I slipped through the cracks again. What can I do?

What can I do about this bill?

I have a $600-something balance on a hospital bill from more than a year ago. It’s the physician’s portion, not the facility’s portion. My insurance will not pay it because the physician was not in network. I have called multiple times about this bill. So:

The balance does not qualify for financial assistance, because financial assistance does not apply to physician bills.

I cannot do a payment plan because I have no income…because I’ve been fighting for disability for 15 years.

The hospital asked me to appeal the insurance company’s decision. So I called my insurance company to initiate that process, and they refused, saying that “the outcome won’t change.”

I called the hospital billing company again and explained everything. How I didn’t get to choose the physician they gave me. How I have a hardship. How I have no income. How I can’t apply for financial assistance. How my insurance company refused to file an appeal. They did nothing.

They apparently notated my account and have contacted higer ups about this. Supposedly.

Starting in January, I guess the incessant collection calls will start. 🙄

Is there anything I can do?? Is there some kind of hardship program I can apply for? There has got to be something. I have slipped through the cracks yet again. Once this goes to collections, I already plan on sending the collections agency a drop dead letter.

If you need the info, I have Ambetter insurance, and the hospital was a local hospital here in my town, in Georgia. And I am applying for disability because I have 13 confirmed medical diagnoses, including 2 rare ones. These have all been confirmed by specialists via examinations and testing. I have a lawyer from one of the biggest law firms in my area, and I have been to court multiple times. But they just keep saying I do not meet the requirements of being disabled, even though I do. Thats just a generic, canned response anyway. But I digress.