<p>Without going into too much detail, I have recently found bills for unpaid medical procedures (the portion that’s not covered by our insurance). I am self-employed and I cover my family (H, S, D) under a family plan. This insurance costs me about $1900/month. My business partner and I looked into going to a HSA plan, but my husband chose to have elective surgery recently (for varicose veins), and our insurance agent said that our portion of the bill would be much worse under the HSA. This is after my husband insisted that the procedure was “covered”. Covered doesn’t mean free.</p>
<p>H is home all the time and gets all the mail. I probably sound like the dumbest smart woman you will ever meet, but I honestly did not know these bills were unpaid. I had to have a follow up extra mammogram last year; it wasn’t until the collection agency called me at work that I realized that $100 was still unpaid. I paid it over the phone immediately.</p>
<p>I really want to keep my credit intact. I pulled it myself recently and so far, there are no dings for collection accounts or unpaid medical bills.</p>
<p>My question is: if H racks up medical bills, am I liable since my name is first on the plan?</p>
<p>I’m also going to ask our insurance agent, but this is one of those things that wake you up at 3 am and I know the mind hive at CC never sleeps :)</p>
<p>You’re married. You’re both responsible for each other’s bills.</p>
<p>Since “H is home all the time” then I suggest that you insist that he find a way to pay off this bill. It’s Dec, there may be some stores hiring for holiday hours. </p>
<p>And in the future, you both need to agree about “elective surgeries” and find out how much the uncovered costs will be. It doesn’t sound like your H really looked into the actual final cost.</p>
<p>My H sometimes doesn’t check the fine print very well…he tends to hear what he wants to hear. He had a medical expense last year, also elective, that he swore would only cost us $200. It ended up costing several thousand. Thankfully, we could afford that without serious pain, but I was pretty steamed after being told that he had “checked” and “was sure” it would only cost us $200.</p>
<p>lol…you’re self-employed…give your H some work to do to “work off” this extra cost. (that’s unless he’s at home taking care of little ones.)</p>
<p>It can be confusing.
I called ins co three times about coverage of my knee replacement.
They told me the deductible was met- but what actually happened was that after I paid the deductible of $2000, my year long deductible was met. I still owed most of $2000 after the surgery.</p>
<p>Married couples are responsible for each others bills. However, unless they have your SS# it shouldn’t impact your credit. </p>
<p>I don’t understand how having an HSA would impact what you owe for bills. We have HSA’s for our employees - as the owner you don’t get to use it pre-tax it really would be post tax “lock box” for you. </p>
<p>I suggest he call to negotiate a settlement. As a medical provider, I suggest you call and offer 50% to pay today or a prolonged monthly payment. If insurance has already paid they probably will just want to clear up old debt.</p>
<p>I though married couples are generally liable for each others debts. I don’t think it matters that your name is first on the insurance. You are married.</p>
<p>Did you have to sign anything? When my husband was starting cancer treatment, I had to sign my life away saying I would pay all the bills whatever the outcome (at the local cancer center it basically said “if he dies you still have to pay us” repeatedly over about about 15 pages of forms I had to sign. It was especially delightful considering the emotional state I was in at the time.).</p>
<p>But I digress. I think you are probably equally liable.</p>
<p>I do agree that sometimes it is confusing as to how much you’re going to end up owing. Obviously, sometimes there are complications and that adds to the bill (my sis had to have her transplant surgery repeated within 24 hrs…pricey!)</p>
<p>However, there should be some way that people can get a better handle on how much something is going to cost. When a procedure is elective, there’s time to find that out. </p>
<p>and, obviously, for emergency and life-saving procedures, we all just have to go ahead and hope for the best…outcome-wise and bill-wise. :)</p>
<p>OP…I’m not sure WHY you’re asking this question. Are you considering letting the bills go unpaid and then only his credit will get dinged? This seems like an odd question. </p>
<p>Maybe I’m reading too much between the lines, but I’m sensing that you’re resentful. It appears that your “at home” husband somehow hid these bills (maybe out of embarrassment that he had been inaccurate) and since you’re already paying $23k per year to insure your family, you don’t want to pay these bills. Is your H at home taking care of kids? Has he lost his job? I’m sensing resentment, but maybe I’m completely off-base…Apologies if I am.</p>
<p>Why wouldn’t you owe for his bills? He is on your plan, and it sounds like these bills are his 20% after coverage. I agree that this is an odd question. He had the procedures and needs to pay his portion of the bill. As you are married and you apparently are the bread winner, you need to cough it up unless you are disputing that the amounts charged are appropriate.</p>
<p>I don’t remember having to sign anything like that when DH was diagnosed, but I did assume that I would still have to pay any outstanding bills no matter the outcome.</p>
<p>A friend of ours recently died after fighting an aggressive form of leukemia for 3 years. This guy had thousands of blood transfusions, platelet infusions, chemo, multiple hospitalizations, a bone marrow transplant, another stem cell transplant, etc. His wife told me that his total bills were $6 million dollars. They keep sending her bills and she just throws them away. Her DH had no life insurance and there is no money left. They have no assets either, so she says she just tosses them and says “sue me.”</p>
<p>My daughter had her tonsils out and she called to find out what it would cost. Turned out that she wasn’t told about all the costs - just the costs from that doctor’s office and the hosp fee. They completely omitted the fee from others who’d be involved in the procedure (like the person who give anesthesia and sends a separate bill). So, even if you call to check, you may not be given all the info you need. </p>
<p>OP,
That said, I have no idea if this will cause a problem with your credit. So sorry you are dealing with this!</p>
<p>He is on your insurance plan. Very likely he had to sign something indicating that IF insurance didn’t pay, he and you would.</p>
<p>Yes…you will need to pay this bill. You are married, carrying his health insurance that didn’t completely cover the procedure. The balance belongs to both of you.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t get so worked up about a $100 medical expense. Perhaps you’re more upset about the fact that he’s “home all the time” and you’re out working. If the shoe were on the other foot, I’m sure you would hope your spouse would pay your medical expenses/deductibles without hesitation. </p>
<p>OP noted she’d paid the bill in the first post. She’d had no idea there was an unpaid balance until the collection agency called. Her question is a general question.</p>
<p>Yes!!! You’re married and the “family” owes the money. I also believe he should pay even if that means unloading old junk on ebay or delivering pizzas in the evenings.</p>
<p>I read it as she found out she had an unpaid balance of $100 for her follow up mammogram bill, that she paid when a collection agency called her at work.</p>
<p>I don’t think she said what the balance was for her husband’s elective surgery.</p>
<p>My interpretation of the OP is that she found out about one bill when a collection agency called her, and she is worried that there may be other bills that she doesn’t know about, and worried about the effect on her credit of late or missing payments. She said that she paid the bill she learned about right away, and I am sure she is willing to pay the rest. Her husband may be very disorganized.</p>
<p>He’s on your insurance and you’re married - double the reasons why you’re on the hook for this. I’m surprised you’d even question this liability.</p>
<p>But it sounds like he’s not reliable on getting the bills paid or maybe in making decisions on when to get procedures done and what the real costs would be and maybe even more - store purchases, other things he buys?? </p>
<p>It sounds as if there are some issues that need to get taken care of somehow. If he’s not going to be reliable in paying the bills then you probably need to take that over. Also, the two of you need to talk every now and then so you each know what the other’s doing regarding expenditures, exactly what they’ll be, and how and when they’ll be paid.</p>