Getting Medical Debt Help

Options for Unpaid Medical Bills Include Consolidating Bills

Jan 21, 2008 Lisa Nichols

Tips for people who need medical debt help or have unpaid medical bills. Helpful ideas include ways to find hospital debt help and using a loan to consolidate bills.

Even if there are thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills with reminders arriving daily, there are some options available to help with medical debt. Medical bills have to be paid in order to avoid problems with a credit report. A credit score can take a severe beating when there are unpaid medical bills reported to the credit bureaus. Some options to consider to help pay off medical bills:

Review the Medical Bills that Have to Be Paid

Before taking any action, review the medical bills that have to be paid immediately. Make sure that the bills are only for services received at the hospital, clinic or doctor’s office. If there are questions about charges on medical bills, contact the issuer before sending in payment.

Health Insurance Can Help Pay for Medical Bills

Review health insurance coverages related to unpaid medical bills. Companies make mistakes. When medical debt help is needed, it’s important to look at every avenue possible to get medical bills paid. If there are any discrepancies between unpaid medical bills and health insurance coverages, contact the health insurance provider.

Settle Unpaid Medical Bills Not Covered by Health Insurance

If there is not enough health insurance coverage to pay, patients can offer to settle unpaid medical bills. Hospitals offer a number of debt help programs. Patients can often shave off 25% or more of the total medical debts outstanding just by calling the doctor’s office or hospital and asking for help.

Payment Plans for Your Unpaid Medical Bills

Payment plans may be available from doctor’s offices or hospitals in the form of debt help for unpaid medical bills. If settling hospital debts are not an option, there may be debt help available in the form of small monthly payments. Ask the billing department if they will accept $50 or $100 each month to pay off medical debt. Healthcare providers are usually very open to working with patients who lack adequate health insurance coverage.

Consolidate Bills to Pay Off Debts

If help is needed to pay a hospital debt, consider getting a loan to consolidate bills or charging unpaid medical bills to a credit card. There are plenty of credit cards that offer one year- or more- of interest-free financing on new purchases. And a loan to consolidate bills can offer attractive interest rates and a long time to pay off the debt. If these methods are used to help pay off a hospital debt, they might also help increase a credit score. Credit scores are positively impacted by responsible amounts of debt and effective debt management.

More Help with Paying Medical Bills

Patients may also be eligible for medical debt help that comes from the state, county or province where they reside. Every hospital’s billing department is aware of this sort of debt help program and will offer it as an option after asking a few questions to determine eligibility. Eligibility for medical debt help varies, but is generally based on annual household earnings.

Get more money-saving tips: learn how to save money on homeowner’s insurance, decrease insurance premiums and how to get auto insurance discounts.

The copyright of the article Getting Medical Debt Help in Insurance is owned by Lisa Nichols . Permission to republish Getting Medical Debt Help in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Hospital Debt Help