My sister sent me a bill addressed to mom and dated August 21st, 2012. It’s from Central Florida Podiatry for — as far as I can tell — a pedicure mom received on March 20th. She was at Grace Manor at the time.
The bill is for $100.00 due to Dr. Agnes K Bartoszek. I called the (866) 329-9009 number on the bill and was routed to someone in charge of billing for that doctor. I explained to the woman that my mother had passed away on August 12th, and that she died penniless. The woman asked me who was responsible for paying the bill, and I replied, “Nobody.”
She told me that there was no insurance listed, and I told her that my mother did not have any health insurance. She asked if she had been receiving Medicaid or Medicare. I told her, “I did my best for over nine months to try to get Medicaid or Medicare for my mother, but she never got it.”
So then she asked me (again) who was responsible for paying the bill. Again I replied, “Nobody.”
She asked who had power of attorney because that person would be responsible for paying bills. I told her that nobody had power of attorney, and — even if someone did — that was irrelevant because having power of attorney over someone doesn’t make you liable for any of their bills.
The woman then asked me again who was going to pay the bill. I replied, “Nobody is ever going to pay this bill. My mother is dead.”
She told me she was sorry for my loss, and that she would talk to the doctor about it and decide what to do. I asked her if she wanted my contact information because there was certainly no point in sending another bill to my little sister in Seattle. She said she did, so I gave her my name and phone number and she thanked me and I hung up.