Where can my fiancee get financial assistance for medical bills?

Question

This past weekend, the daughter of my fiancee fell very ill and has been hospitalized. When she is released from the hospital in about three days, we expect the bills to exceed $10,000.00. My fiancee has no medical insurance (she can't afford it), and doesn't make much money to begin with.

Are there any charitable organizations, or government agencies that she can go to for financial assistance? I fear the wieght of the medical debt will be crushing to her, and I can only help so much myself. We currently live in Chicago.

Answer 1

The hospital itself should have a financial assistance form that she could fill out.
She will probably have to wait until the actual bill is received and then take the bill to the hospital billing office and ask them for the forms. Fill them out and turn them in. But, you could stop in the office and ask about it beforehand to find out for sure.

Also, she could try applying for Medicaid. They usually cover bills back 3 months from the date of application. She may be elgible for some sort of medical even if not the 100% medical.
To apply for that she needs to go to the Department of Human Services office.

Good Luck!
Hope the daughter has a quick recovery!

Answer 2

First of all, I hope her daughter recovers soon. Here are some thoughts about where you can get assistance in the future. For now, I would check with the hospital first, as many of the answerers here have already mentioned. They should at the very least work out a payment plan and often work with charitable organizations to help people in your fiancée’s situation. If her daughter suffers from a particular condition, you might get help through an organization that champions people with that condition. All links referred to are in the Sources section.

·All Kids – Illinois health insurance program for kids.
·Family Care – Illinois health insurance program for parents.
·Suburban Primary Health Care Council – Health care program for residents of Cook County and northwest Chicago.
·Needy Meds – discount drugs and links to disease-specific programs and organizations.
·MostChoice.com – quick and easy way to find private insurance. Free and there’s no obligation.

Hope the little girl gets better soon, and congratulations on your engagement,
Barnes@MostChoice

Answer 3

I dont know about Chicago but I can tell you here in New Jersey for those without health insurance go to the facility where the services were rendered and they should have a charity department, all income and asset verification is required to qualify. If your state has a program like this than your finance should be able to have the bills written off and also be able to get a year of medical services covered under charity. Hope that was useful

Answer 4

Hospitals will normally allow you to setup a payment plan (interest free), so you can pay a small amount each month. Once you get the bill, you can call the hospital's billing department to set up a plan. I think hospitals have to let you do this, but I could be wrong.

Also, most states have some sort of Medicaid plan to insure children (free depending on your fiance's income). Even if they will not pay past bills (which they might - doesn't hurt to ask) - this will cover you in the future.

I know someone in Indiana that signed up for maternity medicaid. She signed up in December, but they made it retroactive because her previous month's income met their specifications. So, depending on your finance's income, they may very well pay for that even though she is just signing up for it now.

Answer 5

Most states have a free health insurance program for children, who don't otherwise have any health insurance. Unfortunately, it takes a few weeks to get signed up for it, and it won't retroactively cover costs.

So although I don't know how to get these current charges helped out, she should IMMEDIATELY go here . . . http://www.allkidscovered.com/ and apply online to get health insurance coverage for her daughter. This is a state of Illinois program.