Are you just using your money for copays/deductibles or does she not have any insurance at all? Will they stop treating her if you stop paying? Defer as long as possible and either work out a payment plan later or let the insurance company eat it down the road. I know many people who have been bankrupted paying off medical bills as they come but you should pay just enough to keep the treatments going. Let everything else ride then declare bankruptcy if any of it is in your name.
She does have insurance, and it's great insurance. The treatments are just so specialized that the bill, after the insurance does their "work", is still anywhere from $10k to $50k.
They've made it clear that because the treatments are so specialized and that they have had to go outside of the normal realms for a patient (e.g. they had to bring in another specialist), that once the money stops flowing, things will need to be reevaluated.
It's a fucking scam. And a fucking shame to this country.
She does have insurance, and it's great insurance. The treatments are just so specialized that the bill, after the insurance does their "work", is still anywhere from $10k to $50k.
That is not "great insurance". I am not a big fan of PPACA, but every single one of those plans has an annual out-of-pocket limit on costs (~$6,400 per individual, twice that for a family). My out of pocket limit on my (excellent) BCBS PPO is $500 + minimal copays.
Now that preexisting conditions are no longer a barrier to changing plans, you should shop around.
Under PPACA, as of this year, there's something called "Guaranteed Issue", which means that if you offer an insurance plan at a particular rate, you have to give that rate to everyone, and accept anyone who will pay it. The only variables that can go into the rate calculation (AFAIK) are age, a community rating, and whether the applicant is a smoker.
She should get on her state's or the federal exchange and find a plan that includes her doctors. If she's seeing top flight specialists, that might be expensive, but it will be much cheaper than "$10-50K per incident".
I am surprised to be shilling for Obamacare, but there it is!
