International Medical Debt

rising_from_the_ashes

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

Ah, I hate to say it but I can see why they're refusing if they're stating the hypertension was a pre-existing condition. High blood pressure is a huge contributing factor for heart attacks, plus the stress of the flights/heat etc is a recipe for disaster. However it doesn't sound like it was explained very well to your poor parents.
Definitely get some advice from a solicitor.Don't bother with CAB they'll just tell you about complaints process/ombudsmen and accessing a solicitor.

What a horrible situation to be in

Again agree with the above ^^^^

TBH if they had offered additional insurance for pre-existing conditions (as noted above) then I wouldn't expect them to pay out for a condition that may have caused or contributed to the condition that arose

I do agree proper legal advice is needed to find out if you can make a claim - I think your strongest case for doing so / hopefully getting them to over-turn it, is that it wasn't properly explained exactly what the additional insurance was needed for and why it had been offered and the impact of not taking it would mean

Good luck

FBaby

The issue is not whether the insurance should have paid out. This clearly has been ironed out now, went to ambudsman and failed.

The question is whether the hopsital can chase for the debts, what would happened if they didn't pay, how they can try to repay in installment, could they take them to court in the UK for the sale of their house.

I think this is a very specialised query and unlikely you'll get much answer here. I do wish you and your parents good luck. What an absolute nightmare. Still, she clearly received excellent care and is alive which might not have been the case had they been travelling elsewhere, so from that perspective, the money might not be much compared to her still being with you.

fatbelly

LisaW20 wrote: »

.

Will they be forced to sell their home?

No.

I don't know the full answer to your questions. I suspect there is no reciprocal agreement with the USA but there may be with Switzerland, as an EFTA country.

The worst case scenario that I can see (and even this may not be possible) is that the debt gets assigned to the Swiss company who get a judgement in their country against your mother and transfer it to a UK court for enforcement.

They could then apply for a charging order. If they tried an order for sale it is not likely that a UK court would grant this on a jointly owned home lived in by two elderly/ill people.

They do need proper advice. In addition to the points others have made there may be some defensive action they can take.

stevemLS

fatbelly wrote: »

No.

I don't know the full answer to your questions. I suspect there is no reciprocal agreement with the USA but there may be with Switzerland, as an EFTA country.

The worst case scenario that I can see (and even this may not be possible) is that the debt gets assigned to the Swiss company who get a judgement in their country against your mother and transfer it to a UK court for enforcement.

They could then apply for a charging order. If they tried an order for sale it is not likely that a UK court would grant this on a jointly owned home lived in by two elderly/ill people.

They do need proper advice. In addition to the points others have made there may be some defensive action they can take.

There is no reciprocal debt enforcement arrangement with the USA but even then there are other avenues available.

One is assignment as mentioned, which need not to be a Swiss agent but could be to a UK agent, Capita has been mentioned.

There is a discussion of other avenues in this article http://www.drukker.co.uk/publications/reference/recognition-foreign-judgments/#.VTbzMELX-FI

Very sorry about this - but as others have said, you need to take proper advice.

LionessInWinter

I would contact the hospital in the US directly to find out if they will accept reduced payments.

I'm in the US and someone I know had a relative visiting and she was in the hospital for 5 days and I think they tried to collect but the person wrote back explaining the situation and I believe it was written off. I dont think it was anywhere near your costs but it won't hurt to try.

LisaW20

Archergirl wrote: »

Do they have legal cover with their household ins? Not sure if it would cover this but worth an ask if they have it.

I will definitely get them to check this out, thank you.

LisaW20

FBaby wrote: »

The issue is not whether the insurance should have paid out. This clearly has been ironed out now, went to ambudsman and failed.

The question is whether the hopsital can chase for the debts, what would happened if they didn't pay, how they can try to repay in installment, could they take them to court in the UK for the sale of their house.

I think this is a very specialised query and unlikely you'll get much answer here. I do wish you and your parents good luck. What an absolute nightmare. Still, she clearly received excellent care and is alive which might not have been the case had they been travelling elsewhere, so from that perspective, the money might not be much compared to her still being with you.

You hit the nail on the head. They saved her life....I honestly believe if she had been here when it happened we may have lost her. They were just so amazing and fast to act over there. That's the kicker - they deserve to be paid, and if we could we would.

At the end of the day, having my mum still with us trumps everything.....but it doesn't stop them worrying I guess.

LisaW20

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

Ah, I hate to say it but I can see why they're refusing if they're stating the hypertension was a pre-existing condition. High blood pressure is a huge contributing factor for heart attacks, plus the stress of the flights/heat etc is a recipe for disaster. However it doesn't sound like it was explained very well to your poor parents.

We know that the insurance company and the Ombudsman were essentially correct....but you are completely right in saying it wasn't explained properly to my parents. They did not understand at all that by not taking out the additional insurance, they we pretty much not covered for anything where my mum is concerned

LisaW20

fatbelly wrote: »

No.

I don't know the full answer to your questions. I suspect there is no reciprocal agreement with the USA but there may be with Switzerland, as an EFTA country.

The worst case scenario that I can see (and even this may not be possible) is that the debt gets assigned to the Swiss company who get a judgement in their country against your mother and transfer it to a UK court for enforcement.

They could then apply for a charging order. If they tried an order for sale it is not likely that a UK court would grant this on a jointly owned home lived in by two elderly/ill people.

They do need proper advice. In addition to the points others have made there may be some defensive action they can take.

Thank you so much.....I had some of these thoughts swirling around in my head after reading about charging orders on the internet, but your post has helped me make sense of them.

My father is meeting with a solicitor at Age Concern on Friday, so we will see what their take on it is. many thanks

LisaW20

stevemLS wrote: »

There is no reciprocal debt enforcement arrangement with the USA but even then there are other avenues available.

One is assignment as mentioned, which need not to be a Swiss agent but could be to a UK agent, Capita has been mentioned.


Very sorry about this - but as others have said, you need to take proper advice.

Thank you, we're on it