NAVIGATING MEDICAL BILLS AND DEBTVerify medical debt to ensure it belongs to the young person and...
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NAVIGATING MEDICAL BILLS AND DEBT October 21, 2016 at 1 p.m. EDT PRESENTED BY:
Transcript of NAVIGATING MEDICAL BILLS AND DEBTVerify medical debt to ensure it belongs to the young person and...
NAVIGATING MEDICAL
BILLS AND DEBT
October 21, 2016 at 1 p.m. EDT
P R E S E N T E D B Y :
Medical bills and debt
“Financial ruin from medical bills is almost exclusively
an American disease.”
-Roul Turley
Poll 1
q.1. What is the primary reason young people have medical debt?
a. Using the emergency room for all of their care
b. Not paying bills when they arrive
c. Not understanding their insurance and what they should pay
d. Not understanding their rights related to MaineCare coverage
e. The cost of medical care—it’s just really expensive!
f. No one to help them deal with medical bills and debt
g. Other
Webinar purpose
• To introduce a new resource to help young people
aging out of foster care in Maine to understand and
manage:
Health insurance options
Medical bills
Medical debt
Origin Story—why the guide was
created?
Beyond the anecdotal evidence…
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Opportunity PassportTM Survey Question: Do you owe money? (April 2016 - 53 of 96 respondents said yes)
30% of those who currently owe
money specified medical expenses
The Opportunity Passport™ program provides financial literacy skills and an opportunity for matched savings designed
to help youth successfully transition to adulthood. www.maine-ytc.org/economicsuccess/description/
In their own words
Kera and Jessica, youth leaders who have
experienced medical bills and debt and are willing
to tell their story to help others
Kera’s story –
What was the biggest challenge you had
when faced with medical debt?
What advice would you give to people
working with youth faced with medical
debt?
Jessica’s story –
What was the biggest challenge you had
when faced with medical debt?
What advice would you give to people
working with youth faced with medical
debt?
Thank you for sharing your stories!
Hi, I’m Inger!
Objectives of the Guide
Staff helping young people in or who have transitioned out of foster care will have the information and referral resources necessary to help young people:
Ensure that they are not being unnecessarily charged, double-billed, or overcharged in any way for medical care they have received.
Determine whether health insurance resources have been properly applied in order to avoid the creation of personal medical debt.
Apply for free care and in cases where billing is appropriate, negotiate a fair and manageable payment plan.
Objectives of the Guide
Staff helping young people in or who have transitioned
out of foster care will have the information and referral
resources necessary to help young people:
Verify medical debt to ensure it belongs to the young
person and the firm collecting the debt has the legal
right to do.
Decide how to prioritize the payment of legitimate
medical debt in relation to other living expenses.
Determine when medical debt that has been charged
off should no longer reported on their credit reports.
Who should use the Guide?
Case managers, other frontline staff, or the adult allies that work with young people that are in or have been in foster care.
Anyone dealing with medical billing and debt in Maine.
How can you use the Guide?
Find the right information or tool for the
challenge—use the Table of Contents
Use the assessment tool in section 3
Table of Contents
Section 1. Introduction
Section 2. Medical Bills and Medical Debt: What is
the difference?
Section 3. Medical Debt Assessment Tool
Section 4. Health Insurance and Affordable Health
Care: What Can You Get? How Do You Get It?
Section 5. Get Insurance to Cover Your Bills
Table of Contents
Section 6. Medical Debt and Collections
Section 7. Medical Debt and Credit Reports and
Scores
Section 8. Closing
Section 9. Getting More Help: Who to contact
Assessment
Answers to questions correlate
to section in guide.
Also provides a general picture
about the financial issues the
individual is facing related to
healthcare access and
coverage.
Additional question: Are there
other issues related to your
healthcare that you are
concerned about?
Assessment
Use answers to assessment
as a jumping off point(s).
Exploring a Section of the Guide
Health Insurance and Affordable Health Care
Hi, I’m Mary.
Guide Section 4 covers eligibility:
What can you get? How do you get it?
Quick Warm-Up Quiz
People can go to the Health Insurance Marketplace at
healthcare.gov to apply for:
MaineCare
Medicare
Private insurance
Hospital free care
Select all that apply.
Section 4 guides you through the maze.
We cover marketplace, employer,
private & MaineCare insurance.
You can learn to speak Insurance.
Abkcieghh,
Or as the Guide explains,
You can know what is covered by plans, including
MaineCare.
We tell you how to find out what hospital free care
covers.
Section 5 helps you be a Safe Insurance-User.
Quick Quiz on Safe Insurance Use
EOB stands for:
Extra obnoxious bill
Explanation of benefits
Explanation of your bill
Select the correct answer.
What is cost-sharing?
It is a mechanism to make us cost conscious in our
use of health care services.
Section 5 explains the different kinds of cost
sharing.
Section 5 gives you steps to follow when things go
wrong with your insurance.
Who is Consumers for Affordable Health Care?
https://youtu.be/SV2sE7TkIK4
CAHC Helpline:
1-800-965-7476
Exploring a Section of the Guide
Medical debt and collection
Poll 2
Q.2. If cash is short, which expense should be the first priority for payment?
a. Medical bills or debt
b. Job-related expenses
c. Basic necessities like food
d. Shelter-related expenses
e. Child support
f. Student loan debt
g. Other
Medical Bills versus Medical Debt
How a medical bill becomes a medical debt.
Paying Medical Debt Tool
Make sure you actually owe the money your health
care provider claims you owe
Make a payment plan
Settle the debt
Consider bankruptcy
Work with Consumer Credit Counseling Services
Dealing with Medical Debt in
Collections Tools
Don’t ignore debt collector contact
Verify the debt
Understand the statute of limitations
Understand Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
reporting limits
When to make a payment plan
Know Your Rights in Debt Collections
• What do you like about the guide?
• What is missing?
Questions and Discussion
Like MYTC on Facebook!
www.facebook.com/MaineYTC
Visit the MYTC website!
www.Maine-YTC.org
Want more information about economic well-being for youth?
The guide and other resources are available!
We want your feedback on this guide, there is a short survey on our website
For more information, contact:
Becca Matusovich
Muskie School
University of Southern Maine
207-780-4865
THANK YOU
