Kraft ANYTHING is cheap and comforting (and reminds me so much of a Richard Jeni joke that I will not repeat). Ramen Noodles are even cheaper and more filling, and we love them. Higher-class college budgets may also include Hamburger Helper (on sale all the time and often 2 for $3-5... and you can usually buy value packs of cheap hamburger meat - like 5 pounds for $10 or so.) and Banquet microwave dinners. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are popular. And McDonalds' fries.
As for hospitals:
Forms, forms, and more forms. Last time I ended up in the emergency room I had to wait almost two hours before the doctor saw me. There was a stack of forms I had to present, and they insisted that I pay my insurance co-pay before they would see me (which by law an emergency room cannot turn you down if you can't pay, but they still act like total tools if you don't). Then I had to sit in the waiting room for 45 minutes before they even put me in a room.
And once it was over, I got my explanation of benefits from my insurance company, and it didn't match with the bill I got from the hospital. The hospital wanted more money than the insurance paid, so that was a six-month headache.
Oh yeah - while at the hospital if you need some sort of procedure not related to your immediate survival, it has to be cleared by the insurance carrier first. That process can take up to two weeks, and depending on how good your insurance is, they may still not pay it.
Being uninsured is another matter entirely. Like I said, a hospital can't turn a person away. HOWEVER, when the bill comes and you don't have insurance, it's going to be STEEEEEEEP. Most medical groups will arrange payment plans for high bills, but the majority of the uninsured now just don't pay the bills.
A hospital can't forcefully collect money from anyone. They can file a claim with what's called a "setoff debt" group (another discussion), which will collect the arrears from federal income tax returns. Basically, if you don't pay your bill and you work, if you get a tax refund it will go straight to the medical group.
Hope this helps. If I can provide more info on any of it, just yell.
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Date: 2009-05-21 01:50 pm (UTC)Kraft ANYTHING is cheap and comforting (and reminds me so much of a Richard Jeni joke that I will not repeat). Ramen Noodles are even cheaper and more filling, and we love them. Higher-class college budgets may also include Hamburger Helper (on sale all the time and often 2 for $3-5... and you can usually buy value packs of cheap hamburger meat - like 5 pounds for $10 or so.) and Banquet microwave dinners. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are popular. And McDonalds' fries.
As for hospitals:
Forms, forms, and more forms. Last time I ended up in the emergency room I had to wait almost two hours before the doctor saw me. There was a stack of forms I had to present, and they insisted that I pay my insurance co-pay before they would see me (which by law an emergency room cannot turn you down if you can't pay, but they still act like total tools if you don't). Then I had to sit in the waiting room for 45 minutes before they even put me in a room.
And once it was over, I got my explanation of benefits from my insurance company, and it didn't match with the bill I got from the hospital. The hospital wanted more money than the insurance paid, so that was a six-month headache.
Oh yeah - while at the hospital if you need some sort of procedure not related to your immediate survival, it has to be cleared by the insurance carrier first. That process can take up to two weeks, and depending on how good your insurance is, they may still not pay it.
Being uninsured is another matter entirely. Like I said, a hospital can't turn a person away. HOWEVER, when the bill comes and you don't have insurance, it's going to be STEEEEEEEP. Most medical groups will arrange payment plans for high bills, but the majority of the uninsured now just don't pay the bills.
A hospital can't forcefully collect money from anyone. They can file a claim with what's called a "setoff debt" group (another discussion), which will collect the arrears from federal income tax returns. Basically, if you don't pay your bill and you work, if you get a tax refund it will go straight to the medical group.
Hope this helps. If I can provide more info on any of it, just yell.