[Kitsa]

And hospitals here are NOT shy about making sure they get any money that's coming to them, up-front.

I've had 3 medical emergencies in the past month. One was life-threatening to me and two were life-threatening to my kids, the last one very very serious.

You'd think that with a Medicare card, they'd just take that as your insurance, when you show up, and let you have your lifesaving treatment. But in the 2 ER trips, even as I was being hooked up to monitors, registration people were knocking timidly but persistently on the doorway and coming in to demand my date of declared disability, my supplemental coverage (at the time, I didn't have any), and otherwise wanting to know how I was going to pay what was left of my bill when Medicare had paid their part.

This last visit, my water broke early and it was literally a scramble to save the twins' lives. When I was taken from my room for the ultrasound that would tell us whether my children would live or die, which was practically a nervous-breakdown-inducing experience, guess what was on my hospital bed when I returned? A card from financial services, saying that I had to call right away. As soon as I was calmed down enough from my hysterics, I called, and...of course...she wanted to know how I was going to pay my Medicare copay. My head was so messed-up at the time (my children were dying) that I couldn't even remember my phone number during registration. I mean, to them, this stuff cannot wait.

Fortunately, by that point, I had been approved for a State program that served as a Medicare supplement during pregnancy, and I told her that I had that. Even then, it wasn't over...she was suspicious until she had called the State herself to verify this and make a note on my account.

Things are looking a tad better for the twins now, I just need to keep them in me for 6 more weeks until it's safe for them to be born, but I thought it was a little harsh of the hospital to hold a hand out for money as we were going through that.*


* I'm not blaming the registration or financial people. When I was an undergrad, I worked a couple of years in ER registration and I know what's required of them...if they don't do it, they answer to the higher-up that makes those decisions. I just wish the hospitals would come up with a more sensitive way to handle this stuff.