Medical debt can be a surprising stress for many families in America that don’t have insurance to cover their needs or insurance that doesn’t cover enough of what they need. Unfortunately, it has become a normal part of the medical society to over charge for services and to add surprise charges into medical bills that can leave families and individuals in a very bad place financially. It doesn’t matter how you plan and how you budget, if you end up with a surprise bill that you were not able to plan or budget for. We all hope that in an emergency insurance will cover it, but not all families have coverage that really takes care of them and covers them in a way that is affordable if an emergency does occur. So how do you plan and what should you be ready for?
Surprise Bills
For many medical issues come out of nowhere. No one plans to be sick, so unless you or a family member is going in for a planned routine, covered, procedure, most likely the bills you get after having medical treatment are not welcome and not planned. If you are like many people in America today who are not covered by insurance, or who do not have insurance that covers much of the cost of your medical needs, having unexpected medical bills can leave you and your loved ones in a very precarious financial situation.
If you know you have less than adequate health insurance always try to have an emergency fund saved just in case these surprise bills happen. More and more families today are being affected by large amounts of debt stopping them from qualifying from important things like low rate mortgages. It is easier said than done on a tight budget, but even a small amount put aside per paycheck will add up for a rainy day, and hopefully you will never need it, but you and your credit score will thank you when and if you do!
Price Gouging
Sadly it has become normal practice for many medical related items and services to have upcharges on them that people don’t realize. When you are checked into a hospital an aspirin you can buy in an every day store will almost always cost more, just because of where you are. Be aware of what money is being spent when you are in a medical facility if you don’t have the coverage you need to be there!
Bills You Can’t Pay Kill Credit And Will Stop You From Getting You Dream Home Or Any Home At All!
Having bills in collections can be daunting, not only because you need to pay them and you can’t, but because you have debt collectors calling you constantly and you are also destroying your credit score. It is very important to take control of your financial destiny, set up a budget, and take care of your out of control bills! Most families want to be able to live in their own home and if you have unpaid medical bills knocking on your door and your conscience you will not be able to get a mortgage at all, let a lone one with an affordable interest rate!
How to take care of any outstand medical debt you have in collections:
So you’re pumped and ready to tackle your debt. You want to take that next step, get into your own home and out of your unbearable medical debt, but what do you do first?
1. Gather all of your bills and get organized.
2. Call the debt collectors and negotiated the amount you owe them. (Only for debt that is in collections.)
For bills that are not in collections, call the doctors office, call and set up a payment plan for an affordable amount.
3. Get the settled amount in writing and set up a payment plan.
4. Set up a new budget to pay off your bills and stick to your budget.
5. Research better health insurance and try to find a more affordable plan that has better coverage for next time!