Hi there...

Sorry to crash your board, but I wanted to respond since I have been in a similar situation myself.

Two summers ago I collapsed at work and had to be taken to the hospital. I was unable to work for quite a while and the medical bills really added up. I discovered that, as someone mentioned above, many times hospitals/insurance companies/ambulance companies will be very willing to work out a payment plan for you. I paid off my bills in measly $10/month increments until I started working again. Generally, as long as they know they will eventually get the money, they will be co-operative.

I know working with insurance companies can be frustrating! Take detailed notes when you talk on the phone with them... in my case I got a helpful claims tech. one time and was able to reference her and what she told me when other people from the ins. company told me things that were wrong and would have cost me a lot more money.