But experts said the law does not account for the individual circumstances that can complicate whether a patient receives that bill.Īnd when interest is added onto a repayment plan, medical debt can balloon even more.
Under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals must take certain measures to notify patients of an outstanding bill before pursuing "extraordinary collection actions," like filing a lawsuit. But Birch - who had neither a permanent mailing address nor reliable phone service at the time and could not recall whether she provided the hospital with her email address - said she never received their communications. What gives: In October 2018, Birch was served papers at her home in Kingsport informing her that Ballad Health was suing her for $11,590.10 for two unpaid hospital bills from 2016 - including $9,986.40 for her gallbladder removal.Īn executive with the health system later said the hospital attempted to contact her for payment and to discuss charity care.
As of May 2023, she had accumulated $2,715.97 in interest. The court judgment ultimately tacked on $159.50 in court costs and an interest rate of 7%. According to an affidavit of debt, she owed the hospital $9,986.40 for gallbladder removal surgery and $1,603.70 for the previous visit.
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Total bill: $11,749.60 plus interest, for two hospital visits and additional court costs associated with the lawsuit Ballad Health pursued against Birch. Service provider: Indian Path Community Hospital, which in 2018 became part of Ballad Health, a health system in Tennessee and Virginia. A bill later obtained for that visit showed she received treatments consistent with an asthma attack, and while Birch said she could not recall that specific visit, she added that she's gone to the ER so many times for asthma attacks she finds it hard to keep track. Medical services: Emergency gallbladder removal in 2016, plus a previous visit to the emergency room at the same hospital the same year. She lacked health coverage at the time of her surgery. The patient: Bethany Birch - née Bethany Allison - now 30, a stay-at-home mom. She didn't expect her gallbladder surgery - which cured her pain - to be free.
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"It was a pretty rough situation because, at the time, I didn't have a job, I didn't have a driver's license or anything," Birch said.įor fear of bills she couldn't afford, she said she had often avoided seeking care for emergencies, including a broken finger, asthma attacks, and a sprained ankle. Once she was released from the hospital, however, she lost her housing and spent months without a permanent mailing address while crashing with family. She was able to get into surgery quickly because she hadn't eaten in over 12 hours due to her food avoidance.Īt the time, Birch was 23 and uninsured. An ultrasound revealed she needed her gallbladder removed right away. It was so severe she went to the emergency room at Indian Path Community Hospital in Kingsport, Tennessee, where she lives. One night that September, the pain would not go away for hours.
She estimated she lost 25 pounds in that time. She knew it was triggered by food so she said she tried taking an antacid, which helped a little, but eventually she avoided eating altogether. Owing to a Tennessee court judgment, she accrued an additional $2,700 in interest over that time.īethany Birch had pain in her diaphragm on and off for eight months in 2016. Bethany Birch paid more than $5,200 toward her medical debt after getting sued by Ballad Health in 2018.
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