About a month ago I received a call saying that we owed over $350 for radiology that was done when my husband had bypass surgery. This was an emergency and I won't get into it at this time as to why we don't have medical insurance at this time. We would if we had employment and could afford even the most inexpensive one, but we don't and we aren't even making it with what we currently have. We had contacted the company and told them we were applying for Medicaid. They turned it over to collections anyway. We then informed the collection company that we were waiting to hear from Medicaid but that they turned it over to collections as well. My husbands bypass surgery was in January. Medicaid did not approve us until September. (They lost us in their system.) When I finally received the approval I called all of the providers and gave them the necessary information so they could receive payment. I didn't hear from anyone until February when someone from Kevin Richards office called to notify me of their intent to sue us for $364.64. After explaining to her the situation I asked her to send me the information she has on the bill in question. She said she only would if I sent her a self addressed stamped envelope. This seemed very unprofessional as well as cheap in my opinion. I sent the letter and and I contacted the original providers and they informed me they had written off the expense and said it was not in their hands to be able to withdraw. They would not even receive any of the money that we were being sued for. I spoke with Medicaid and they said they do not pay after one year from the time of service. It seems funny that right after the year limit that they then decide to contact me. Seems a bit fishy. I then spoke with 2 lawyers who said that even though this was no fault of our own they believed a judge would side with the lawyer if we went to court. I called the Kevin Richards office back and explained our position. My husband is part time employed and I was laid off in November. We were not even able to meet our expense as is and they were wanting payment. She did say they would accept payments but that we would have to pay the full amount of $364. When I received the copy of the original bill it was only for $103.70. I asked if they would be willing to settle for a lesser amount. The woman I spoke with said the least amount they could accept would be $150. I wanted to talk with a lawyer and my husband so didn't commit to anything at the time. After speaking with both I called back to make arrangements to pay and the woman I spoke with said they would not accept the $150 but that they wanted $215 within 48 hours. If they did not receive it by this time we would send us a summons and we would owe the full amount plus other court costs. I had to borrow the funds and when I called to make payment they charged me an extra $6 for the phone payment. They were heartless, unprofessional and cheap. She told me they would email, not mail, the receipt. They apparently have something against paying for postage for anyone. I have not yet received it as of now. It has been a week. How long does it take to send an email? It's only a push of a button. I will be calling back and will ask for a paper copy. Doubt I will get it.
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