Faking medical forms and other strategies for the un-insured

motorhappy · 10-07-2006, 06:37 PM

On an old episode of KATG, Keith mentioned that he usually gives a fake name when he goes to the ER, and that is how he's been able to afford medical care without insurance.

I'm in a situation where I don't have insurance yet, but have a medical problem that may be getting worse by the day (it involves a tooth). There's no way I can pay for anything. All my money goes straight to bills and I won't be caught up for a while.

Will the fake name thing work in any ER, or just in busy, under-staffed NYC hospitals? Anyone else pull the same trick? I've looked for low-income services, but apparently I have to be a pregnant woman or a crippled old man to take advantage them, but maybe there's something I don't know about.

Djtron75 · 10-07-2006, 06:41 PM

This is one of those times when I'm happy I don't have to deal with this stuff- I'm under-aged!

My 100th Post!

balls · 10-07-2006, 11:04 PM

fuck you shithead. there is nothing that bothers me more than people who try to scam hospitals. you know that hospitals go bankrupt every year because of people like you. honest, decent parents go bankrupt paying for their children's cancer treatments...you can suck it up. you are posting on this forum...does that mean you can manage to come up with money to pay for the internet? fucking cancel it and save money. do you have cable or satellite TV? cancel it. people like you are ruining the united states. if you dont have money for insurance or couldnt be bothered to work hard enough to get a decent job with health insurance then you shouldnt have tvs, the internet, cell phones. those are LUXURIES. furthermore, most hospitals have very flexible payment options, somewhat similar to what ketih and chemda are doing with their dentist. they WANT to help you. finally, if you falsify your name and dont pay for your medical care, you have committed a federal offense. good luck in federal pound-you-in-the-ass prison

Coconut · 10-07-2006, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by balls

fuck you shithead. ...

The above poster is correct. You are only hurting innocent, sometimes struggling people.

Juline · 10-08-2006, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorhappy

I've looked for low-income services, but apparently I have to be a pregnant woman or a crippled old man to take advantage them, but maybe there's something I don't know about.

I was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. I didn't have insurance. I went through chemo and radiation, and the financial part of it stressed me out way more than the medical part of it. Long story, but I eventually got insured right before my surgery (I was able to get on a group plan that didn't require a six-month or whatever waiting period), and I'm healthy now. BUT my chemo and radiation amounted to about $75,000. I have a really good job (but at the time my employer didn't provide insurance -- now they only cover 50%), but a mortgage and everything that goes with it, and was able to negotiate with the hospital where I got my treatment and talk them down to $25,000. I got a home equity loan, and I'm paying it off for $500/month. Two more years to go.

My point is that everything is negotiable. I didn't know this, it was my oncologist that clued me in. The bills kept coming in during treatment, but I didn't open any of them. I put them in a box and just waited till I HAD to deal with it, then started my letter-writing campaign. $75k to $25k is pretty good, IMO. It IS doable.

lickmyballssuckmy · 10-08-2006, 03:20 AM

I didn't have insurance a few years ago and ran up quite a bill after my son dislocated his knee. All the bills started pouring in and I was going backwards with my bills like you. I stayed in contact with them and literally sent them $5 every couple of months until I got to the point where I could send $5 every month and I slowly paid for it all.

And, here's the kicker. It cost less than paying for insurance.

I'd just go and get it taken care of and deal with the bill when it comes even it takes longer than they would like. Even if it got to the point where they turned over to a collection agency, they will hound you for 2 years and then finally offer a payoff, sometimes as low as 25% (but usually around 40-50%) of the total just to settle the account.

A bad credit score doesn't last forever. If your problem is serious and gets infected or hurts forever, that's worse than toughing it out for a few years..

Or move out of the country and then break back in and be an illegal and go to the hosital and they'll take great care of you.. MichaelG will pay your bill for you.

DWarrior · 10-08-2006, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lickmyballssuckmy

And, here's the kicker. It cost less than paying for insurance.

All intelligent gamblers know insurance is -EV.

OP is an idiot, just yank the tooth out. Easy.

DJQuad · 10-08-2006, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coconut

The above poster is correct. You are only hurting innocent, sometimes struggling people.

Really? Go find yourself a nice 28 year old and pretend she's 2 14 year olds.

paul_r · 10-08-2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorhappy

On an old episode of KATG, Keith mentioned that he usually gives a fake name when he goes to the ER, and that is how he's been able to afford medical care without insurance.

I'm in a situation where I don't have insurance yet, but have a medical problem that may be getting worse by the day (it involves a tooth). There's no way I can pay for anything. All my money goes straight to bills and I won't be caught up for a while.

Will the fake name thing work in any ER, or just in busy, under-staffed NYC hospitals? Anyone else pull the same trick? I've looked for low-income services, but apparently I have to be a pregnant woman or a crippled old man to take advantage them, but maybe there's something I don't know about.

try some medical tourism, for teeth Hungary and Israel are cheap and good I've heard. a crown will cost you $100 in Budapest.

I'm glad we pay for hospitals from taxes over here...

ElleJ · 10-08-2006, 02:57 PM

One of the realtors in my office sits on a local board for this group called Volunteers in Medicine. It's a group of doctors, dentists, and nurses who provide free or inexpensive care to people without insurance. It's a national group, so I'd check that out and see if that's any help.

Edited to say: I just googled them, you can find the organizations main page here:
http://www.vimi.org/

10-07-2006, 06:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
motorhappy Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 21	Faking medical forms and other strategies for the un-insured On an old episode of KATG, Keith mentioned that he usually gives a fake name when he goes to the ER, and that is how he's been able to afford medical care without insurance. I'm in a situation where I don't have insurance yet, but have a medical problem that may be getting worse by the day (it involves a tooth). There's no way I can pay for anything. All my money goes straight to bills and I won't be caught up for a while. Will the fake name thing work in any ER, or just in busy, under-staffed NYC hospitals? Anyone else pull the same trick? I've looked for low-income services, but apparently I have to be a pregnant woman or a crippled old man to take advantage them, but maybe there's something I don't know about.
(Offline)

10-07-2006, 06:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
Djtron75 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Midland, MI Posts: 148	This is one of those times when I'm happy I don't have to deal with this stuff- I'm under-aged! My 100th Post!
(Offline)

10-07-2006, 11:04 PM	#3 (permalink)
balls Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: donkeypunch Posts: 46	fuck you shithead. there is nothing that bothers me more than people who try to scam hospitals. you know that hospitals go bankrupt every year because of people like you. honest, decent parents go bankrupt paying for their children's cancer treatments...you can suck it up. you are posting on this forum...does that mean you can manage to come up with money to pay for the internet? fucking cancel it and save money. do you have cable or satellite TV? cancel it. people like you are ruining the united states. if you dont have money for insurance or couldnt be bothered to work hard enough to get a decent job with health insurance then you shouldnt have tvs, the internet, cell phones. those are LUXURIES. furthermore, most hospitals have very flexible payment options, somewhat similar to what ketih and chemda are doing with their dentist. they WANT to help you. finally, if you falsify your name and dont pay for your medical care, you have committed a federal offense. good luck in federal pound-you-in-the-ass prison
(Offline)

10-08-2006, 03:20 AM	#6 (permalink)
lickmyballssuckmy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Hilo, Hawaii Posts: 946	I didn't have insurance a few years ago and ran up quite a bill after my son dislocated his knee. All the bills started pouring in and I was going backwards with my bills like you. I stayed in contact with them and literally sent them $5 every couple of months until I got to the point where I could send $5 every month and I slowly paid for it all. And, here's the kicker. It cost less than paying for insurance. I'd just go and get it taken care of and deal with the bill when it comes even it takes longer than they would like. Even if it got to the point where they turned over to a collection agency, they will hound you for 2 years and then finally offer a payoff, sometimes as low as 25% (but usually around 40-50%) of the total just to settle the account. A bad credit score doesn't last forever. If your problem is serious and gets infected or hurts forever, that's worse than toughing it out for a few years.. Or move out of the country and then break back in and be an illegal and go to the hosital and they'll take great care of you.. MichaelG will pay your bill for you. __________________ Keith: "Now go get your cane, little baby faggot." Chemda: "As soon as you talk about farm rape, you're in the sack. That's hot."
(Offline)

10-08-2006, 02:57 PM	#10 (permalink)
ElleJ Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,197	One of the realtors in my office sits on a local board for this group called Volunteers in Medicine. It's a group of doctors, dentists, and nurses who provide free or inexpensive care to people without insurance. It's a national group, so I'd check that out and see if that's any help. Edited to say: I just googled them, you can find the organizations main page here: http://www.vimi.org/
(Offline)


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