche krankenversicherung.
OP, do your best to take care of your credit. As a personal banker responsible for approving loans on behalf of a pretty big bank, I can tell you that credit is everything. You can be earning six figures and have a pretty good network, but as soon as I see shit credit, I decline your application. Alternatively, with a meagre wage and nothing more to your name than a shitty car, I wouldn't mind approving a small loan as long as you have good credit.
The best indicator of the future is the past, and if you can prove that you're able to take care of your finances and debts, then you'll be given a lot of leeway.
>go out of your house
>get beaten up by niggers for no reason
>have to go to the hospital, no insurance
>suddenly 2k in debt
>niggers walk free
AMERICA FUCK YEAH
>>17161575
dude thats straight bullshit
if he makes under 1300/month gross income he can apply for medicaid
and if it was last month he can still get retroactive aid.
He's irresponsible so leave that alone
>>17162482
His fault for not owning a gun. He could be a national hero by now if he'd scraped together $200 for a turd of a revolver.
>>17162445
It's not free you stupid fuck. My premiums increased about $170 for the year on my health and dental plan combined after the Affordable Healthcare Act went into effect. That money is being subsidized to pay for your "free" healthcare. Just take $150-300 from the millions of taxpaying, responsible, insurance carrying citizens and yeah you get your "free" healthcare from the millions of dollars we threw into the system for something that doesn't benefit us at all, fucking dumb libtard.
Not a Trump supporter either. He's a fucking moron and so are you. Get an education and learn how to economics.
>>17162508
>My premiums increased about $170 for the year on my health and dental plan combined after the Affordable Healthcare Act went into effect.
Yeah, because your system is shit and even obama is right winged by european standarts. I heard that as well obamacare only pays from things that cost 2000 $ upwards.
Here in germany you pay 10 € per day in hospital, caped at 2 weeks. EVERYTHING that costs more is payed by the state insurance.
>>17162538
It's easier to manage a one acre farm than a 50 acre farm.
America has so much more to deal with not just in terms of healthcare but across the board. Which frankly is our fault and it's why things are so fucked up here. But bottom line is America is still the best country in the world currently despite our faulty healthcare system and some of our other flaws. You fucking Europeans are in such denial.
>>17161648
this
get your shit together OP
Here in my country you don't have to pay for shit
>>17162591
Which is why we have a lower infancy death rate than you over here in western europe (Germany, France, Neatherlands and such), right?
>>17162498
>irresponsible
I tried to get medicaid, but I fall into coverage gap. Non-disabled childless adults are not eligible for Medicaid in my state, regardless of income.
>>17162591
Not such a great country when you're doomed if you're in a life threatening emergency, is it? It's not like your appendicitis is bad enough; let us give you bills in the tens of thousands to sooth your wounds. Our country cares more about walls than people dying at home in fear of getting medical bills.
"Mom, I broke my arm!"
"Get the duct tape Tommy. That'll be good enough."
"But mom, it hurts really bad!"
"That's why we have tylenol, son."
>>17163230
Public hospitals exist. There's 1 within ambulance or care flight of all populated areas. All hospitals are required to provide life saving care. After you are stabilized, if you are poor and without insurance, you are released and/or transported to a public hospital, where you are not required to pay for your care after stabilization. So someone with appendicitis, in imminent threat, will be taken care of and sent to a public hospital to recover. At which point there are numerous ways to have the cost waived.
You should learn more about the systems in place before attempting to assume your method is superior.
>>17163203
Well, you're wrong. Because I'm an unemployed adult, 29 years old, who has full medical coverage through my state's Medicaid program. Washington state. A state that doesn't blow dicks and isn't a GOP fuckfest. I've had this coverage for 2 years while attending college. I've had all of my routine exams and random medical issues covered without anything paid except a 20-50 dollar copay.
So you're full of shit. Try not living in a garbage state.
>>17163248
But...he lives in that shit state, so he's not wrong.
>>17163238
I'll take the L.
>>17163248
You know that there are states that have not expanded medicaid, so why you are calling me a liar? And what exactly am I wrong about? I said I live in one of those states. My state is shit, I concede that, but that is not my doing. My the senators who repealed it were both republicans, and my governor is republican.
My states website says that unemployed adults are not eligible. I even called just to be sure, and they told me to look for insurance on the market place, but exchange subsidies for private plans are not available if they earn less than poverty level, and since my projected income is $0 i fall into a gap of un-insurable people in my state which over 200,000 are in the same situation.
