How to request waive off on medical bill in the USA

G

Gopal100

New Member
My friends parents were visiting from India to US. His father underwent a medical surgery due to an accident. They were with international insurance. The insurance paid the bill partially. There is a hefty amount still left. Last I heard is, his father is receiving letters to his India address from collections agency mentioning that legal action may be taken.
His father has sent multiple letters to the hospital/agency stating that he is retired with no income and financially not in a position to pay at all.
My questions:
1) Can a collection agency reach out side of US and start any legal proceedings in such cases. Do they have the authority? If so, how and in which court?
2) Where/Whom should my friends father reach out for financial assistance. I heard that there are programs in the US who generally would help such patients and potentially can pay off some or all of the bill or even assisting in waiving off

** Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Your friend and his parents should have reached out to the hospital to explain their situation and negotiate the remaining payment - most hospitals are open to that - as against ignoring the invoices which got sent to them (which I’m assuming is what they did) prior to the bill being turned over to a collection agency.

So reach out to the hospital to see if they’re still willing to do that, long shot at this point but still worth trying IMHO!
 
Sm1smom said:
Your friend and his parents should have reached out to the hospital to explain their situation and negotiate the remaining payment - most hospitals are open to that - as against ignoring the invoices which got sent to them (which I’m assuming is what they did) prior to the bill being turned over to a collection agency.

So reach out to the hospital to see if they’re still willing to do that, long shot at this point but still worth trying IMHO!
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Thank you @Sm1smom.

Would the collection agency have authority/jurisdiction to do any legal proceedings in countries like India? If so, how?
 
Going by your follow up question, I’m guessing you guys are thinking of ignoring the notices from the collectors if you’re able to confirm there’s no way for them to come after you in India. Well, wether they will the authority or jurisdiction to enforce the payment is a different ball game which I can’t get into because I am not an authority on what happens in India.

However you need to be aware this could impact your parent’s ability to visit the US again or obtain a new visa. Also if you as the child was listed on the documents signed at the time of your parent’s admission, they could still come after you in the US if they’re unable to get the payment from your parents in India.
 
Thank you again for your prompt reply.
After talking to my friend, he says that his father has mailed multiple letters stating the inability to pay. So, they had not been ignoring such letters but instead mailing it to them multiple times. He just wants to find out some possible options so that this matter can be resolved/closed in good faith.
 
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