Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Yes, you can enter into payment arrangements with the hospital, but be cautious. Hospitals are not banks and they are not going to let you pay out the bill over a very long time. I have heard of some hospitals enrolling a patient into a finance program. In the alternative, some hospitals turn over the debt to a medical collection agency. Even if you do not have health insurance, you may be able to negotiate the cost of any types of elective procedures. Although this will not help if something catastrophic happens and negotiation is not an option as hospital charges can amass very very quickly.

All of this points to the need for real healthcare reform, which we do not have in the US. To paraphrase the words of Allen Grayson, the representative from Florida, our healthcare system has a plan - "if you don't have health insurance, the plan is not to get sick and if you do get sick, die quickly" This is no plan at all and I sympathize with your plight.

While you did not ask about this directly, PA does have something called the doctrine of necessaries which is codified in the statute below. The doctrine is that just because one person has contracted for medical services, the other spouse is not immune from liability.

23 Pa.C.S.A. � 4102 - Proceedings in case of debts contracted for necessaries

In all cases where debts are contracted for necessaries by either spouse for the support and maintenance of the family, it shall be lawful for the creditor in this case to institute suit against the husband and wife for the price of such necessaries and, after obtaining a judgment, have an execution against the spouse contracting the debt alone; and, if no property of that spouse is found, execution may be levied upon and satisfied out of the separate property of the other spouse.

Although you are not ready for the nursing home anytime soon, I also found this article which I thought might be interesting for you:

http://www.paelderlaw.com/pdf/k_pearson_presentation.pdf