I can't believe that this is happening!

I guess that was your coinsurance. It does sound like a good idea to call the hospital. My husband owed a large amount to a local hospital. After he told them he couldn't pay, they sent him some forms to fill out. I guess based on income, they wrote off the debt and told him he no longer owed it. It was extremely generous! But either way, even if you just pay $10/month...they may not be happy about it, but you are making payments and they can't take any further action. It may take awhile to pay it, but again, as long as you make payments, they have to accept them and not pursue other means to collect.

Oh gosh that's awful. Have you tried calling the hospital to see if they have any special programs? I know at our hospital they have something called a charity care program. It depends on your income and all that stuff. But if I were you I would call and see if there's any type of program that can help you.

As its been suggested, find out if the company collecting the money has a payment plan of some kind, explain your situation and how this was sprung on you etc etc and tell them you WANT to pay but due to being short on money is there some way they can work WITH YOU...Generally, I've found that if you go about it that way in situations like this the place you owe the money too will accomidate you as much as possible cause bottom line they want their money ya know..