achoped

Another anecdote about my mom. A few months ago she was rushed to the hospital for symptoms of a pulmonary embolism. She spent 36 hours in the critical care unit. They couldn't determine what caused her episode; no clots, etc. They charged her $25k for that. That's how fucked up the situation is. A single night in a hospital that may save your life ends up costing almost what your kid/grandkid is paying for a year of college.

Recently she got a bill for $250 for the ambulance, which she paid, and another letter saying her bill for the hospital stay was settled. She told me she would have offered $15/mo had they held her to the $25k or told them to screw off if they didn't accept. They're not even bothering anymore.

I have a friend who sells debtor data for a living. He literally sells Excel spreadsheets of debtor data (name, address, SSN, amount owed, etc) to collections agencies for $5k-$25k a pop. He makes mid-six figures doing it. The quality of the data is what commands the price. He said the least desirable debt are debts older than a year and medical debt. He can't even give that crap away.

Also, if you're ever called by a collections agency, you should ask them to provide proof that they actually hold the debt you're obligated to pay. In some cases they've just bought the data, usually from another collections agency who couldn't collect, and they're trying to shake you down. Once you use the magic phrase "provide proof" they give up and stop hassling you, because they have no proof.

Not always. My mom had a quadruple bypass about 6 years ago during a gap year where she stopped working but didn't have Medicare yet. Unlucky. I think she was billed for around $180k.

She told them "I'm on Social Security for $1000/mo, I'll pay you $50/mo". It was basically that or sending it to collections and never getting a dime from a retiree. So they accepted and told her a "non-profit" paid for the doctor's portion of the bill, which was all but about $40k.

She'll probably be around another 10 years max, which means she'll end up paying about $10k of that balance.

Medical debt is the least concerning type of debt for most lenders. If you ever fall into this hole, don't sweat it. [Unsolicited advice.] Just let it go to collections. You'll get harassed for a little over a year. Debt older than a year is almost never pursued by collections agencies. After things quiet down start sending letters to the credits agencies saying the collections debt has been settled. The collections agency will usually slip up and not respond at some point and it'll be gone from your credit history.

The software industry is doing this somewhat. I know of initiatives at my company where they'll assist with bootcamp tuition if you're interested in becoming a developer. It's up to the discretion of your manager (and theirs usually) whether or not you have a job waiting for you afterward.

Bootcamps are a decent alternative to a college tech degree. Instead of taking out $40k+ in loans, you can escape your poorly paid job by dropping $10k-$20k of your own (or your parents') money. It's usually worth it if you have the means, since your salary will probably double and you'll recoup the cost within a year.

Bootcamp students are basically useless when they graduate, but they can open an editor, write unit tests for dog.speak() and use git. The senior devs on the team they join end up training them. So it becomes like an apprenticeship system where the prospective apprentice shows serious interest by supplying a "modest" payment.

This sounds very similar to sub-prime lending behavior that occurred before the recent recession. I don't expect a different outcome this time, if the behavior continues.

The article paints a pretty bleak picture. My nieces (well, their parents) didn't have enough money to pay for a 4-year college. Instead of taking out student loans one decided not to go to college and the other one decided to join the Army for GI Bill benefits. The one in the Army has been having anxiety issues and they've started her on the path to medical discharge, which she is fighting.

It's really a shame that something we tell young adults is so necessary leads many of them to financial ruin or being a poorly paid servant to the government for years. My guess is that many of them will get sick of it and choose not to go, and the industry will have to adapt to employees with no higher education.