i had a similar incident happen to me a year ago. i was in a car accident & ended up in the hospital for 2-wk's. i had just lost my insurance, and currently i'm still without it, but i applied for medicaid since i'm pregnant.
but back to the fortune of my accident! i received tons & tons of medical bills. i laughed when i read some of them because i was charged outrageous amounts for things i don't even remember having done to me. it's ridiculous! but i can't argue it. i called the hospital to see if there was anything that could be done. they went on & on about charity care, and sent me the paperwork. when i received it, i began filling it out. at the time, i didn't live at home with my parents, even though i was 19. i worked two jobs & paid all my bills without their help. and yet, the charity care paperwork couldn't be filed without their financial information. i knew once they found out how much my father brought in, i'd be denied any financial aid. therefore, i gave up trying.
thus, i ignored the bills. and now - my outstanding credit is well, no longer outstanding. ugh! i'm currently paying $25 a month to pay off my biggest bill. it'll be year before that bill is out of my life. other than that, there's nothing i can do. i looked into medicaid paying for it if i get accepted. but i believe they only pay bills from within the past 3 months? i could be wrong. you'd have to ask your case worker like a previous poster suggested.
good luck.
