I Owe $28,000 in Medical Bills. I Need Some Sponsors.
That’s right. THIS IS NOT A GIMMICK. My appendix surgery has really amassed a medical bill of over $28,000. Sadly, I don’t have health insurance. But this isn’t about not qualifying for insurance or anything like that. It’s about me needing to pay that bill, or better said, those bills because it’s more than one. They are all piled up on my dinning room table, collecting dust until I can pay them slowly. Or at all. I’m not just sitting on my butt all day not doing anything. I’ve had to recently get a dreaded 9 to 5. Just thinking of that hurts. But it’s not enough.
Google recently shut my Adsense account down too. I have not heard from them as to why (not holding my breath there). That’s a lost cause. I was relying on those checks to be able to pay the medical bills. I have tried various ways to generate some good revenue from the site but I can’t seem to anymore. It’s as if I lost my mojo. I tried Adbrite, Yahoo Publisher Network, and now PepperJam and Amazon. Adbrite was dismal. Yahoo netted me $0! I am hoping PepperJam and Amazon can start an upward trend.
What’s so frustrating is that I have some good traffic and readership. It’s just not working. I have implemented several things, affiliate offers, etc, etc, etc. I have direct ads available. This is one top of the line blog we are talking about here folks. It just doesn’t work as well as it should.
I have even dropped the advertising prices down a substantial amount. No takers. I have been mentioned on some prominent blogs. Folks should at least have heard of the site since I have tried hard to brand it. I have done a ton of hard work on my end. Doesn’t it show?
I will even consider taking a coupe of sponsors. Similar to NASCAR in which they become the sole sponsors of the site. I am open to anything folks, anything. I need to pay that $28,000 before they start ruining my life. Maybe even Oprah could save the day. Speaking of which, if you all can do anything that’ll get this any attention and in front of the right people, please do. You can use the little “Share” widget at the bottom of this post to share this with friends, i.e. Stumble Upon, Digg, Technorati, Send this Post Via Email, and a few other options.
Thank you in advance. That would rock.
Try Project Wondrful ads. I’ve heard lots of good things about them. A few friends of mine use them and say they gt paid more than what they were making on Google.
Hope you get some income coming in soon!
Thanks, I will check that out ASAP.
In regards to medical bills. As long as you pay something each month (most med bills have like a five dollar minimum) nothing bad happens. I ran into an issue with this a while back when I didn’t have medical insurance. I spoke to the hospital and setup a payment plan of $50.00 a month. It took me almost two years to pay it down, but it worked.
My husband’s appendix burst last May and he required emergency surgery. He was in the hospital less than a week. The bill, not counting the surgeon, family dr., E.R., E.R. doctor, anesthesiologist, etc. was $98,000. No joke. We are very fortunate to have 2 insurance policies — one through his employer, one through mine. Good luck to you. Hope that you are well, healthy, and get this matter resolved ASAP.
Hi Israel – I will take a featured ad on the sidebar please. But, I am not very wordpress savvy. Will it work ok if I make the ad in Photoshop? Email me to let me know and also how to pay.
Medical costs over there are horrendous. And I know that health insurance is not cheap either.
I know people complain about the NHS in our country – but we are lucky we have it.
How long will they give you to pay?
Thank you. I have sent you an email.
As well as making a minimum payment, talk to them and negotiate the bills. That is what insurance companies do and you can to and there is a good chance you can get them lowered. Here is some info to get you started
http://www.healthsymphony.com/bluenote2.htm
Good luck
I will give this a shot, Thank you for the info.
Hey Israel,
Keep your chin up no matter what. I’d love to buy sponsorship but with my site being 7 days old even the “fine dining” section wouldn’t fit in here. It’s a great offer. I also wanted to give you a shout out about ChipIn, a program that seems to work for some things. You can see it running on a site called wiredpig.us (its a police officers personal blog).
Good luck.
Gosh the price has gone up since 2000 when I had my appendix taken out. Back then the bill was $10,000 for the hospital, $2,500 for the doctor.
Depending on your income (and your wife’s) you might want to consider contacting the hospital about any program they might have for those who lack the means to pay their bill. At the time mine was taken out I was a college student with no income and no health insurance. My entire hospital bill was wiped clean via a charitable program run by the hospital. You will probably have to submit proof of income and such assuming you qualify. It is something worth looking into.
Been there, done that. But thanks.
I read about you on johnchows blog i am new blogger but i think it will be nice to advertise on your blog i will think bout it and let you know.
Thanks, it would be much appreciated.
Like most mentioned hit them up with the x amount of dollars per month to protect yourself.
I gave this post a plug on my site as well.I hope all goes well for you.
Steven Wilson
Thanks Steven, it’s appreciated.
“As long as you pay something each month (most med bills have like a five dollar minimum) nothing bad happens.”
Hey Israel I feel compelled to let you know that this advice is incorrect. Something bad can happen even if you send them a payment each month. Moreover, they are not legally obligated to accept a payment plan from you. This is coming from someone who has taken (and passed) Bankruptcy law, and worked in the Bankruptcy courts for trustees, debtors, and clerked for a judge.
Now historically hospitals have been one of the most generous industries when it comes to allowing you long periods of time to pay off your debt. However, that has all changed quite rapidly in the last decade or so. If you can get them to agree to a payment plan, good. But if they won’t and you try to send them checks each month, know that this won’t mean you aren’t at risk. Like I said, hospitals are increasingly turning over debts to vicious and nasty collections agencies that are simply more efficient (and ruthless) when it comes to collecting debt.
Even more reason to be concerned…
Am wondering where to start with my medical bills. Have one lump sum from hospital. Then lots of extra bills from the doc’s that checked in on me. Ranging from $83.00~$15,000.00. How do I begin to pay for these and not go to collections? I work part-time (only job I can find right now, and it’s seasonal, ending Jan. 09) $8.50 an hour. Maybe 15-20 hours a week. How’s this supposed to happen? I want to make sure to dispute anything overly outrageous on my bills before sending a $. Otherwise I’m screwed and acknowledging my consent to pay all these amounts in full. And will do so, or be harassed by the collections, sued, etc. These bills came after my 8 day stay in the hospital, after emergency room, June 2008.
You seemed to know more about that old adage (my mother mentioned) that sending them payments of $5.00 will keep them at bay and show them a sign of good intention. Not so, I fear.
Obviously, I’m uninsured.
Thanks, and any feedback would be appreciated.
Wendy
Wendy, have you tried communicating with the hospital? They usually have a person that will work with you and your financial situation.
Well the good news is that not all hospitals are cold hearted. They might work out a long term payment plan with you.
Otherwise, there is always the option of Bankruptcy. Assuming the equity you have in your home falls within your states bankruptcy exemptions, you could, if necessary follow that route and keep your home. I don’t know your income, but $28,000 is a lot of money. Your credit will be ruined for seven years (although you will probably find yourself getting credit offers much sooner). But it is worth weighing which is greater, the misery of paying off this unexpected bill or the harm to your credit from a bankruptcy.
The question is very personal and is based on a lot of variables. It might be worth getting a free consult with a bankruptcy attorney. BUT do make sure it is your last resort. Bankruptcies are never enjoyable, but sometimes they are the best alternative.
Why were you without insurance?
The answer is here: http://www.fatmanunleashed.com/am-i-too-fat-for-health-insurance/
I know the thing I totally don’t like is the fact that you “offer” only rotative ad spots. If I buy something, I want it to be fixed at that location for the duration of the period.
I have considered this, and maybe in a few months I will do that. I just wanted to have a different advertising layout then all the other blogs. Keep in mind that in order for me to do that I would have to charge more for a single static spot, then I would for rotating spots.
I’m not suggesting to go, static for every ad spots, no.
But having a blog on the right side with 4 or 6 125×125 STATIC ad spots available is a must. Yes it’s overdone on other blogs, but sometimes it’s better to have a very easily identifiable offer, that most advertisers knows already.
So, start with a few static ad spots at 25$ a month maximum and then move up if you see that the demand is really here.
Crap man. Hit me up for a 125×125 spot. Haven’t thought of what to put up there yet but shoot me an email if it’s still available and I’ll work on a ad this weekend.
EMail sent. thanks.
Maybe you can make more money with your website. If you would do sponsored reviews and sell your blog theme you would make like BloggingExperiment a lot of money I can assure you.
I’m not sure how much revenue your blog brings but there are ways to monetize it to atleast make a few thousand dollars a month.