Desperate for a miracle, White was making signs to picket Mat-Su Regional Medical Center when he received an unexpected letter from the hospital. A $46,000 debt owed the medical center for the last of three operations that took his legs had been forgiven.
“Wow, that was unexpected,” White said. “I’m not sure who it is I’m supposed to thank for it, but apparently someone must’ve seen the articles.”
 ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Jim White lost his legs to Peripheral Degenerative Vascular Disease, but is relieved now that Mat-Su Regional Medical Center has forgiven a $46,000 debt associated with his amputation surgeries. |
Because he could no longer drive a school bus, White filed for Social Security, which was the beginning of a financial nightmare for his family that accompanied the shock of losing his limbs.
White’s Social Security payments pushed his income $28 a month over the state’s maximum income for Medicaid and he lost his Medicaid health insurance.
What White didn’t know at the time was that he qualified to apply for a program, called Miller’s trust, that would get him back on Medicaid and return his medical coverage. By that time, he said, three surgeries had taken place.
Overall, White estimates his medical bills for that month at about $150,000. Mat-Su Regional Medical Center had already decided his insurance covered the first two surgeries, but that the third would not be reimbursed by Medicaid.
“They count each one as a separate visit, even though I was in the hospital nearly that whole time,” he said. “Originally, when (the hospital) started looking at everything, they decided I qualified for the first two surgeries of the bill, but because there was no paperwork filled out on the third surgery I had to cover that.”
When Mat-Su Regional Medical Center checked into White’s case, it was discovered he qualified for financial assistance through one of the hospital’s various programs, said Robin Thompson, director of patient financial services.
“We have many programs available for patients who receive medical care,” Thompson said. “Each patient has access to a financial counselor. The counselor reviews existing insurance coverage, self-pay discounts and loan opportunities with the individual and then reviews the financial application with each individual to determine which assistance program(s) he may be eligible for.”
White is one such patient, Thompson said, adding that in 2008 Mat-Su Regional provided more than $7 million in charity case financial help and another nearly $2.5 million in discounts for those who trying to pay their bill
Although it was difficult putting his personal struggles — both physical and financial — out for public consumption, White said the response from the community has been overwhelming. One person noticed in photos that ran with the February stories that White uses a woodburning stove for heat, so they brought over a load of firewood. Another called to say he had connections that could possibly get White a motorized wheelchair. Someone even submitted an application on White’s behalf for ABC’s “Extreme Home Makeover” television program, where the network builds a new house for a deserving family. White hasn’t heard back on that yet.
White said his story has also help shed some light on the Medicaid system and that, for some, there are options like the Miller’s trust that can keep recipients from losing their health care coverage. White learned the hard way, something he hopes won’t happen to others.
“I hope people will be a little bit more prepared and know a little bit more than I did, especially about the Miller’s trust,” White said.
One creditor recently called White seeking payment on a bill and he told her about the Miller’s trust and how it has been set up for his health care needs. The person on the other end of the phone was so interested she called White back seeking advice for a situation with her own family.
The former school bus driver said he never had any real hostile feelings against the hospital and that he’s overwhelmed with gratitude for the recent decision to absorb the debt.
“I’m not out of the woods,” he said. “There are other bills that I owe to other places, some of the doctors in town, but nothing the size of the hospital bill.”
And while his trailer house is modest, it is bought and paid for, White said.
“Now I can go back to the way I was,” he said, adding the motivation to fix his place up has returned now that he’ll be doing it for his family and not to sell off to settle debts. “The tension and the pressure ... has really decreased for everyone in the house. I want to try and clean things up and get (the home) looking better.”
But it has been the generosity of Mat-Su Regional Medical Center that has provided White and his family their greatest lift since the ordeal began, he said.
“Boy, I’d sure like to thank whoever it was that did this for us, and I’m glad it came when it did,” he said. “I have some hope now. I can see some light at the end of the tunnel, when before I couldn’t. You gotta have some kind of hope.”
Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.
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