Ben’s mom has been in the ICU since the 10th after getting a 100 mile trip in air medical transport. She has health insurance (Ben’s dad is a retired Marine, so whatever they get) but obviously it won’t cover all her costs. They’re already looking at six figures, I’m sure, and medical staff gave her a minimum of three weeks just in the ICU, after which she’ll have to go to the regular hospital and then some kind of long stay facility where she can get therapy (hemorrhagic stroke). It’s going to get so, so bad.
Ben’s dad isn’t worried about it all right now (got more important things on his mind, I’m sure) but I can more easily step back and anticipate what’s coming and my conclusion is they’re totally effed.
I started a blog the other day because I call the hospital every day for updates and then send a bunch of Facebook messages out to some of her family so I figured this would be easier. I already put a paypal donate button on that.
So, besides straight donations, what are some good ways to get money based on the generosity of other people? Because I’ve never really done anything like this before (I helped a local candidate for sheriff with a silent auction once… that’s it) but they definitely are going to need it so I have to try.
I recently went to a fundraiser at the local YMCA. Some folks rented it out for a few hours one evening and we paid $16 apiece to come in and use the facilities (pool, kids’ gym, racquetball, etc) and they also had classes going. The people doing the fundraiser also had a bake sale, 50/50 raffle and a raffle for a gift card.
Not sure how much they made, but it was fun and different.
First of all, who the heck is Ben? Second, before you go to the trouble of holding a fundraiser, wait to see how much of the bill remains after the insurance company is done. And even then, sit down with the financial adviser for the hospital and see what can be done to reduce the amount owed or to set up a payment plan.
We’ve attended many a fundraiser in our little community where you eat at a local restaurant and they donate a percentage to the family from that nights bill.
I second the idea of working with the hospital on the bill. I used to work in hospital collections, and many patients were eligible for reductions. Plus, if she winds up disabled, SSDI or the like may cover it.
What are these “costs” you are worried about? She has health insurance and yet you still seem to be worried that she’ll end up owing over a hundred thousand dollars. Why is that?
Just an FYI: donating money to help pay for an individual’s medical bills is not a tax deductible charitable contribution. It’s a common misconception, so I would avoid referring to it as “charity” or maybe even a “donation” (though the latter may be tough to avoid).
In the insurance coverage that I have, there’s a cap to your out-of-pocket expenses. For my plan, that’s $2500/year. They may not be in such trouble as you think.
You could just say my husband. If he is retired military there should be a fair amount of this covered. Do you know that her care isn’t covered? Military people and their dependents used to be covered under champus, but has transitioned into tricare. There are costs associated with being out of network, but generally they are capped. Certainly it would not range into the 100s of thousands of dollars.
Even with good insurance, there are usually a lot of not covered expenses. When my sister had breast cancer there were travel costs to the hospital, she moved to part time work (and she worked for most of it), the hospital was a good distance from anyone’s house - so there were a few hotel stays for the family. daycare for the kids when she or the family couldn’t watch them. There was OTC medication and comfort care items she wouldn’t have needed (extra pillows during recovery she didn’t own). By the time they were done and she had an all clear, they figure it was $20k out of pocket.
Right, Dangerosa, but the OP seems specifically concerned about medical costs that aren’t covered (that’s how she gets to her estimate of $100,000 of expenses incurred in one week).
Ben and his dad, need to go and spend 30 minutes with one of the financial counselors at the hospital and spend another 30 minutes on the phone with a representative from your mother-in-law’s insurance carrier and get a better understanding of how much the patient’s responsibility will be. > $100,000 seems way to high for someone covered with health insurance.
Holding fund raisers for expenses that may be covered under health insurance smells like fraud to me.
The best fundraise idea for medical costs is to buy health insurance, which the patien here did long ago. So, mission accomplished.
I think this thread is one part “I’ve heard so many stories about the crazy US health care system that surely even someone with insurance will have lots of medical expenses to pay,” which is fairly ridiculous, and two parts “I’m sad and want to help someone out,” which is commendable. But there are better ways to help out at this point instead of imagining up scenarios where insurance doesn’t cover her treatment (mabe make them some dinners or go mow their lawn).
It’s really not ridiculous. I’m sure you’re very lucky to have exceptionally awesome health insurance and have the ability to pay out of pocket for any remainder, but health insurance does not equal having nothing to worry about after a major stint in the hospital. Just one example is when certain providers, such as anesthesiologists, work through a contracted in-network hospital but they themselves are not individually contracted with the insurance provider. So you may be within a networked hospital but any bills from the anesthesiologist do not count as an in-network provider, and the insurance doesn’t pay. That’s just one very expensive example.
I believe that there are also lifetime maximum benefits, depending on what plan you have.
But, the advice to talk with the hospital is what you/Ben need - they’ll probably have the best handle on how the insurance coverages combine (sounds like she is covered by her and her husband’s plans?), and what benefit cap (if any) there is.
Contact the insurance company as well and find out about benefit caps for her situation. For instance, many plans have a limit to 30 visits per calendar year for physical therapy, so if she needs to see a physical therapist it would be best to know the limits ahead of time. There are similar limits for mental therapy, additional limits for home health care, maximums on durable medical equipment, etc. that might all impact her financial situation. It is best to know ahead of time exactly what limits to expect rather than being surprised when trying to receive services.
There are yearly maximum benefits too. As well as procedures that are performed and not covered, which aren’t determined until the billing is actually processed. But those are all probably straw men too. :rolleyes:
