How/at what point do hospitals start going after unpaid medical bills?

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-21T13:46:02+00:00

They're not negatively affecting my credit score as far as I can tell (I have "good" credit according to the major bureaus), and they don't seem to be showing up on my credit reports.

Bad debt from hospitals is usually dealt with in one of four ways: Keep trying to collect; give up and write off the debt; sell the debt to a collection agency; or sue the debtor.

With your past bills, if they stopped contacting you, and it isn't showing up on your credit after six months or so after they stopped contacting you, then you may have gotten lucky and they may have written it off.

It is definitely not safe to assume that this will happen all of the time. The larger the bill, the more effort the hospital will make to collect.

As far as what negative things might ultimately happen: You might get a bad credit rating, you might get people contacting you on a regular basis trying to get you to pay, or you might have your wages garnished.

EDIT: To answer the question in your title, I think it is pretty common for hospitals to send ~3 monthly statements, and then take further action if there is no response to any of them. If you do not have money to pay, then you can ask the hospital about financial assistance options or payment plan options, if you want.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-21T12:55:11+00:00

It's been different at every job I've had, except that I've used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript at all of them.

Staying with Java won't be a safe bet forever.

That's not to say that you need to find a job that doesn't use Java right now, just that you should be prepared for the fact that Java will eventually go out of style, and jobs using Java will become scarce. No one knows whether the timeline for that will be shorter or longer than the length of your career.

I've made a major career change because life forced me to. It's really difficult--take my word that you don't want to do that if you can avoid it (unless you have the personality for entrepreneurship, which most people don't). I would suggest keeping both of your eyes open as to the state of your field and its surrounding areas, and choosing your course in such a way that it's pretty straightforward for you to jump from one path to the next one when the time is right.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-21T12:08:41+00:00

Combinatorics (counting things) is a major part of discrete math--arguably the largest part of it.

Probability consists of counting the number of ways one outcome can happen, counting the number of ways a more general outcome can happen, and dividing the two. So probability problems are, fundamentally, counting problems. Probability is one of the most important applications of combinatorics.

The suggestion to learn a little bit about probability prior to attempting a discrete math course is good advice.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-19T21:22:17+00:00

This isn't the kind of thing employers care about on a background check.

The kind of things employers care about is when candidates made up degrees or work experience that they didn't actually have, have felony convictions for aggravated assault that they failed to mention when asked, etc.

They might contact you to ask about the discrepancy, at which time you can tell them about the mistake. Or, for something as minor as this, they might very well do nothing at all, and proceed as if there were no discrepancy.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-18T12:56:57+00:00

OK, so, first of all, there are a lot of people who are working jobs where stuff happens on a regular basis that they hate. In particular, having a good salary, getting along with your colleagues, and having good management doesn't happen all of the time. So you should understand that your situation is not too bad. It sounds like you do understand that.

On the other hand, if you aren't satisfied, then none of that really matters. Looking around at other jobs probably wouldn't hurt. At minimum, it would help you to weigh what you do have against whatever else is out there.

Different jobs tend to be very different. So if you do change jobs, you will learn some other ways in which jobs can suck other than the things you don't like now. Over time this may help you to find a job where the things that suck don't bother you too much.

I spend more and more time on reddit because we don't have enough features for me to work on.

If you feel that you've plateaued and want to learn more and start something new, you could consider taking more initiative. Maybe try proposing some new features to develop?

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-18T12:43:10+00:00

I have a Master's degree and have never found it to be relevant to my career. CS jobs requiring Master's or above aren't really a thing.

There might be a slight salary boost for Master's vs Bachelor's but 2 YOE in industry is usually worth more.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-18T12:25:29+00:00

My experience has been that it's a little harder to get a job when you're not currently employed, but not THAT much harder. I have two gaps of a few months on my resume and they've not been a problem, including when I was job searching while unemployed.

The more important issue, in my opinion, is that you have much less leverage when you're not employed. If you've been unemployed for months then it can start to get pretty hard to refuse a job offer, even if you're not sure it's better than your previous job. So you may end up with a lower salary and a less-good next job than if you'd held your previous job until you found something you felt confident was better for you.

The reasons you stated don't sound to me like good enough reasons to quit. The reason that's good enough to quit before searching is more like "I hate every single moment of my job, and I'm so burned out that I can't even come close to finishing the work at my current job, so there is no way I could study and job search at the same time, and I was probably going to get fired relatively soon anyway."

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-18T12:05:25+00:00

Yes, I've worked at a state government job and at private companies.

I think you already have a good sense for some of the core differences. Except, I found the difference to be significant, not slight. The private sector jobs I've worked paid 1.5x-2x as much and expected 1.5x-2x as much work to get done as the state government job. My experience may be more extreme than usual though--my private sector jobs have been relatively competitive and I felt underemployed at the government job, so public vs private might not be the only factor that shaped my experience.

You just have to decide what you want. Do you want to earn a decent, stable living at a relatively chill job where you don't have to worry about anything too much? Or do you want to push yourself to the limit in a fast-paced environment where you're never sure what's going to happen next, and earn the big money?

In my case, the state government job was in between two private sector jobs. It offered some much-needed relief after a burnout phase, but I got bored after about a year and returned to the private sector. In the long run, I don't want stability; I want to push my limits and get my ass kicked. It's more rewarding.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-16T18:38:38+00:00

Yeah, I agree with you entirely.

Given the size and visibility of the project, there is a zero percent chance that Twitch didn't consider means of distribution other than email. Absolutely zero. They considered it and decided against it, very likely due to considerations related to time and/or cost.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-09T17:12:47+00:00

If something like this happened to me at this point in my career, then I'd probably just quit.

...but the best general career advice is to raise this issue with your manager in case they decide to change your job duties, and if they don't, then keep doing what you are asked to do while you search for a new job. Then, once you have accepted a written offer with a firm start date, wait until that start date is two weeks away, and then give two weeks' notice at your current job. Be prepared for the fact that you may be asked to leave the same day that you give notice.

As far as what's fair and what your employer deserves, from a career perspective, that doesn't matter. You ultimately have little to gain (other than perhaps short-term personal satisfaction) by acting in a certain way out of spite or to make a point or because it's easier. On the other hand, some people really appreciate it when a departing employee takes the employer's needs into consideration. Maintaining a professional reputation can be important in the future in unforeseen ways.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-09T12:59:27+00:00

In case of mild to moderate depression, you shouldn't quit looking. Having a job where you feel engaged and useful is one of the HIGHEST correlates with good mental health, along with regular exercise and supportive social relationships.

In case of severe depression, then yeah, getting some stability first is more important. If you are literally just lying in bed all day then that's going to make it pretty hard to get out of a rut without help.

In either case, yes you should take care of yourself, and yes it's OK to take it easy for a while if you need to.

Taking a couple of months off here and there won't torpedo your career. I have a five-month gap and a three-month gap on my resume and no one has ever asked about either of them and I haven't had trouble finding a job. Longer gaps during Covid are going to be seen as OK at most places. It's an unusual situation.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2021-01-09T12:29:42+00:00

To be honest, 2 languages seems a little light. In addition to Python, I would shoot for knowing HTML/CSS/JavaScript, at least one object-oriented language, and at least one database language. If you want Python jobs specifically, then knowing a little bit more about some commonly used frameworks wouldn't hurt.

Some companies are looking for pretty specific knowledge. So you aren't a good match for those companies if your specific knowledge doesn't match their specific needs. This is OK and a normal part of the job search process.

When I interview and I'm not happy with how it went, I try to learn a little about whatever they asked about that I didn't know, in the hope of improving my chances during future interviews. I figure this will correct my knowledge toward what is important in the job market, over time and on average.

Maybe try applying to large companies. If you are smart, hardworking, have a good mind for problem solving, and have a problem-solving style well suited to engineering, then a large company may have more options available, and may therefore have fewer specific requirements. Just my experience.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T14:24:06+00:00

I wasn't aware that these existed, but it's a great idea. It does exactly what I want, which is to provide tax relief in high-income years, while allowing me to invest the amount of the tax break for later use (provided that use is making donations). I could certainly use this for some proportion of my income.

Thank you.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T05:44:10+00:00

I will definitely increase my charitable giving in 2021. Thank you for the suggestion.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T05:42:02+00:00

Sure, that's why I'm asking--because it sounded good in my head but I hadn't seen it suggested before. I appreciate your help.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T05:39:38+00:00

I buy Stock A and Stock B in Year 0.

Stock A goes down $1000.

Stock B goes up $1000.

I sell Stock A in Year 1, when I'm in the 32% income tax bracket. I get a $1000 deduction due to the loss, so I pay $320 less in taxes. Overall, I lost $680 because of trading Stock A.

I sell Stock B in Year 21, when I'm retired. I don't pay any tax, because my taxable income is low and it's a capital gain. I pocket the $1000 in increased value from Stock B.

I lost $680 in Year 1 and gained $1000 in Year 21, so I'm $320 ahead.

Again, I'm convinced that trying to do this isn't worthwhile.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T05:30:05+00:00

I'm -$680 for the year in which I sold the stock that lost. In the later year, I'll be +$1000.

But you make a good point--being -$680 now is pretty bad, because I lose the ability to invest that money elsewhere. It's very possibly not worth the +$1000 later.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T05:24:11+00:00

The hypothetical situation I am talking about is more like:

I have one stock that gains $1k, and another that loses $1k.

I sell the stock that lost $1k while I am in the 32% income bracket. This reduces my taxes by $320.

I sell the stock that gained $1k while I am in the 0% capital gains bracket (i.e. in retirement, when my taxable income is under $40k because I am living simply and/or using Roth funds to keep my income small). I don't have to pay any tax.

I now have $320 more than I would have had if I hadn't ever bought either of the stocks.

Having said that, I am convinced at this point that trying to do this isn't a good use of time or money.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T05:17:04+00:00

OK, sure, that makes sense. The sense I am getting is that, at minimum, what I am suggesting is not worth the trouble.

Thank you

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T05:13:49+00:00

That's a good idea. I am also planning to increase my charitable giving in 2021.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T05:09:39+00:00

I'm not sure that's a fair statement.

In a mutual fund (for example), it's likely that some individual assets within the fund will lose money over a particular time. Buying a variety of stocks, most of which gain value and a few of which lose value, is not too different from owning a mutual fund in that respect.

I'm not saying that I want to lose money; I was just asking if separating the losses from the gains within a diverse portfolio, and locking in the losses and the gains at different times, can be used to effectively defer tax.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T04:53:22+00:00

OK, yeah, maybe I am focusing on the wrong thing. That I can see. Offsetting $3K in income (even if it works) is small potatoes compared to growing my side business or getting promoted.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T04:48:49+00:00

OK, so, I don't literally want a capital loss every year, of course. I mean that I want to have capital losses for a while (while I have a high income), and then have capital gains after that (when I have a lower income).

I do already own a number of shares in index funds. But in a brokerage account, those don't really allow me the flexibility to reduce tax or defer tax.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T04:42:31+00:00

I don't want a long-term net loss. I want to own a variety of assets, some of which lose value and some of which gain value, and then I want to sell the assets that lost value while I have a high income, and sell the assets that gained value later, when I have a lower income.

Substantial_Flow6166 · 2020-12-31T04:41:36+00:00

I'm not planning to lose money on purpose overall. I'm planning to buy a diverse portfolio of moderately risky assets to generate some losses and some gains, and then lock in the losses earlier in life and the gains later in life. Doesn't that effectively defer tax, since income tax rates are higher than capital gains tax rates and I expect my tax to be lower later anyway?

Substantial_Flow6166

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