In May of my wife had a serious fall at home. I had just lost my job of over 34 years and my COBRA coverage had just expired. I had no insurance. I rushed my wife to the emergency room and she was admitted with a broken hip, broken shoulder, and a serious head injury. She spent three weeks in the hospital, most of that in ICU. She was unceremoniusly discharged from the hospital later in May to a rehab center. The day after she was discharged from the hospital, the bills started coming in. There were at least a dozen different bills (Radiologists, EKGs, EEgs, CAT Scans, pulmonary specialists, plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, etc. I formulated a plan to pay each of them off and have got all but three of them paid off on a monthly payment plan. The only exceptions are the main hospital bill (I send them $100/mo, the surgeon (He's down to $1,200) He gets $100/mo. And the anesthesiologist (He's also down to $1,200). The main hospital bill was origonally over $116,000 and I have them down to $112,965.13. Last week, I recieved a letter from a collection agency in NC demanding that I pay the full amount immediately or face legal action. Our total income is from Social Security and a small pension. It amounts to less than $2,000/mo. Right now, I am paying OVMC a total of $300/mo. This is a large part of our disposable income and I feel that we are making an honest effort to pay them. I am 68 years old and my wife is 66. This strain is causing us to have thoughts which would horrify most people. We see no way out. We are proud people who honor our debts and obligations, but there doesn't seem to be any logical way to avoid the demands of the hospital. I wonder how many lives this hospital has destroyed because of their greed.
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