debutaunt.com

Shrill Collector

How not to make my day:

Call about a medical bill at 8:00am. Although with the killer headache, it feels like 4am.
Tell me I need to pay the $250 to MD Anderson that I still owe from Oct or Nov 2005.

I agree to pay, of course - I'd be happy to; but don't want direct withdrawal from my checking account in case I have an emergency. I'm low on the extra disposable income, ya know, the whole not working thing and all.

She tells me she can set me up on a low bill plan if I have them directly withdraw it from my account.

"Um. No." What part of no do you not understand?

She starts going over my expenses and wants to know how much I get from disability.

"I don't want to tell you," I reply.

"Well I can't qualify you for a plan unless I know your income amount and your expenses. (for $250?? I could see if I owed like $250K, but two fiddy?)

She asks me what was my plan with MD Anderson when I was there.

"UM. NOT DYING!! That was kind of the plan."

Didn't quite think about the out of pocket when they were billing me $137K for a five day chemo stay. Which I did at least 5 times. $40K for the four-day bronchitis. I don't want to know about the MONTH long stay for my transplant or the THREE WEEK stay for encephalitis. Or even the week stay for the bad headaches where I saw every brain specialist they threw at me. Blah, blah, blah. They keep me alive. And I love them.

They have gotten a lot of money from my insurance company. They were also kind enough to write off some of my out of pocket. Please don't harass me for 250 bucks.

"Ok. So what do you get from disability?"

I tell her. Silence.

"Well that's a lot more money than most people take home anyway (I was assuming her). You *should* be able to pay this off."

I start listing expenses. You wanna play that f*cking game?

Car Payment
Car Insurance
Life Insurance
Renter's Insurance
Storage feel (expensive!)
School tuition (thanks Debu_Dad)
2 other hospital bills
Medical insurance for Zoe
Lunch fees for school
Uniforms (last years were $700)
Cobra payment for me
Gas and/or maintenance
Starbucks. Hey. My damn medical insurance really should pay for that as it stops the headaches every day. Cheaper than some drug anyway.

Uh. Food. Clothes for me once in a grand while.

Do you really want me to go on?

"Well do you get child support?" Yes. If you could call it that. I save it in case Zoes needs to see a doc, since her dad doesn't pay her monthly medical insurance. I don't press the issue because he keeps her for a while during the summer. Although right now I think I have about $3.82 in my savings.

Happy now?

Wait, Shrill Collector. I forgot my meds. Yes. I'm in remission. But I still take about 40 pills a day. EVERY day. And even with a copay they are not cheap. I have spent over $900 a month on them several times. That's why I need my financial aid from MDA. $5 copays. It's worth the drive to H-town to save $600 a month on meds.

"So. Can we set up a payment plan?" I ask.

Back to the direct withdrawal crap.

"So, if I mail them a check directly, they won't cash that?"

"No. They would apply it to any current bills. So do the direct withdrawal and the calls will stop. (I don't care about the calls, most of the time I don't answer because I recognize the number) Like I said, you should (she says rudely as shit) be able to afford it."

"The only thing I *should* still be doing is sleeping. And not getting harassed over a $250 bill. I have a snotty cold and can't get rid of this cough I've had now for three weeks. I should be able to do a lot of things. One of them is to hang up on you, bitch"

I'm just not so nice sometimes. I wouldn't have been an ass had she not been so rude with her tone. She just quite didn't get that, yes, while I do receive some income and sometimes it works for me, it's not enough to cover expenses sometimes. If I had to pay rent, I'd never make it at all. If I get sick, it's worse because they make me take more meds. Whatever. It's my situation and I just wasn't feeling like having a judge hang me over $250. Especially a rude one.

I'm a Cancer who had cancer. We are the crabs. Fairly cool until you start jacking with us! Then watch out. I don't have patience for bill collectors. I think that would be the crappiest job on the planet. I'd rather clean up after zoo animals than have to call people who are in kind of difficult situations and tell them to fork up money. I've had some nice ones though who were like.. woah... that's awesome that you are in remission. God bless you and take care.

I'll pay when I can pay. If not, my life insurance will pay it when I die. Happy?

I can do this. Just don't call so early.

Your assignment for today is to do something charitable. You know, the whole pay it forward kind of thing without the kid getting stabbed in the end. I have a friend in SA who works alot. But he decided to take some time to volunteer at the food bank. If you know someone is having a hard time, send them a sweet card. Find something online that you can send to our soldiers. There are many sites that will ship it for free if you make a donation. And if you can't do that, well then just be nice to someone who seems like they are having a bad day. I know I look like a ginourmous goober all the time because I really do smile at strangers. It takes them off-guard. Aside from my occasional debu_bitching, I usually just try to be happy. It honestly feels good and immediately puts you in a good mood.

My Sis #3 and her b/f really appreciated the house cleaning. I plan on keeping it up. That way no one minds if I stay longer than a normal guest. Besides, they have been so good and sweet to me that I just want to help make their lives easier. I love them!

I miss my siblings. I wish we could all take a vaca together with all of them!

Posted by debutaunt at June 20, 2007 01:47 PM