How I Got My Hospital Bills from Long COVID-19 Forgiven
Key takeaways:
Schoolteacher Tamara Robinson faced more than $3,000 in medical debt after a 5-day hospital stay related to long COVID-19 complications.
An organization called Dollar For was able to help her ask the hospital to erase the debt through its charity-care program.
Her debt was wiped out, and she got a refund for payments she had already made.
My Bill of Health is a series of stories about the financial strain of healthcare. To share your story, email patientstories@goodrx.com.
Tamara Robinson had just returned to her classroom in August 2021 to start a new school year when she started experiencing cold-like symptoms. With it being the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, she knew should get checked out.
A COVID test confirmed she was positive. It would be 21 days until she got a negative test and could return to the elementary school where she taught special education.
Tamara, who is 48 and lives near Houston, says she started experiencing anxiety when she finally got back to her classroom. By Thanksgiving break, she had severe insomnia, which deepened her anxiety.
Medications and therapy didn’t work
Tamara was prescribed zolpidem (Ambien) and other sleep medications for her insomnia. But nothing worked. She saw a therapist, who introduced her to cognitive behavioral therapy. But that didn’t help her sleep either, and her symptoms persisted through much of 2022.
In August 2022, Tamara went to a Houston hospital emergency department because of an intense headache. There, she was diagnosed with complications from long COVID, which had resulted in chronic insomnia and high blood pressure. (Long COVID is still not well defined, but the CDC lists trouble sleeping and headache among the many complications.) At the time, her blood pressure had soared to 258/134 mmHg — well above what’s normally considered high, which is 130/90 mmHg and above, according to the American Heart Association.
Tamara had to stay in the hospital for 5 days. But she finally got the combination of treatments she needed and eventually was able to return to a normal sleep cycle.
Getting a daunting hospital bill
For Tamara, the cost of her care is always a concern. “You’re kind of holding your breath about how much this bill is going to be,” she says of having medical procedures.
The hospital bills for her five-day stay in August 2022 started arriving a few months later, in October. The total charges were $34,709.50. Although her insurance paid most of that amount, Tamara knew she would have trouble paying the rest.
“I received a billing summary on January 3, 2023, stating that I owed a balance of $3,786.33,” she says, adding that it was a difficult amount to face on a teacher’s salary.
Tamara’s high-deductible health insurance plan with a $3,000 deductible, so she was aware she’d be responsible for $3,000 of the final balance. And she’d have to balance paying it with the costs of being single and managing her primary bills: a home mortgage, food, and utilities.
Learning about an organization that helps people negotiate medical bills
One day at church, Tamara heard an announcement from a community group about a free service called Dollar For, a service that helps low- and middle-income people negotiate their medical bills.
The service’s website informs people that, “Most hospitals offer discounts or bill forgiveness based on income. On average, a family of four earning less than $100,000 a year will qualify.” And the website explains that the Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, requires nonprofit hospitals to offer charity care resources to keep their tax-exempt status.
In another section, however, the Dollar For website delivers a less hopeful message. “Unfortunately, hospitals hold all the power,” it reads. “There is almost no federal oversight of charity care.”
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Tamara was skeptical at first, but she contacted Dollar For. And the company helped her apply for financial help through the hospital where she received care.
“A representative from Dollar For encouraged me to call the hospital to request total forgiveness of the entire debt and a refund for all previous payments that I had made on a payment plan,” Tamara says.
About 3 weeks after she called the hospital with the Dollar For representative’s encouragement, Tamara got an answer. After reviewing her claim, not only did the hospital forgive the debt, but they also refunded her $318 in payments she had already made.
Today, Tamara’s finances are back on track and so is her health.
She is once again on a healthy sleep schedule. And she’s working with her physician to taper off her remaining medications, lamotrigine and trazodone.
She wants people to know there’s help
Tamara says she wants to share her story because she wants other people with medical debt to know where to find help. And she knows that her situation is hardly unique.
According to a Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker, in 2022, 23 million people — or nearly 1 in 10 adults — in the U.S. owed significant medical debt. About 16 million people (6% of adults) owed more than $1,000 in medical debt. And 3 million people (1% of adults) owed medical debt of more than $10,000.
Some people get into medical debt because they don’t understand how to access their insurance benefits. In that case, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) can help. The organization’s website offers a state map to help people find assistance in their area.
In cases like hers, Tamara says she hopes people will reach out to the hospital where they received care if they are having trouble paying the bill.
“We didn’t know something like this was available,” she says.
DISCLAIMER: This article is solely for informational purposes. This article is not professional advice concerning insurance, financial, accounting, tax, or legal matters. All content herein is provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or implied. Always consult an appropriate professional when you have specific questions about any insurance, financial, or legal matter.
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