Tips And Comments Of Experts In Dealing With Medical Debts
Like all people you may also want to avoid collection calls and communications when you are struggling with your debts whether it is your medical bills, credit card loans, or any other. Therefore, to stay away from and deal proficiently with the medical debt collection you are advised to follow these tips and advice of the experts and follow the right part to pay off your unpaid medical bills.
Statistically, the following things were found in the report of a study by the American Journal of Medicine:
- Unpaid medical bills are supposed to be the cause of 62% of bankruptcies in America
- The more alarming fact is that it is found that about 80% of the people who filed medical debt bankruptcy actually had them covered with adequate health insurance
- Adding to the concern is that in most of the cases it was found that the outstanding amount of debt was very low and sometimes as low as just $18,000.
- As for those people who did not have any health insurance and filed for bankruptcy, this outstanding amount was around $27,000 or less.
With all these facts revealed, it is needless to say that medical debt is a serious concern in the United States and it is found that medical bills also have the potential to cripple ones’ financial health as well.
Hopefully, if you are prudent and strategic enough, you can easily deal with your medical debts to success and get everything in order before matters go out of your control and push you towards bankruptcy. You simply have to get in touch with a reputed and reliable nonprofit credit counseling agency to help you out with the varied options available to deal with such debts and to determine the best course of action so that you can eliminate your debts in quick time for sure and permanently.
A brief insight into medical debt collections
Medical debts can become your burden very soon and it can be frustrating as well when it is handed over to the collections by the hospitals which they will eventually do if they do not get their payments. One effective and prudent way to deal with your medical debts is to address them by using debt consolidation.
In general, debt consolidation will help you to borrow money to manage your debt and pay it off. The beneficial features of this loan are that:
- You will get this loan at a lower rate of interest
- Get longer period to pay off and
- Get to make reduced payments.
It is better if you get all these three but even if you do not, debt consolidation is the best way to deal with your multiple debts. This process is incredibly helpful when you face with extended and serious medical issues that result in high bills.
Expert tips to follow
However, there are a few strategic processes to follow if you want to handle your debts more proficiently.
- Experts suggest that you check out the debt consolidation reviews before you finally decide so that you can have a view of other available options that may be more suitable under the given situations.
- They also say that it is wise to take the help of an experienced and expert debt advisor or a nonprofit credit counseling agency before you finalize any option to deal with your medical bills. The most obvious and common practice to pay off medical bills is by using a credit card which however may turn out to be a drastically poor decision in the end.
- The experts also corroborate with the need to make a good plan in advance to repay your medical bills. Ideally, most people have an emergency fund created with savings of at least three to six months to meet the essential expenses of the medical treatment as well as to cover the essential costs in the short term. This is because there may be a possibility of losing your job or earnings when you recover from the medical issue.
- It is also required to make sure that you get the lowest medical bills with no errors, duplicate entries, or even an expense for a test or treatment that you never received. In case you find any such issues, talk to the doctor who treated you as well as the billing department of the hospital to get it rectified.Â
Also, check out the possible tax opportunities. Experts say that this effort is very important as this can save a lot of money in the process.
Pursuing debt consolidation option
When you finally decide as your medical debt increases that consolidating these debts is the best financial decision to make, there are a few things to know and follow while you pursue this option. Such knowledge will help you to get familiar with the complex health care system. This is important knowledge that you should have even if you have adequate health insurance to cover your costs just like most people.
More often than not, the medical insurance policy may not cover all types of medical services, tests, and treatments. These insurance companies may also have a list of their own network of medical providers and if you take out their policy it will limit your selection of medical service providers. Therefore, it is better to get in touch and consult with your insurance company or your agent before you visit a doctor or a hospital to know the coverage of your specific health insurance policy as well as the providers you are allowed to choose according to it.
However, even if you strictly follow the rules, you may still run into trouble. This is because the insurance companies are often found to be very slow in processing the claims. This benefits the health care providers as they get the time and opportunity both to send you the bills for those services that are covered by your insurance plan. Experts, therefore, dice to get it all verified with the medical provider before dealing with the insurance company.