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-   -   Hospital Bill from Italy (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/hospital-bill-from-italy-1691586/)

phillyboy Oct 5th, 2020 11:54 AM

Hospital Bill from Italy
 
My wife went to the emergency room in a hospital in Taormina, Sicily in October 2018. I just received a statement in the mail, which I can't read in its entirety, but I can figure out that there is a bill for 45 Euro. I have no problem paying this, but I am in the US - can I just convert the amount to dollars and send a check, or is there another method that would be better?

Thanks for any help.

thursdaysd Oct 5th, 2020 12:08 PM

Your credit card should work. Better if you have one with no foreign transaction fees.

phillyboy Oct 5th, 2020 12:49 PM

Thank you, thursdaysd. I had thought of that, but was a little leery of writing my cc card information on a piece of paper and sending it 4,000 miles away. But they did provide a couple of email addresses - maybe I could put the cc info onto an attachment, along with a copy of the bill, scan an send it. Yes?

thursdaysd Oct 5th, 2020 01:19 PM

I think it would be safer in the mail! When I have had to send CC info by email, I have split it between two emails. Is there a phone or fax option?

MmePerdu Oct 5th, 2020 01:27 PM

Email isn't considered secure for credit card information in full. A way make it more secure, I'm told, is to send part in 1 email, the rest in another. For instance cc number in 1, expiry date in another. Or some variation on that theme. Maybe someone else here can confirm the ins & outs.

AJPeabody Oct 5th, 2020 01:53 PM

Get a one time use CC number from your credit card company and limit it to the amount you are paying.

Michael Oct 5th, 2020 03:23 PM

Try Transferwise: https://transferwise.com/us

I used them with no problem a few years back when I had to transfer a considerable amount of cash. Short of using a credit card that does not charge a foreign exchange fee, this is probably the cheapest way to do it.

thursdaysd Oct 5th, 2020 03:46 PM

@MmePerdu - I put half of the CC number in each of two emails, adding the expiration date in one and the code off the back in the second. Haven't needed to do that for a while.

rialtogrl Oct 5th, 2020 11:07 PM

Is there bank information on the invoice? Swift code and BIC number? If so send a wire transfer. You can try transferwise or use your own bank though the fee will probably be as much as the hospital bill. Or email them, they probably have someone speaking English in a Taormina hospital, ask them if you can call and give them a credit card number over the phone.

thursdaysd Oct 6th, 2020 04:47 AM

If you are American, wire transfers are ridiculously expensive.

phillyboy Oct 6th, 2020 05:41 AM

Thanks very much for all of our suggestions. There were two email addresses shown on the document that I received, so I have emailed them asking for some direction on how to handle this. Hopefully I will get a response ... in less than the 2 years it took to receive the bill!

nonconformist2 Oct 6th, 2020 09:17 AM

Is there a phone number? You should be able to give card details over the phone.

phillyboy Oct 6th, 2020 09:59 AM

Yes, there is a phone number. I will wait a few days to see if I receive a response to my email, and if not will try calling. I have been reluctant to do that because, at the time of our visit, we could find no one in the ER, or any adjacent area of the hospital, who spoke English. If it weren't for the landlady at the B&B where we stayed, in nearby Savoca, I don't know how we would have communicated with anyone. She drove us to the hospital and acted as translator between us and the staff. She was an angel!

Christina Oct 6th, 2020 01:22 PM

If you can pay by CC, I don't know why you are objecting to writing your CC number on a piece of paper. Don't you do this in the US all the time? I know I do, there are many many charities and bills I get that ask you to do that, I've done it numerous times. Some of my bills are not people who have fancy online setups, they are local small companies.

All my CCs get hacked sooner or later, anyway, and in fact, every single time it has been hacked, it was online, not from a piece of mail. But my point is, you can just keep an eye on that acct and if something unusual happens, request a new card number, that's all.

rialtogrl Oct 6th, 2020 09:55 PM


Originally Posted by phillyboy (Post 17164842)
Yes, there is a phone number. I will wait a few days to see if I receive a response to my email, and if not will try calling. I have been reluctant to do that because, at the time of our visit, we could find no one in the ER, or any adjacent area of the hospital, who spoke English. If it weren't for the landlady at the B&B where we stayed, in nearby Savoca, I don't know how we would have communicated with anyone. She drove us to the hospital and acted as translator between us and the staff. She was an angel!

maybe you can email your landlady and ask her to call on your behalf...if the email does not work out.

Falcio Oct 7th, 2020 05:09 AM

I hope for you I am wrong, but I'd be very surprised if a Sicilian NHS branch wasted money to accept credit cards. Bank-to-bank money transfers are free for both sides in the EU.
Can't you scan and somehow publish the letter you received? There must be an IBAN / BIC code you can use on transferwise.com. The IBAN code should begin with an IT.

phillyboy Oct 7th, 2020 06:11 AM

rialtogrl - I have written to the landlady, haven't heard back yet.

Falcio - I can find no such code on the document.

AJPeabody Oct 7th, 2020 07:31 AM

I suspect this late bill is a last gasp old items cleanup from the billing department with no great hope of getting anything. Don't fret or waste time if there is no easy way to pay. They won't care either way.

MyriamC Oct 8th, 2020 05:49 AM


Originally Posted by Falcio (Post 17165238)
I hope for you I am wrong, but I'd be very surprised if a Sicilian NHS branch wasted money to accept credit cards.

That's what I was thinking.
If they want your money, there should be an account number and a BIC (Bank Identifier Code) code on the statement.

whitehall Oct 8th, 2020 07:30 AM

The average emergency room visit in the US costs almost $1400. Just out of curiosity, was that $45 a total bill or just a balance on your account?


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