Handling Expensive Medical Bills

Medical bills are never cheap, and if your injury is severe or if your illness is an extended one, you may find yourself facing an ever increasing mountain of medical related debt. It is entirely possible that the debt may surpass your insurance coverage by a considerable margin.

Every year approximately 700,000 families are forced into bankruptcy due to health care debt, and another 80 million find themselves looking at debt they will spend decades paying off. If you are finding yourself in such a predicament, don’t give up. There is hope for your situation.

For starters, figure out where you stand with regards to your insurance. If your claim has been denied, be aggressive about making phone inquiries to find out why. You also need to pay what you are able…demonstrate to the doctor’s office or hospital that you are making the effort to pay down the debt. See if you can set up a payment plan with them, and have them change the status of your account to “pending” from “unpaid”, which will prevent your bills being turned over to a collection agency.

Inspect your medical bills for errors. Given the complexity of medical treatment and the number of hands in the pot, it is not at all uncommon for hospitals to make mistakes in the billing. Make sure you are only being billed for treatments that you actually received.

See if you can work out a discounted amount. You have not because you ask not. Sometimes, medical providers will settle for a lesser amount that they can get today as opposed to a larger amount that it may take months, or years, (or never) to collect.

On a related note, see if you can work out a discounted payment. One enterprising patient sent in a whopping fifty cents as payment. When the payment was processed, it indicated they were willing to accept such, and he was able to pay fifty cents a month until his financial situation improved. This is an extreme case to be sure, but proof that providers will accept less if you work it out with them in advance.

Don’t be afraid to ask for financial assistance. Hospitals often have organizations that they work with to help fund medical payments, such as patient financial assistance funds or state funded relief organizations. You may also want to look for independent nonprofit organizations that work with medical debt relief. The paperwork involved may be considerable, as you will be asked to provide documentation of income, assets, and other financial data, but it may be worth the trouble.

Even though the debt may seem insurmountable, you do still have a measure of control over your situation. Take the time to explore all the options and again, do not be afraid to ask for help.

Sometimes medical bills take years to pay off. As long as you demonstrate a good faith effort, even if the actual amount isn’t much, most medical providers will be willing to work with you and set up a payment plan that is within your means.

Author Bio: Darrell is the Director of Content for LeadsByFone LLC, a lead generation company servicing the water damage and carpet drying industry.

Category: Finances
Keywords: medical, bills, hospital, providers, docotr, office, assistance, debt relief, payment plan