surgery was a success!

[daisychain 0]

hi everyone! i had surgery 5 days ago. it was a success. im still in a cast though and still will be for 6 weeks to allow the metal plates to heal the bones and for my implant to stay firmly in place. i'd like to thank everyone who expressed concern and wished me a speedy recovery. i'm still in pain because it has gotten colder and for some reason, my bones are chilly from the inside. i was told that this happens because the metal plates get cold too. but other than that and my terrible reaction to the painkillers and anesthetic, i'm doing great! heheh. i'm just happy to be alive.

anyway the bills have finally all arrived and the totalis over $5000. the surgery ($13,000) is covered by insurance since that kicked in before the surgery. my question is, since the accident happened before the insurance kicked in ... will it still cover the ER and ambulance bill? i had only been in america a little over a month and i already have a gargantuan debt! i know my husband will take care of everything and he keeps on assuring me not to even think about the bills and just focus on getting better but i still can't help but worry about our finances since we're not exactly rich. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Reba 2]

Insurance will not cover you for expenses incurred before you were covered.

Glad your surgery went well, I hope you have a speedy recovery

[KAT&Allie 0]

Listen to your husband and focus on getting better. Everything else can be sorted out later. I'm so sorry you had such a hard time since you came to US but now hopefully you are on the road to complete recovery.

Wishing you a speedy recovery. Get well soon.

[Mononoke28 135]

Since the accident happened before the insurance went into effect, it will not cover any expenses that happened before then. One thing you can do is call the hospital and find out if they can bring down the cost and see if they can arrange some kind of payment plan to pay it off. They do this all the time.

Good luck with everything and hope you have a speedy recovery.

Diana

[michellea 0]

But if you call the hospital about the expenses not covered, MOST Of the time they will agree to only geting 50% payment, because it's better than nothing at all and that's what insurance companies pay them.

(They have an agreement that the insurance companies will only pay certain amounts on things even though they want to bill higher.)

Good luck with this.

[Nikita2Charles 32]

I am not sure when your insurance kicks in, We went through the K1 one route, I have insurance coverage through the company and My fiancee got covered the same day she became my wife.

One important facts, maybe for others who might be into this situation later, YOU HAVE TO ADD YOUR WIFE WITHIN 30 DAYS OF GETTING MARRIED. Otherwise you have to wait until the next open enrollment, it's like that here in cali so not sure about the rules in other states.

[daisychain 0]

hi everyone. thank u for responding. you're right. the insurance won't cover the medical expenses incurred before surgery. we called the hospital and ambulance service and the best they could give us was either a payment plan which would amount to around $500/mo or a discounted lump sum payment - money which we don't have. we feel helpless and trapped. its such a huge financial burden on top of everything else, it makes me want to cry. we tried asking for a discount but they said that's the best they could offer us. please does anyone have information on financial aid? we looked it up and some require me to be at least a permanent resident but we can't even afford to file for adjustment of status yet.

[*JG* 2]

It depends.....my husband went to the ER two weeks after we were married; but before I added him to our insurance. The insurance company said his insurance was retroactive to the DATE we married. I was plesantly surprised.

Check it out before you write it off as a loss. You never know.

[daisychain 0]

hi jomo's girl. i've heard of cases like that but apparently my husband couldn't enroll me in his insurance until i was already legally present in the US so he had to wait for me to get here before he could start the enrollment process. he only started on his new job last july. anyway, i called the county medical services and they told me i'm not eligible for financial assistance because i have to have been in the us for at least 5 years. they referred me to united way but they said i'm not eligible since i don't have an ssn and not a permanent resident (im a k3 visa holder yet to apply for aos) so they referred me to medi-cal and encouraged me to seek financial aid from the hospital. the hospital asked me to fax my visa to see if i'm eligible for assistance and im still waiting word on that. medi-cal says i have to go to their office to apply. my concern is that apparently any form of financial aid extended by the government seemingly requires permanent residence status and my k3 visa doesn't qualify. any insight would be greatly appreciated everyone.

[Reba 2]

considering the affidavit of support that your husband signed with the USCIS says that he will support you for the duration, and that you the beneficiary are not eligible for means tested benefits, then no, you are not eligible for government assistance. They'd only just send him the bill again anyhow, if you somehow did manage to get assistance if some clerk wasn't paying attention.

[jodee 30]

You might wanna check this link out,.....if it doesn't automatically go to it,..check out cost cutter number 5,...Ways to slash your medical bills,..