If you have thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills, there are some options available to help you with your medical debt. You need to pay your medical bills in order to avoid problems with your credit report. Your credit score can take a severe beating when you have unpaid medical bills reported to the credit bureaus. Some options to consider that can help you pay off your medical bills:
Before you take any action, review the medical bills that you have to pay. Make sure that you have only been billed for services that you received at the hospital, clinic or doctor’s office. If you have questions about charges on your medical bills, contact the issuer before you pay.
Review your health insurance coverages related to your unpaid medical bills. Companies make mistakes. When you need medical debt help, it’s important that you look at every avenue possible to get your medical bills paid. If you find any discrepancies between your unpaid medical bills and your health insurance coverages, contact your health insurance provider.
If you don’t have enough health insurance coverage to pay, you can offer to settle your unpaid medical bills. Hospitals offer a number of debt help programs. You may be able to shave off 25% or more of your total medical debt if you call the doctor’s office or hospital and ask for help.
When you speak to the doctor’s office or hospital about debt help for unpaid medical bills, ask about payment plans. If you can’t afford to settle your debt, or if settling your hospital debt isn’t an option, you may be able to get debt help in the form of small monthly payments. Ask the billing department if you can pay $50 or $100 each month to pay off your medical debt. Health providers are usually very open to working with patients who lack adequate health insurance coverage.
If you need help paying your hospital debt, you might consider charging your 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. If you use this method to help pay off your hospital debt, you might also help increase your credit score. Your credit score is positively impacted by responsible amounts of debt and effective debt management.
You may also be eligible for medical debt help that comes from the state, county or province where you reside. Your hospital’s billing department is aware of this sort of debt help program and will offer it as an option if you are eligible. Eligibility for medical debt help varies, but is generally based on your annual household earnings.
Get more money-saving tips: learn how to save money on homeowner’s insurance, decrease your insurance premiums and how to get auto insurance discounts.
Talk back with a writer- tell Lisa Nichols about your experiences with unpaid medical bills.