I was denied hospital financial aid due to opening a credit card, help!

June 27, 2018 8:01 AM

I have for several years had 100% financial assistance at Ohio State Medical center due to being low income. I was recently denied for coverage due to my "non-wage income" exceeding their threshold ($8,000). OSU determined this by hiring a 3rd party vendor (Search America) who in turn did a "soft credit check" at experian, and Experian said I recently opened a line of credit (a credit card) and that credit limit counts as non-wage income, and thus I was denied financial assistance. I called OSU today and had it explained to me that this is in fact their policy, and that it was not an error. Can I fight this some how? it seems silly to be denied financial assistance because I opened a credit card. What if I close my account with the credit card company, then could I just reapply? Is there any other way to rectify this? Thanks in advance
posted by maxexam to Work & Money (8 answers total)

Wow, that seems incredibly shitty, I'm sorry.

Have you been dealing exclusively with OSU's accounting/finance folks? If so, you might consider contacting their patient advocate. Based on this page, it looks like the number to call is [phone].
posted by schroedingersgirl at 8:42 AM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm sorry you're going through this. I had a medical bankruptcy years ago and know all too well how difficult it is navigating hospital policy and a low-income situation. In my case, I was indigent and needed emergency care that I had zero coverage for. I got smacked with a huge bill, and thought they'd let me pay monthly, but that was non-negotiable and I had to pay over 10K in full. Immediately. Although I had credit, their policy was to refuse credit cards as payment, so after a useless trip to an impacted county social services department I had to file bankruptcy. Nowhere was their payment policy explicitly stated or made clear. I couldn't even get an itemized receipt of the charges without fighting for it. I had no knowledge of their policies until it was too late for me financially. Ironically, a year later I received an acceptance letter in the mail that social services accepted my case. Ha. All that is to say - do what you have to do to get the coverage, because it *really* sucks to be indigent.

So, yes, the U.S. healthcare system is just the shits. I'm not surprised at all to hear about the non-wage income thing. It's the sort of thing that, apparently, happens all the time.

What if I close my account with the credit card company, then could I just reapply?
I'd call the hospital back to speak with their finance department and find out.

Is there any other way to rectify this?
Here is a list of free legal aid near Columbus, OH. I'd definitely start with one of these places - even if there's nothing they can do, it's worth the ask.

While you're at it, you might want to find out (if you don't already know) how they handle individuals with outstanding medical debt. The whole "non-wage income" thing sounds like the kind of shenanigans you'd have to deal with from a for-profit hospital, but hey, non-profits are often only non-profit in name these days. I took a look at OSU's webpage and couldn't find any information as to how to navigate their financial/payment system as someone who is low-income or even indigent. This may be something that a pro-bono lawyer could help you with.

Do you qualify for Medicaid?
posted by onecircleaday at 8:44 AM on June 27, 2018

I think if you do close your account, you will want to notify the credit agencies and you can request a letter from the card issuer confirming that the account was closed in good standing. And you can get the agencies to immediately change the record. But, yes, ask before you go to the trouble of doing this if it will improve your situation with the medical billing.
posted by amanda at 8:56 AM on June 27, 2018

If possible, go in person and talk to someone. I always get better help in person, though a increasing number of companies do phone only.
posted by theora55 at 9:44 AM on June 27, 2018

Response by poster: Where is the best place to get my experian credit report for free (and without negatively impacting my credit score?)
posted by maxexam at 9:52 AM on June 27, 2018

Instead of closing the account, can you request a credit limit decrease to get you under the $8000 threshold?
posted by wearyaswater at 10:00 AM on June 27, 2018 [5 favorites]

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
posted by praemunire at 10:06 AM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

Did they completely revoke your financial assistance? Or are they now expecting you to pay 5-10% of your hospital charges?
posted by kuanes at 6:07 PM on June 27, 2018