In the United States, the treatment costs associated with an illness, a car accident, or a pregnancy can quickly reach five figures and sometimes more. Even when you have insurance, the amount left to pay out-of-pocket can be very unaffordable.
That’s why in some cases, such as when you’re injured in an accident, you should work with a personal injury attorney. Personal injury attorneys can help recover damages for you if you’re hurt or become ill because of someone else’s negligence.
Many people have no idea how many different medical bills they’ll receive from just one hospital visit or procedure. Care providers are independent contractors, so you might feel like you keep getting bills from all over the place long after your treatment.
If you have a medical situation leading to enormous bills, first, you do have to pay them. According to the Federal Reserve, two in five Americans have credit scores adversely affected by medical bills. One in six credit reports has medical debt.
If you do get a medical bill, you should do a few things right away.
First, make sure the charges are accurate. You’d probably be very surprised how often there are billing mistakes in the medical industry, but if you don’t find them and dispute them, you’ll be paying for them. For example, when you go over your itemized bill, you may find charges for medicines you didn’t take or services you didn’t receive.
Even if you can pay off your bills, you still need to always check them for errors.
Don’t ignore the bills. When you get them, you need to go ahead and start strategizing right away because they aren’t going anywhere.
You shouldn’t use credit cards to pay off medical bills, either.
From there, remember the following.
Like checking for errors, even if you can afford your medical bills in theory, it’s a good idea to negotiate when you can. You can contact the billing manager of the provider because they’re the person that usually has the authority to lower your bill.
Don’t wait until you’re delinquent or in collections because your credit score will have already taken a hit by this point.
As soon as you get a bill and verify it, then you should start working on negotiations.
If you have a financial hardship or low income, you can request hardship assistance. You can request this even if your hardship is due to medical bills entirely.
There are hospital charity programs available depending on your financial situation.
Right away, when you get a bill, talk to your providers about your ability to pay and your income.
If you’re negotiating, do some research about how much a fair price would be in your area on average compared to what you’re being billed. You can use websites like Healthcare Bluebook to figure this out.
Be your own advocate when it comes to negotiations or asking for discounts on medical bills.
When you’re negotiating, you can specifically ask whether you can pay the insurance rate if you had a treatment or procedure not covered by your insurance for any reason. That rate may be lower than individual payees are charged with.
Any time you talk to a billing representative, take detailed notes. Write the date, who you spoke with when you spoke, and write down any reference numbers.
If you sign an authorization form, you can also work with a patient advocate who can contact billing offices and insurers on your behalf.
Interest-free payment plans exist if you have a big medical bill, but many people aren’t aware of them.
You may not be able to negotiate the total you owe, but you might be able to work out how much you pay each month.
Another option to help you if you’re hit with big medical bills is to see if you can get a discount either for paying on time or maybe making a lump sum payment if it’s within your financial means to do so.
If you’re not able to negotiate your bills down, or maybe you can, but it’s still too much of an amount for you to pay outright, there are other options.
For example, if the provider doesn’t take payment plans, it may take medical credit cards. Many medical credit cards offer no interest for six to 12 months.
There are unsecured credit options that you may qualify for, like a medical loan for healthcare expenses or a 0% interest credit card
If you can’t settle a debt, debt collectors will eventually start coming after you. If a provider sues you and then gets a judgment, your wages can also be garnished.
Unfortunately, some people do have to file bankruptcy because of medical bills.
If you don’t earn a lot of money or have many assets, then you might file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Medical debt and other unsecured debt are wiped out in this type of bankruptcy.
If you don’t qualify for Chapter 7, there’s also Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Under a Chapter 13 plan, you pay back the medical debt you can afford to in a repayment plan, and then the rest is discharged at the end of your case.
Of course, if you can avoid it, bankruptcy is not the situation you want to find yourself in.
The biggest mistake people make when it comes to medical bills is thinking they can ignore them, and they’ll somehow go away. There are a lot of options available to you, and providers tend to be flexible if you proactively come to them.
The more you wait, the tougher the situation will be to dig yourself out of, and the more ramifications you’re going to face over the longterm.
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