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

[whysogrumpy]

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 ) 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!" .

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 ?

AIBU?

The OP might think about posting a question about her US debt in the legal forum.

While I do not condone walking away from debt with no intention to pay, there does seem to be some protection from US debt when living abroad. Collections agencies can sue abroad but it is often not worth their while for a relatively small debt.

As for returning to the US, there is a statute of limitations after 7 years.

It would be worth having the view of a lawyer, of there is one on Mumsnet.

I just spoke to my (US) dp, he reckons it is pretty unlikely you would be barred from entering the US.

However it is probable /possible that your debt could be passed on to a UK debt collection agency - apparently there are international agreements over this sort of thing.

Even if they do pass it on, its still not the end of the world.

Thinking about it, I'd just leave it for a while and see what happens.

Don't forget (just like here) you can pay it back in very small amounts. Living in the UK means you are protected.

I once had to pay $300 for a prescription (the pill) at a US hospital. My luggage had got lost and my pills were in it. I paid on the spot, and claimed it back from the insurance company. However, about 6 months later, I got a call just like yours. Fortunately I had the credit card receipt, so I could prove that I had paid.

So, if you were on a drip all day, the bill is bound to be very substantial. I would get in touch with your insurance company at the time and explain the situation. Unfortunately, I don't think the debt will disappear just by ignoring it.