How $57,000 + in bills got slashed down to $9,082.48

God provides a miracle.

Photo: Unsplash

Hello Financial Healers,

My Dad has a saying, “God is a deliverer by nature. It’s not if He will deliver you, but when.”

I’ve experienced this in my own life. Last month my wife and I had over $57,000 in medical debt slashed down to $9,000!! But how?

Financial assistance. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s wonderful.

The only downside to financial assistance is how hard the application process is. The hoops you have to jump through are numerous, but if you’re out of options, it’s worth it.

My quest for financial assistance

Even if you have great insurance, dealing with medical care can be a nightmare. Some of us don’t have proper coverage, so resolving it is even worse.

Back in 2022, my wife was admitted to the ER, which turned into a 3 day stay. After she was discharged, we had a bill that totaled to around $59,000. You can imagine my reaction.

Side note: we had a very slow healthshare, which left us out to dry, so we had to resolve the issue ourselves. Thankfully, my story ends happily, but there are others who have to resort to other options like bankruptcy.

I knew we’d never be able to pay, so we did what seemed the only option: financial aid.

Now, the path to salvation wasn’t easy, but it did help. If you need assistance with your bills, I hope my story encourages you.

Here’s how I applied for financial assistance. I hope this works for you, too:👇

1. I asked my hospital about financial aid.

My wife and I didn’t know about financial assistance. We heard about it from some random influencer on Instagram. (I don’t remember her name. Whoever it was saved me $50,000.)

Turns out not many people know about financial help, because hospitals keep it a well-guarded secret. (This serves as a gatekeeping tactic to keep many applicants out. It’s a sad, but not surprising tactic.)

Once I found out about financial aid, I called the hospital and asked how to apply. I got the information and immediately began my long journey to debt forgiveness.

2. I jumped through a million hoops

The biggest downside of applying for financial aid was the amount of obstacles standing in my way. Hospitals throw so many roadblocks at you. Again, this is a gatekeeping tactic.

One facility, CHLA, only gave me 14 days to submit all my paperwork. They also required my family to apply for MediCal. We had to send in our approval or disapproval within that time frame. It was stressful!

3. I sent in a lot of information

To process my application, I needed to mail/scan tons of documents. Here’s a sample of what a hospital may require:

Aspirus Health has a 19-item checklist, including tax returns, pay stubs, retirement-account documentation, mortgage information and three months of bank statements showing all deposits and withdrawals. The form demands the make, model and loan balance on all vehicles, along with the applicant’s monthly costs for 17 categories, from water and sewer charges to cable-TV bills and alimony. It also asks if any member of the household is pregnant. Patients have 10 days to complete the application.

As you can see, it’s a ton of work. If you’re employed and have kids, it’s nearly impossible to get done, but if you push through, the reward is great.

4. I never gave up, even when I wanted to…

There were so many times I wanted to quit. I remember calling my wife one night, weeping, because I had lost our son’s social security card, and I needed it for MediCal. (Thankfully, I found it days later, and submitted it on time… another miracle.)

All in all, the process took me around 30 days to get approved. Both hospitals sent me letters during the month and demanded more details. In each case, I dropped everything and submitted the paperwork as soon as possible.

In the end, I was fully forgiven for one $11,000 MRI bill, and a massive ER bill was slashed to $9,000. I remember telling my wife, God came through! We were shocked.

And that’s it!

It’s so hard dealing with medical debt. It can feel like you’re dangling off a cliff, eyeing the sharp rocks below. This reminds me of how the Israelites were trapped against the Red Sea. I can imagine their terror as Pharaoh’s army closed in on them.

Good news is God saved the Israelites. Since He’s the same today as He was then, I know He can deliver you, too.

If you’re facing a Red Sea moment, pray for God to liberate you.

My wife and I were at the end of our hope. We were so stressed and broke. We could barely afford groceries! Now we have a testimony we’ll never forget.

If you’re feeling numb because of medical debt, here’s my prayer for you:

God, deliver everyone reading this from crippling debt. Give them courage to overcome obstacles. Grant them peace as they move forward, even when they feel like giving up. Thank You that this debt crisis is not a punishing lesson; it’s simply a horrible circumstance that needs to be resolved. Turn this condition into an unforgettable testimony. I pray this in Jesus’s Name. Amen.

Join Stephen’s live coaching session

If you have questions about debt, or want to pick Stephen’s brain about money, hop on to our live coaching session this afternoon at 3:30 PM (CA time).

You’ll find a safe community of entrepreneurs, who are honing their budgeting skills and building net worth.

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Grateful for financial assistance,
Cory De Silva

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About: Cory De Silva is an American poet, singer/songwriter, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He has released two studio albums, appeared in three feature-length films, and published a small book of poetry. He is a graduate of Cal State University Long Beach, and lives in Northern California with his wife, Colleen, and their son, Bryght.