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…

26

1817

16 16

6

43

2 2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

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

bmatusovich@maine.edu

THANK YOU