My friend Wendy is DEAD: she couldn't buy broccoli

[Ms. Toad]

63. Call the hospital and ask to speak with their financial counselor

Depending on your resources and income, there are typically programs to cover care for people who can't afford it (but they don't tend to make it obvious). If you are lucky, there will be a sentence or so about it on the bills that will give you a more specific clue as to where to start.

Bu as to the insurance - it isn't ideal, but it is a lot better than what was available pre HCRA. My daughter (21) would have been paying around $1500 a month, assuming she timed it perfectly and was able to enroll during open enrollment period. Under the PCIP plan, her premium would be $164. Given that her bills for the first two months of this year are > $8000, that's a pretty good deal. (She's covered under my insurance, at the moment, but until the HCRA, we were actively investigating how to cover her since she isn't able to be a full time student)