damn dude that sucks bad. i hope you didn't break anything

 

I feel your pain bro. I had my appendix rupture and almost died from it a year ago...worst pain I have felt in my life...yesterday I squeezed out four old nasty stitches that had been there since surgery. Damn doctors. And they wonder why I ain't paying that rediculous 23 grand hospital bill

 

What happened to obamacare?

Sucks, but all you can do for busted up ribs is limit movement and take painkillers.

 

last night at work killed me....i have 3 contusions, and bruised bone...nothing broken thank god.....and i have to work 11-8 today...against doctors orders.....cant afford to take time off...and damn its killin me.

 

dude dont wrap your ribs up. they no longer do that....just had a car accident in feb...broke 2 ribs and collar bone.....just take some pain meds and try to limit your movement as much as possible....they say if they wrap your ribs now you are at risk for pneumonia...and yeah i know it hurts like hell but try to take some deep breaths or cough every now and then dont know why exactly but thats what my doc said

 

+1 on don't wrap your ribs. I broke 2 last year and the Dr. said it ain't good to do that.

 

People complain about how they can't afford insurance, yet when the hospital bill comes, they can't afford that either. The reason insurance is so high is because of all the bad debt right-offs from people who don't have insurance, and all the illegal immigrants who come into the ER.

Insurance is a necessary evil. Learn how to adjust your lifestyle to accommodate it. Do I enjoy paying $300 a month for it? No, but the wife and I manage. We could be paying off my truck sooner, or paying for some house repairs, but instead, I can get timely medical care and pay a minimum for it. Eat out less, cut back here, cut back there... adjust.

It doesn't pay for everything, but its there when you have these huge bills. If you had had insurance, you'd probably only have to pay a $750 or $500 deductible and insurance would pay the rest. There are also charities and non-profits that will help you pay your bills if you had asked at the hospital, rather than just letting it sit there as an unpaid debt.

Even with Obamacare, you'll have to pay something.

I have nothing against you bigslick, and I don't mean this as a personal attack, I apologize if it came off that way. You just struck a chord, so to speak, as so many do what you are doing. My wife is a RN, so I hear about it a lot.

 

Also, those old medical bills will tear your credit all to hell. When my wife and I wanted to buy our house, her old medical bills, from before we were married, popped up and we had to settle those or deal with a lot higher interest mortgage.

 

Lack of insurance is only one factor in the skyrocketing medical costs. Things like not being able to shop for drugs from companies in canada.... being restricted in which insurance companies operate in your state, overtreatment of common conditions, due to the litigious nature of people. (we will sue for anything....) The complexity of billing for even a simple procedure. And a host of other things. It isn't just the uninsured folks that are driving up costs..... the whole system needs reform, and requiring folks to have insurance is going to do absolutely nothing to reduce medical costs.

My GF recently had surgery on her sinuses. Total bill was north of 20,000 dollars. just one doctor wanted 5600 bucks for her services. When she discovered we did NOT have insurance, the bill dropped to 500 bucks.... and this is not an isolated case. There are many stories of hospitals and various other medical institutions charging cash customer a tiny fraction of what they bill insurance companies. Why is that? Is it just the "some money is better than none." thing? Or do a lot of them thar folks see an opportunity to gouge insurance companies, and leap on it? Our health care system is in serious need of help.

Insurance companies add nothing to health care, other than cost.

Not sure where you are... but here, banks do not consider medical bills when figuring your credit score. (and most scoring agencies, while having them on your credit report, do not consider them either.)

 

HeyYou, I'm in Houston and the bank(Chase) brought the old medical bills to our attention, they had been sent to a collection agency. They were listed on her credit history as negative accounts, which drove her FICO score down with all 3 agencies, Experian, Transunion, and Equifax. The bank doesn't figure the scores, the Big 3 agencies do.