Hospital bill balance
by Michele
(South Bend, IN)
I live in South Bend, Indiana. I recently had major spine surgery. I have good insurance and they are paying 80% of the hospital bill, however that still leaves close to $5,000.00 in patient balance for me. I contacted the hospital and told them I could pay at least $100.00 a month, and probably twice that if not more, but didn't want to overcommit. I told them I will do everything I possibly can to pay this off asap. They told me: "You have 3 months to pay off the balance or you will be sent to collections". My question is this: Can they do that? and if they do, what exactly does that mean?