In order to combine his studies at the University of Utah with a job, Luke H., 19, works part-time, about 20 hours a week. “That’s the most you can work as a student and it’s only $10 an hour,” he says. So an unexpected trip to the hospital resulting in a medical debt of thousands of dollars left him uncertain about his future.
Luke was playing tennis with a friend when the ball hit his eye. Though it hurt, he hoped it would heal within a few days. Instead, his eye seemed to be getting worse. “It was swollen, it was red. Eventually, I think the iris itself was bleeding or there was blood that would pull up in the iris,” he describes.
After about three days, Luke sought treatment at Intermountain Medical Center. There, a doctor examined his eye, running a scan that showed there was no permanent damage. However, the doctor referred Luke to an ophthalmologist for eye drops and other appropriate care, he recalls.
Luke says he saw the ophthalmologist twice within the span of about a week. He thought he was in the clear as his eye was almost completely healed. Yet, a few weeks later, he did not feel cleared when he received the bill for his treatment: $4,500.
“Insurance had gotten it down, but after that, I would have had to pay $3,200… It was much higher than I thought it would be,” Luke explains. He adds that the amount he was expected to pay was more money than he had at the time.
Though Luke knew he’d have to find help somewhere, he wasn’t comfortable with the initial options he had. “‘Can I do this through payments?’ That was my first thought. And then my girlfriend very nicely offered to help pay for it, but I didn’t like that idea at all…I was panicking,” he says.
Luke recalls he started searching for resources online and that’s how he learned about Dollar For. Looking at the form on the website, he thought it was simple enough to fill out and “give it a shot.”
He remained uncertain about what he could do to get rid of the debt and says that nobody at the hospital ever discussed financial assistance with him. But a couple of weeks after reaching out to Dollar For, he received another notice in the mail from the hospital: “It was basically the hospital saying ‘Here’s your new balance,’ and it was $0. I didn’t have to pay anything.”
Luke describes feeling like a weight was lifted off of him. He celebrated with his girlfriend.
Knowing that other students – even if they are able to work full-time – also don’t have much in savings as they go through college, he would encourage them to contact Dollar For if they find themselves in a similar situation.
“It was free to do. I genuinely just put in my information and gave information about the medical bill … and it got down to $0. Students should be able to get help like I was able to,” he says.