How is this not bigger news?! This is life changing for a great many Americans.

    • MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown@fedia.io
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      2 days ago

      We just got a second notice for a ≈$20 bill that had been paid 3 months ago.
      The first notice 3 months ago was for a procedure that was done 7 months prior.

    • thesohoriots@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      It happens more often than you’d think. A friend of mine had a ~$25 medical bill go to collections. They just kept setting the mail out, filing it away each week, and forgetting about it. I ended up paying it and convinced them to get tested for ADHD. Sure enough…

      • earphone843@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        Yeah, adhd is the only reason I have any debt at all.

        I kinda want to start a company that will manage money for people like me who struggle with keeping up with such things.

        • blazeknave@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          I do gtm. I’m down. My closest friend I’ve employed is a finance background and has his shit together.

    • Horsey@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      It’s kinda simple: in large cities you can legit just change doctor office and leave behind <500$ per place and just not pay. Most doctor offices are franchised or opened by large hospitals, so the chances of fucking over an individual doctor is pretty slim. In my state, they drop calling after a while and it just disappears once they write it off.

    • shalafi@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 days ago

      Every unpaid medical bill I have is under $500. Maybe 6 items? Credit reports aren’t only calculating totals, they’re looking at individual accounts. 6 bad marks is hella worse than 1, even if the totals are the same.