WAPA Board Votes to Raise Rates

Of the $31million owed to WAPA by the Government of the Virgin Islands, $20 million of that is owed by the hospitals. The current increase will cost the average household an additional $13/month and will stave of further deterioration of our bond rating.

P.S.C. DENIES W.A.P.A. ELECTRIC RATE INCREASE; PLACES REQUEST UNDER 60-DAY REVIEW

http://viconsortium.com/business/p-s-c-denies-w-a-p-a-electric-rate-increase-places-request-under-60-day-review/

Sound reasoning - and gratifying to see that both meetings,"were filled with residents". That $20 million owed to WAPA by the hospitals would sure go a long way towards solving the problem ...

Just as devil's advocate: The hospitals are required to treat all who enter the ER doors. They are not allowed to discharge them if there isn't a safe place for them to go. Many of these are people who have no insurance, have no money, and have no family support. Some are here illegally. So guess who pays for them?

It's a vicious cycle, for sure. BUT the hospitals are in part to blame for their huge deficits as their billing and collection system is (and it's been so for years) completely inefficient.

There was a well known system in place on STX to defer JFL bill payments. One simply went to the JFL financial office with their final bill and asked the nice lady for the "$100 a month plan". There was no means test in place or other investigation as to one's ability to pay, income, etc. The nice clerk simple took your word for it.

I followed these instructions, took my $10K bill in and was immediately and without question put on the "Plan". I received exactly one bill for $100 the following month which I promptly paid.

In the 10+ years since, I've never received another bill, phone call or collection attempt.

I would have been happy to pay the $100 a month if they'd continued to send the bill but if its not important to them, its certainly not important to me.

Why wouldn't you pay what you owe?
Just because they didn't send a bill, you still have the moral obligation to pay a debt..

Why wouldn't you pay what you owe?
Just because they didn't send a bill, you still have the moral obligation to pay a debt..

Morality is individual. Just because you or I would feel compelled, doesn't mean others would or should. Damn ethics are keeping me from making a fortune here selling woo.

Why wouldn't you pay what you owe?
Just because they didn't send a bill, you still have the moral obligation to pay a debt..

Because business transactions just don't work like that. Unless you have the equivalent of a real or virtual "payment book" you receive statements showing what you've paid, balance due and next due date.

There was a well known system in place on STX to defer JFL bill payments. One simply went to the JFL financial office with their final bill and asked the nice lady for the "$100 a month plan". There was no means test in place or other investigation as to one's ability to pay, income, etc. The nice clerk simple took your word for it.

I followed these instructions, took my $10K bill in and was immediately and without question put on the "Plan". I received exactly one bill for $100 the following month which I promptly paid.

In the 10+ years since, I've never received another bill, phone call or collection attempt.

I would have been happy to pay the $100 a month if they'd continued to send the bill but if its not important to them, its certainly not important to me.

This is a common method of payment and one that I have used for 20+ years. Receive a high bill from the hospital after insurance has paid their amount, call the hospital and request to be placed on a billing plan. They ask "How much can you afford?" without needing financial statements. File is flagged as being paid upon to avoid any collection procedures or interest. Then gradually pay it off. Hospitals on the mainland don't forget that you owe, unfortunately.

Why wouldn't you pay what you owe?
Just because they didn't send a bill, you still have the moral obligation to pay a debt..

Because business transactions just don't work like that. Unless you have the equivalent of a real or virtual "payment book" you receive statements showing what you've paid, balance due and next due date.

That's BS.
You can call, let them know you haven't recently your billing and request a current bill. To do otherwise is theft. And then everyone wonders why the hospitals are in debt. I'm not saying that the hospital isn't at fault as well but that doesn't excuse becoming a leech on the system..

Why wouldn't you pay what you owe?
Just because they didn't send a bill, you still have the moral obligation to pay a debt..

Morality is individual. Just because you or I would feel compelled, doesn't mean others would or should. Damn ethics are keeping me from making a fortune here selling woo.

You and me, both.

That's BS.

You must be on another plane or planet - so NOT "BS".

What?
You can't pick up a phone and call to inquire why you haven't gotten a bill?
That's BS!

Why wouldn't you pay what you owe?
Just because they didn't send a bill, you still have the moral obligation to pay a debt..

Because business transactions just don't work like that. Unless you have the equivalent of a real or virtual "payment book" you receive statements showing what you've paid, balance due and next due date.

That's BS.
You can call, let them know you haven't recently your billing and request a current bill. To do otherwise is theft. And then everyone wonders why the hospitals are in debt. I'm not saying that the hospital isn't at fault as well but that doesn't excuse becoming a leech on the system..

(tu)(tu)

Agreed. It's tempting to take advantage of an incompetent business. But in the end, I see pure rationalization to get out of paying what one owes. Having had to use their services this week, the ways that unpaid $9900 could have been put to good use are fresh on my mind. If anything, it, along with everyone else's unpaid debt, could have gone toward paying the electric bill. Then maybe we all wouldn't have been threatened with a WAPA rate increase. What goes around comes around.

So the hospital sent me a bill 18 months after my procedure. They did not process the claim against my insurance company. I changed insurance companies 4 months ago and the old company will not accept the claim because it was submitted 90 days after my account was closed.

Now, am I obligated to pay this bill???

So the hospital sent me a bill 18 months after my procedure. They did not process the claim against my insurance company. I changed insurance companies 4 months ago and the old company will not accept the claim because it was submitted 90 days after my account was closed.

Now, am I obligated to pay this bill???

Yep. Last I checked, the hospital had telephone service. And I'll bet your insurance company did too.

So the hospital sent me a bill 18 months after my procedure. They did not process the claim against my insurance company. I changed insurance companies 4 months ago and the old company will not accept the claim because it was submitted 90 days after my account was closed.

Now, am I obligated to pay this bill???

Yep. Last I checked, the hospital had telephone service. And I'll bet your insurance company did too.

So if they had submitted the insurance on a timely basis, they insurance would have paid 100% of the bill. Because of their ineptitude, I should be the one to pay 100% of the bill? Really?

Guess what happened?

So the hospital sent me a bill 18 months after my procedure. They did not process the claim against my insurance company. I changed insurance companies 4 months ago and the old company will not accept the claim because it was submitted 90 days after my account was closed.

Now, am I obligated to pay this bill???

Yep. Last I checked, the hospital had telephone service. And I'll bet your insurance company did too.

So if they had submitted the insurance on a timely basis, they insurance would have paid 100% of the bill. Because of their ineptitude, I should be the one to pay 100% of the bill? Really?
I would not pay that bill. You were not responsible based on your insurance for it. Their incompetence is at fault. Completely different if you go in uninsured and know you own a large balance. I would feel obligated to pay that.

Guess what happened?

So the hospital sent me a bill 18 months after my procedure. They did not process the claim against my insurance company. I changed insurance companies 4 months ago and the old company will not accept the claim because it was submitted 90 days after my account was closed.

Now, am I obligated to pay this bill???

Yep. Last I checked, the hospital had telephone service. And I'll bet your insurance company did too.

So if they had submitted the insurance on a timely basis, they insurance would have paid 100% of the bill. Because of their ineptitude, I should be the one to pay 100% of the bill? Really?

Guess what happened?

In 18 months, you didn't inquire about the status of your debt obligation that you knew you had incurred? Really? Just another example of rationalization.

So the hospital sent me a bill 18 months after my procedure. They did not process the claim against my insurance company. I changed insurance companies 4 months ago and the old company will not accept the claim because it was submitted 90 days after my account was closed.

Now, am I obligated to pay this bill???

Yep. Last I checked, the hospital had telephone service. And I'll bet your insurance company did too.

So if they had submitted the insurance on a timely basis, they insurance would have paid 100% of the bill. Because of their ineptitude, I should be the one to pay 100% of the bill? Really?

Guess what happened?

In 18 months, you didn't inquire about the status of your debt obligation that you knew you had incurred? Really? Just another example of rationalization.

No, I did KNOW there was a bill. Ever had an extended stay for a major condition? There are dozens of bills.

So the hospital sent me a bill 18 months after my procedure. They did not process the claim against my insurance company. I changed insurance companies 4 months ago and the old company will not accept the claim because it was submitted 90 days after my account was closed.

Now, am I obligated to pay this bill???

Yep. Last I checked, the hospital had telephone service. And I'll bet your insurance company did too.

So if they had submitted the insurance on a timely basis, they insurance would have paid 100% of the bill. Because of their ineptitude, I should be the one to pay 100% of the bill? Really?

Guess what happened?

In 18 months, you didn't inquire about the status of your debt obligation that you knew you had incurred? Really? Just another example of rationalization.

I'm sorry. Never once have I ever checked on the status of a bill that was not my responsibility. Any bill I would have received outside my required deductibles and copays would be returned with a FOAD stamp on it

It is the hospitals responsibility to issue the bill and Bill the insurance company if they participate in the particular insurance program. There is only 90 days up to one year for Medicare. I have multiple friends here with insurance who were never billed for over one year. Regardless of phone calls to the Hosp billing office. Hospitals here have incompetent billing departments.

Something similar happened to me years ago when I had full medical coverage and had one-day surgery on STT. Insurance paid the bill and I heard nothing from the hospital but a year later received a letter from a collection agency demanding payment of the surgical bill. I was completely flummoxed and immediately contacted (in writing) the local surgeon with copy to the collection agency and the insurance company.

Then followed several months of a complete runaround trying to get a copy of the operative report. The insurance company needed it by a certain date to honor the claim, the surgeon said the report had been dictated but the hospital apparently hadn't transcribed it, and when I went in person to the hospital to try and get a copy of the report they said they didn't have it, didn't know where it was and couldn't help. The date to submit the claim to the insurance company passed and when the collection agency started calling me at my place of employment threatening court action for non-payment, I told them basically to stuff it and take it up with the hospital. That was the end of it. The bill was never paid.

But it seems that according to the moralists here I should have contacted the hospital, begged their forgiveness for THEIR mishandling and made arrangements to personally pay the bill which, had they done their job, would have been covered in full by the insurance company. Got it.

.... Any bill I would have received outside my required deductibles and copays would be returned with a FOAD stamp on it

Could have made a fortune this week selling FOAD Stamps to all those businesses that received demand letters for their unemployment insurance. 😎