Medical bill debt
Medical bill debt is different from other types of debt. It’s unpredictable and rarely voluntary. You never know when you’ll get sick and need medical treatment. Nor do you have that many choices. You don’t shop around for an emergency room as you’re having a heart attack. It’s only later that you start to worry how you’re going to pay for all of it.
Voluntary or not, medical debt is still debt and needs to be paid. Hospitals can sue you, or sell your debt to a collection agency. It can ruin your credit rating, or even force you into bankruptcy. In other words, medical debt is not something you can ignore.
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Solutions that do not work
It’s not uncommon for people facing medical debt to turn to other forms of debt. Many try to use credit cards to pay hospital bills. This is not a good idea. The interest rate on your credit cards is probably much higher than on the medical debt. Thus, by shifting the debt to a credit card, you are only making it more expensive. Credit card companies tend to be less sympathetic than doctors and hospitals. They are less likely to take your financial circumstances into consideration.
The other option to avoid is turning unsecured medical debt into a secured debt by using your house as collateral. The interest rates on unsecured loans are higher than on secured loans, but at least you don’t have to worry about losing you home. With a secured loan, the creditor has the right to take your house if you do not keep up with the payments. If you’re recovering from an illness, this is the last thing you need.
Solutions that do work
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The first person you should talk to is the doctor or the hospital administrator. There’s a good chance that you can negotiate to reduce your debt to a more affordable amount. It’s in their interest, as well as yours, to keep you out of bankruptcy. Most hospitals have payment plans that allow you to space out your payments over a period of time, making your debt more manageable.
You should also consider consolidating your debt. With debt consolidation, you take out a single low-interest loan and use it to pay off all of your smaller loans, including medical debt. This is a good option to consider if the hospital has already sold your debt to a third-party debt collection agency. The agency may be calling you at all hours of the day, or even sending debt collectors to your house. By consolidating, you can put an end to that type of harassment.
While medical debt can damage your credit history, debt consolidation may actually improve it. If you can keep up with the monthly payments, it will have a positive effect on your credit score. If you’re considering debt consolidation as a way out of medical bill debt, fill out the form or call the number above to talk to a qualified expert.
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