Paying Off Medical Bills
Filed under Debt
If you are carrying large balances on unpaid medical bills, you are not alone. You can accumulate medical bills rather quickly from life events such as having a baby. Other common causes are either being uninsured or under insured, or facing a serious illness. Even the best of insurance will only pay for so many of your medical expenses, and the rest of the charges will be sent to you. It is not uncommon for these accounts to go into collections, damaging your credit rating. High medical debt is one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy. Clearly, you do want to find a way to pay down your high debt. So what are your options?
Contact Your Creditors
If your unpaid medical bills have not yet reached the point of going to collections, call your creditors to set up a payment plan. In most cases, a medical facility such as a doctor’s office, hospital, and so forth will establish a payment plan that can work with your own budget. Their goal is to get paid, and so often they are helpful in this regard.
Installment Loans
You can also consider contacting your local bank and requesting an installment loan to pay off your unpaid bills. When your loan request is approved, you generally will be provided with a check in the amount of the loan, and through these funds, you can pay off your creditors directly. The loan terms you obtain through your local bank can be negotiated, and often this is a great way to set up a payment plan that pays off your high debt in three, five, or seven years.
Bankruptcy For Medical Bills
This is an option to discharge high amounts of debt, but it should only be considered as a last resort. The above options for paying off your debt will not damage your credit rating, and they do make it easier for many people to make repayment of those debts more manageable. However, there are times when even in the best of cases the medical debt is just too much to cope with. This is something that will show up on your credit report for all who view your report to see, and it lowers your credit scores. More and more often now, a credit report is not only used by creditors but also by landlords and even potential employers, too. While this option should be viewed as a last resort, you should bear in mind that it can provide you with that clean financial start that those with high amounts of unpaid bills may need.
Explore these options further, and you may find that you can find a way to pay down your medical bills and reduce the stress of this financial burden.
Tags: Making Payments To Delinquent Medical Bills
Delinquent Medical Bills
Filed under Lending Money
Delinquent medical bills can adversely hurt credit scores. To what degree depends on several factors including the guidelines of each particular lender. The amount owed in unpaid medical bills also has a bearing. Lenders hesitate to make a loan to someone who has more debt than can be paid.
Some lenders are more likely to grant a loan if the outstanding medical debt is large, versus small. Lenders are aware that astronomical medical bills can be hard to pay. They do expect to see an effort being made to pay the debt and are willing to help. However, if you ignore the debt, companies are known to send them to collection agencies regardless of the debt. A small outstanding debt should not become delinquent.
Making Payments To Delinquent Medical Bills
It makes a difference if an individual is attempting to pay the unpaid medical bills. Making a monthly payment can be the difference between getting credit or being denied credit. A monthly payment shows good faith in trying to satisfy the debt. One may still be able to borrow money or get a credit card. The amount of credit extended will be considerably less than would have otherwise been extended.
Non-payment of medical bills may end up with a lien being place on a home. That means if the home sells, the holder of the lien will get a portion of the money to satisfy the unpaid medical bills. The more liens placed on a home, the less collateral for lenders should a loan go into default. Lenders rarely grant a loan on an asset holding a lien.
An unpaid small delinquent medical bill seriously hurts a credit score causing lenders to deny loans. However, if a loan is granted, it will be at higher interest rates. If wages are garnisheed, then this alerts lenders that less income is available to repay any credit extended.
Most outstanding medical bills eventually gets turned over to a collection agency. Some reduce the amount owed to settle the debt. It is a good idea to accept the offer. Once it is paid, a notation on the credit record indicates the unpaid medical bill is settled.
Large medical bills can be an indication of bad health. Lenders will not extend a loan if they believe an individual will not live long enough to repay the debt.