<prompt> Human: 26 year old American male here looking for advice on what to do about my impending medical bills. I had been suffering a high fever 102.7 F for about week before I decided to see a doctor. Dr found a new heart murmur along with low blood pressure and after a chest xray was worried about a possible pulmonary embolism. Sent me to the ER down the road to get a catscan among other tests. Found out that I have endocarditis infection of heart on mitral valve. This is causing my mitral valve to leak pretty badly and I need open heart surgery to replace the heart valve. Ive been stuck in the ICU since last Sunday, 51 and have my surgery scheduled for Wednesday 511. I am quite nervous about the surgery but I am also worried about how much this is going to cost me. I have health insurance through work and my deductible is 6000. After the deductible I pay 20 while insurance pays 80. I guess I forgot to check a box while filling out forms for disability through work and am not eligible for short term disability until next enrollment period. I guess what I am asking is if I have and options for some sort of disability? I feel like my work is leaving me out to dry and I am very worried about having to pay this off for the rest of my life. I finally got my student loans in check and now Im gonna have another large debt on top of that to pay. Has anyone else been in my position and can offer any advise? I know I should be focused on my open heart surgery and getting better but I cant help but worry about my finances. Guess I just need to vent. Thanks redditAssistant: Your plan should have an out of pocket maximum which will kick in. Some states such as California have state-funded disability. But thats very specific to the state.Human: I just checked and actually my deductible is 2600 and my out of pocket maximum is 6250. Is this good?Assistant: Yes it is. Call your insurance company NOW and verify that everything is IN-NETWORK. The doctor, your surgeon, the hospital at the location youre getting treatment, the labs theyre sending stuff out to. Take down the name of the person you talk to you and date and time. If youre having issues with that, ask to talk to the hospitals social worker TODAY.You need to be your own advocate.Your work did nothing wrong here, get that chip off your shoulder ASAP.Best of luck, hope youre feeling better soon.Human: Just checked and my cardiologist, the cardiac surgeon, and the infectious disease doctor are all in-network  <response>: You should definitely look into the state-funded disability as well. Its some extra boxes you check on the paperwork from the hospital. The state might pay some or all of your bills depending on your existing coverage and income. 