how about Medical debt and bankruptcy? and Debt Collection Agency ?
Me and my wife just had our first son. We don't have health insurance, plus
my wife is a immigrant with a pending adjustment in INS. I signed a
agreement with the US government making me financially responsible for all
her debts and health coverage in the states till she has a ruling. Our
first son was born on 11/03 and we're now looking down the barrle of a 15k
to 18k debt of hospital bills, etc...we've been paying the bills a bit at a
time, but we're hardly making a dent at times, plus I've been off work for a
month taking care of her and the baby (she had a difficult pregnancy and was
beridden the two weeks prior and post birth).
All of the doctors have me listed as her gurantor/billing payer (whatever
you want to call it) so I know that I can file Chap. 7 on them if we have
too (most of them are really being helpful on trying to get us on a
resonable payment plan). There is one bill collector however that isn't,
they've tried to fraud us by adding bills that I had paid off (via insurance
I had at the time) onto my wife's bill, or claiming a bills that were paid
off (and we have the canceled checks to prove it) did not follow "channels"
and they don't have to honor them being paid off; they refuse to believe we
are married or that we even had a kid, and they want $1000, which is $200
above the actual debt, they refuse to say to who exactly we owe, and when
they do say and we pay them they "lose the check" which usually clears the
bank a week later. When I call to take care of the "lost check", or find
out why they're calling at 5 and 6 AM, they call me a "asshole" and say "you
better be grateful we'll even talk to a ass like you" or when I ask them to
double check a figure they say "what are you retarded?"
So here are my two questions:
1) Can I file on the company that's beiing abusive, even though they send
the bill in my wife's name? I sign all the checks and I have copy's of all
the laters that say I'm the sole party responsible for paying her debt.
2) Can medical bills collect any sort of collateral? I mean can they come
into our home and take person possessions for the debt? I spoke with an
attorney and he said Medical bills are common in bankruptcy and are
unsecured bills cause you don't put up any sort of collateral at the time of
service. Plus they knew my wife didn't have insurance when they made me
responsible for her bills. But still, I'm curious cause I've heard stories
of medical bills coming in and demanding possessions and the court saying
give it to them.
-You can include them in your bankruptcy, and if you file jointly, it will
wipe it out for certain. If this is a collection agency, there's an easy way
to get them to stop calling:
Tell them when they call and send it a certified letter, return receipt
requested, stating, "Pursuant to section 1692c(c) of the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act, please cease all communication with me."
This will stop everything but two types of communications; telling you that:
(1) it will terminate future collection efforts; (2) it may or will invoke
specified remedies that are normally invoked by the debt collector (i.e.
suing you or sending the case to a lawyer).
If it doesn't stop, you've got a dandy of a Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act case against it.
-The biggest thing I was told that the INS looks at is things like
food-stamps, WIC, welfare, etc...basically things are based on you not
working or the like. Public insurance isn't supposed to be in that category
cause it's offered to people who can't get health care any other way.
Me and my wife went with the cosponsor, as well. I've heard of approvals for
people who don't meet the 125% guideline; though from what the INS agent
told the time we discussed it on the phone, yes it does happen, yes it's not
unheard of, but it requires a lot more evidence that the couple on the case
aren't going to end up on welfare and have a real relationship, since the
interviewing agent is a little more strict.