Businessman struggles to keep home, pay hospital [The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson]

Dec. 27--Mark Bonacorso thought he'd slipped under the radar and wouldn't have to pay his $28,784.93 hospital bill.

No such luck.

The Tucson-area resident received a call from a collections agency representing Oro Valley Hospital asking him to settle the bill for the appendectomy he received in May, when he had no health insurance. They said they'd reduced the bill and that he now owes $23,000.

Bonacorso, 52, still thinks the bill is too high.

Like many other Arizonans, Bonacorso owes more on his large suburban home than it's worth. Plus, he is a small-business owner who has suffered the effects of a sluggish economy over the past year. He laid off the only two employees of the public relations and marketing firm he owns, cashed out his 401(k) and has credit card debt.

But he's loath to walk away from his home or file for personal bankruptcy -- moves he believes would make him unemployable and indelibly taint his credit score and his reputation.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," he said. "Having bad credit can catch up to you."

But there is a piece of good news for Bonacorso: He recently became engaged to his girlfriend, Molly Passmore, a local nurse who plans to move into his home in 2010 along with her 6-year-old son.

Since the Arizona Daily Star first reported on Bonacorso in July, he has purchased health insurance, which he had been without since January. He said his distrust of the insurance industry had previously fueled a delay in getting health coverage.

"I realized I was not in control of my health and really started worrying about what I'd do if I got in an accident," he said. "You are playing with fire when you have no health insurance. I'd say I had a change of heart."

His new plan, through Humana, costs him $302 per month with a $2,500 deductible. He'd been looking at insurance plans for several months already but had been overwhelmed by the process -- the broker he contacted sent him a choice of 13 plans from three carriers with 26 different comparison points.

"There's a lot to digest, and as an individually insured person you are really at a loss dealing with these big insurance companies," said Bonacorso, who had never before had to shop for his own health insurance -- he'd been enrolled through employers and then through his wife. But when the couple divorced, he lost the coverage.

"There's not a lot of recourse with insurance companies, not a lot you can do if you don't like their practices. I'm at their mercy, and I do feel vulnerable."

Bonacorso is hopeful that the economy is improving and that the country has turned a corner. He regularly checks the real estate Web site Zillow, which says the value of his house is $322,000. He and his ex-wife bought the 3,500-square-foot, two-story house north of Tucson in 2005 for $439,000.

The house was built in 2004 and is in a subdivision of large homes that abuts the Santa Catalina Mountains and is now dotted with "for sale" signs.

"Some people across the street walked away. One home in the cul-de-sac has been for sale for two years, and there was a short sale on another house -- then the guy who bought it put it up for sale, and it's still for sale. There was a foreclosure up the street," Bonacorso said.

"There are some real bargains up here right now. These houses that originally cost $475,000 are going for $250,000."

He has no plans to sell his house at the moment and is keeping up with the $2,700 monthly mortgage payments. He's being more frugal about his electricity and gas use, he canceled his newspaper subscriptions and is buying nearly all his groceries and other necessities at the Walmart near his home.

Also, having Passmore to share costs will help, Bonacorso said. Passmore, 25, works for Pima County and has a steady paycheck. But she has her own medical bills to pay. Her son has muscular dystrophy, and costs for his treatment and related expenses -- outside of what her insurance covers -- have amounted to $94,000.

As for his hospital bill, Bonacorso thinks it's wrong that many insurers have what are called "large-payer discount" contracts with hospitals, meaning bills for the same service could be different depending on the patient's coverage. "I don't think it's right," he said. "We're talking about people's health."

Officials with Oro Valley Hospital, which is part of Northwest Healthcare, said they do not comment on specific cases. Marketing director Angie Kolling said the hospital negotiates with people who cannot pay, and has a financial assistance program that provides counseling and billing assistance to patients.

Contact reporter Stephanie Innes at 573-4134 or [email protected]

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