A few years ago, I went in for what I was told would be a covered preventive procedure: a colonoscopy and endoscopy. What I didn’t know was that if the doctor found and removed polyps during that visit, the procedure would be automatically reclassified by insurance as a treatment rather than a screening. That reclassification meant it was no longer covered under my insurance. 

We didn’t choose for polyps to be there. We didn’t choose for them to be removed, that’s just what doctors do when they find them. But because of the way insurance billing works, that one appointment went from fully covered to fully out-of-pocket overnight.

The bill went unpaid while we tried to navigate appeals, financial hardship, and our own difficult circumstances, including ongoing disability and health challenges. Eventually it went to collections, and we’ve spent the past year dealing with the legal fallout of that. We’re working to negotiate a settlement to finally close this out but the collection agency will not settle. Even small contributions bring us closer to peace of mind and one less thing we’re carrying.

If you’ve ever been surprised by a medical bill that felt completely out of your control, you know how exhausting and demoralizing it is. We’re ready to be done with this chapter.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for anything you’re able to give. It means more than we can say.