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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not give my address to this American hospital and to be fuming over the phonecall I received

179 replies

whysogrumpy · 01/09/2012 20:46

Ok, I will try to be brief but I am actually shaking over the conversation I had on the phone earlier today.

Last year my dh and I went to New York. I was pregnant at the time and I had horrendous 'morning' sickness while there - in fact, after a whole day of being sick dh was advised by a dr on the phone to take me to hospital as I could have been dehyrated. He did so and I was put on a drip as I was dehydtrated and I also had a scan.

We had taken out travel insurance and, as happens in the states, a man in the hospital came and took the details of it before we saw anyone medical. I also had to give my name and address to the triage nurse and when I left my details were verified again.

When we got back we heard nothing further from our insurance company such as being charged an excess but I have never claimed anything on insurance before so don't really know how it works. Also, during the stay and for weeks after I kept bleeding and, as I also have 2 older dc, I haven't had time to ever consider whether I should have heard from the insurance company, and the incident took place last November.

Anyway, today I received a phonecall from the hospital. The woman said that she needed my address as there had been a fault with their computer and they had lost my insurance details and therefore had not been able to claim for the treatment I recieved. I said that I had given them those AND my address (and they had clearly not lost my phone number Hmm) and she repeated that there had been a fault with the computer. I said that my insurance was a travel policy and I didn't know whether I would be able to claim on it nearly a year after the event and she apologised and asked for my address again. I ummed and ahhed a bit and then she snapped, "If you don't give me the details, your name will be given to all American airports and you will never be able to enter the states again!" Shock.

I hung up at this point. There is no way I can pay a huge hospital bill at this point - we have 3 dc including a 3 month old and I am on mat leave. More to the point, why should I - I had adequate insurance and gave them all the details they asked for. I am upset by her threat but highly unlikely to ever afford to go there again anyway - if it does hold weight - does it Hmm?

AIBU?

OP posts:
Knowsabitabouteducation · 01/09/2012 23:01

*matter

Original poster
whysogrumpy · 01/09/2012 23:02

Tuttu Don't think that there are any garages that let you leave them without giving you a bill. I make no apology for the fact that, no, I didn't read my policy. I never thought I would use it and sfterwards i was too ill/stressed/tired/...

Knows It b;loody does matter what their procedures are when they don't give you a bill - how can you pay without one?

Welsh Your post has made me laugh, thank you - needed that Smile.

OP posts:
nooka · 01/09/2012 23:02

expat insurance and travel insurance aren't the same type of policy. For travel insurance they give you a number to call for assistance if you are ill/hurt and you are supposed to call that before you have any treatment. Mainly because they don't expect you to claim (most people on holiday don't get ill)

I broke my arm and jaw on holiday in the States (alone) and the hospital asked for my insurance paperwork before any treatment. I wasn't able to speak so the chap (I was in a group cycling) who brought me in rang the insurance company for me. I also had to make a credit card payment on leaving the hospital (with a broken right arm!). Then I got a multitude of bills for months, gradually getting more and more red lined until the insurance company reached a deal with all the different parties (hospital plus all the consultants).

It was horribly stressful, so I have every sympathy. But it wasn't the hospital's job to help you with your insurance, you should have read the policy when you took it out, and your dh should have looked at it again when you were in hospital (the bit about contacting the company is very unlikely to have been in fine print) or at the very least when you got home.

I don't know whether the call was from a debt collection agency or spam, but if the bill's not been paid they will chase you for what is a valid debt. There isn't in fact very much they can do about it though.

Tuttutitlookslikerain · 01/09/2012 23:04

Welsh, I wouldn't have given the person who phoned the OP, tonight, my credit card details. However, I would have read the insurance documents before we travelled and I would have got DH to have re read them whilst I was in hospital so we followed the correct procedure, because I would have been shit scared of something going wrong, them not paying out and me having a massive bill.

I don't understand anyone who flies to the US, especially newly pregnant, without making sure they are adequately insured, and I don't understand why someone would not read the bloody policy documents!

clam · 01/09/2012 23:05

"I make no apology for the fact that, no, I didn't read my policy."

No need to apologise to us. It's no skin off our noses. But it might be off yours!

storminabuttercup · 01/09/2012 23:10

If I were you I would forget about it, it sounds like the hospital messed up. You didn't get a bill therefore you couldn't pay and claim back, they didn't contact your insurance, their fault.

You were Ill, worried and out of your comfort zone.

Some replies on this thread are bordering on the downright crazy.

It's either a hospital fuck up or a scam

Ignore ignore ignore

DowagersHump · 01/09/2012 23:11

Woah! There's a hell of a lot of scaremongering going on in this thread. Hmm

I have also been in hospital in the US while on holiday. I gave them my insurance details when I was admitted (if you have no insurance, they won't admit you) and never heard another thing about it other than receiving a case closed bill for $4,000 (kind of a lot considering I had a scan and some pepto-bismol).

If there is a problem with the OP's travel insurance, then the company that insured her in the UK should have contacted her. Given they haven't in nearly a year, I'd guess they have paid out for her treatment and it's case closed. This sounds like a scam. Please rest easy, whysogrumpy

clam · 01/09/2012 23:12

And if you "make no apology" for not reading the policy, then it's a bit rich to complain about not being aware of the procedures when you're taken ill.

Casmama · 01/09/2012 23:18

FFS I think AIBU should be renamed come and give the OP a kicking as that is what it seems to be turning into. OP, I'm sorry that you are going through this stress as it sounds like it is the last thing you need at the moment. Whilst I do think it was a bit daft to get rid of your travel insurance documents I think I would just ignore this. I think there is a fair chance that it will go away and if not then any important time restrictions will already have been passed. Hope you hear nothing further from it and that your personal circumstances improve.

Original poster
whysogrumpy · 01/09/2012 23:20

ffs, Clam, I only said I made no apology for it in response to some prissy coment from another poster that I can't be bothered to look up now but was along the lines of "You would have known what to do had you read the policy."

Obviously, I should have read the shocking policy, yes. People should all read their policies and memorise them and, no matter how ill and anxious they are they should recall all the finer points. You have read the bits about how I was at the time - you know I didn't just stroll in with a srained wrist, yes?

Anyway, as I have said, I don't think this phone-call has anything to do with my lack of knowledge of my policy as I have recalled the fact that the woman said she was calling because she had lost my insurance details. So no need to assume I wasn't covered/should have authorised it, is there? Because that's not what she said.

OP posts:
JaquelineHyde · 01/09/2012 23:23

Why don't you ring the hospital back and ask for confirmation of what you have been told and any firther info you need before contacting your insurance company.

Sorry if this has already been said or you have already done it.

clam · 01/09/2012 23:23

Well, good luck with it all.

dreamingbohemian · 01/09/2012 23:34

Sorry but I think YABU

Do you really think it's okay to go to another country, use up thousands of dollars of medical care, and not be responsible for any of it?

Yes you were ill, but as soon as you got home you should have called your travel insurance about it. Ignorance is no excuse. It's not about memorising every line of your policy, it's about understanding the basic mechanisms of how travel insurance works.

IME if you go to hospital in the US you do not get a bill when you leave -- it takes time to put one together.

What kind of scam do people think is going on here? 'Oh let's call random British people and get their address?' What kind of profit is in that? You can buy address directories if you really want this stuff.

Anyway you are probably out of luck in that your travel insurance has several bases for denying your claim. But you are in luck in that realistically nothing will happen to you if you don't pay up. You're not going to be extradited, I can't imagine you would get blocked from entry.

SoupDragon · 01/09/2012 23:35

So, how was the OP meant to claim from her insurance when she wasn't billed?

Can one of the OP kickers please explain this part to me?

NurseRatched · 01/09/2012 23:35

OP... 'hypothetical'.. repeat: hypothetical. THEY are arses who should have contacted your insurance company at the time..

NurseRatched · 01/09/2012 23:36

OP... 'hypothetical'.. repeat: hypothetical. THEY are arses who should have contacted your insurance company at the time..

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 01/09/2012 23:37

She doesn't claim, the hospital does. Same as if you crash your car, the insurance companies sort it out but you have to tell them

SoupDragon · 01/09/2012 23:37

From the OP, the hospital representative said they had lost her insurance details. Whose fault is that then?

Tuttutitlookslikerain · 01/09/2012 23:38

Because,Soup, either she or her DH should've read the policy documents and it would have explained the procedure to them.

OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos · 01/09/2012 23:38

If they phone again, which they probably will if genuine, then ask for a name and number you can call them back on so you can have some idea if they were genuine.

Also thnk about the time difference. Did they call at a time of day her that would be 3am there?

if its genuine, obviously you have to pay somehow. It's your responsibility no matter what courtesys you think the hospital could have paid. But if it's genuine you will find out soon enough, and if it's not, you won't hear anything else.

You may as well put it out of your mind for now, and worry about it if they contact you again.

Fwiw, the only time I ever claimed on travel insurance through the bank I gave the details to the receptionist at the hospital and heard no more about it. I know the bill was paid because I asked my bank after we got home.

SoupDragon · 01/09/2012 23:39

If they had read the policy documents would that somehow have prevented the hospital from losing the details?

JollyHockeyStick · 01/09/2012 23:47

I'm actually really surprised that anyone is able to get travel insurance for a family without finding out what it covered.

I spent some time earlier this year organising travel insurance for our 10 day EU holiday. I made sure medical conditions and repatriation were covered as well as knowing what we could and couldn't do without invalidating our policy.

It's no wonder folk get screwed over buying insurance if they don't bother to check what is or isn't covered.

Op, yabu. You should have known to call your insurance company. And if you have invalidated your claim by not calling then you are responsible for paying the money.

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 01/09/2012 23:49

YANBU to not have given any details over the phone.

But I do find it bizarre, that you didn't even bother to check your documents when you got home and make a call to your insurance company to check that everything was in order.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 01/09/2012 23:52

I can't help wondering if the hospital rep was just being nice and didn't want to tell the OP her insurance had bounced.

dreamingbohemian · 01/09/2012 23:56

You can't have it both ways.

You can't say 'oh I'm not responsible for paying because I didn't read my policy and don't know how it works' and then also say 'I'm not responsible for paying because I thought the hospital and the insurance company had just taken care of everything'. Why would you think that if you never read anything about your policy?

I'm very sorry you were ill and had so many worries but you can't just stick your head in the sand and ignore financial liabilities.