Explore Effective Ways of Dealing with Medical Debt Collection
Medical debt is supposed to be a serious problem in the U.S.A. You need to realize that medical bills are actually quite serious and they have the potential to cripple your finances. You must consider dealing with your medical debt promptly before you are pushed to bankruptcy. A 2016 study revealed that one-third of cancer survivors actually were neck-deep in debts because of the exorbitant medical expenses and 3 percent of them had actually filed for bankruptcy. Moreover, as per the findings of a study conducted in 2014 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, medical bills are supposed to be the most common reason for unpaid bills that are sent to the collection agencies.
Needless to say, nothing could be more unfair and frustrating in life than medical debt. Obviously, you did not ask for medical debt and you were compelled by circumstances to get yourself treated or hospitalized because of unanticipated illness. You obviously, did not get any pleasure from your medical debts but the fact is you owe a huge amount of money just the same. Luckily enough, there are major differences in the ways medical debts are tackled and so there is no reason for you to get worked up. There are ways to cure your worries and deal effectively with medical debt and medical debt collection.
Medical debt counselors, state regulators, and credit counselors all tend to agree that it is a bad idea to ignore medical debt and calls from collectors. You need to seriously deal with it before matters get out of your hand. The most effective expert advice is to avoid the menace of debt collectors altogether. Once you could see that your medical debt is becoming overwhelming, you need to start negotiating with the hospital or your doctor at once and try your best to work out an effective and reasonable payment arrangement so that your debt is not handed over to the collection agency.
Medical Debt Affects Your Credit Score in a Different Way
The good news is that your medical debt would be impacting your credit score in a different manner as compared to other consumer debts. Your medical debt usually, does not show up for six months on your credit profile. Generally, doctors and hospitals are not very comfortable about reporting to the credit bureaus, hence, your medical debt is not visible on your credit profile until and unless you bill is sent to any outside collection agency.
Medical debt is treated in a unique way and collectors realize that they must allow some extra time to debtors for tackling their medical bills and getting their insurance claim appealed, processed, and paid. You are certainly not pressurized to pay up your medical debt right away. Moreover, medical debts actually are not responsible for lowering your credit score. As per the recent version of FICO, it would not regard any of your paid medical debt collection account. It would be giving less importance to unpaid medical debt collections as compared to unpaid non-medical debt collections.
Consider Applying For a Medical Financial Aid
As per www.thecreditsolutionprogram.com, “Many hospitals provide charitable or financial aid to patients who qualify and ask for it. Many clinics and doctors’ offices also consider helping you if you can demonstrate you are under duress because of escalating medical debts or decreasing income. However, if you decide to apply for financial aid I recommend that you do so as soon as possible.” This is simply because several providers would be following strictly six months to twelve months’ time limit in terms of putting in aid applications. You need to do a lot of paperwork and documentation but fortunately, in some cases; you would be successful in wiping out several thousands of dollars in terms of medical bills. Visit reputed sites such as Nationaldebtrelief.com for perfect debt relief solutions.
Ask for Reconsidering Your Insurance Claims
It does not imply that you would be sending in duplicate claims. It only means that you are free to ask for more money if you are not satisfied with how your claim has been paid. You need to consistently monitor and scrutinize meticulously your insurance claims to identify any errors. Make sure that incorrect codes are not used while submitting the medical bills. The doctor must give the coder absolutely correct description.
Make Sure You Are Handling a Bill and Not an EOB
You must examine the mail properly to ensure that you have a precise medical bill and certainly not an Explanation of Benefits or EOB. On some occasions, your health insurance company would be sending you an EOB to explain clearly to you what all have been paid by the insurance on your behalf. In the case, the EOB demonstrates the fact that you have just paid a portion of the claim, it is quite natural for the doctor’s office to contact you soon with the medical bill for you to pay.
Verification Must Be Done to Make Sure that the Item Is Not Covered By Your Insurance Plan
Medical billing is complicated and certain errors and mistakes could take place. You must check if the hospital or the doctor billed your insurance company for the right services. Find out why your bill was still not paid. You need to take proactive measures to correct the mistakes as that may save you quite a lot of money.
Negotiate With Your Hospital /Doctor
The medical industry realizes that you do not understand the bill details and what you are actually being billed for. So they try to take advantage of your ignorance in this aspect. If insurance refuses to pay for certain items in your medical bill, you may talk directly to your doctor or hospital and try to negotiate a favorable deal. When a debt collection agency is handling your medical debt, you may hire the services of a qualified medical bill advocate for negotiating on your behalf.
Employ an Experienced Medical Bill Advocate
Medical bill advocates are experienced enough to identify mistakes or overcharging issues and they help you in reducing the owed amount. A qualified medical bill advocate would be negotiating with the collectors on your behalf as they are specialists in medical billing issues and they know precisely how to examine medical bills and understand clearly common expenses for certain procedures.
Deal Wisely With Medical Debt Collection Agency
If your medical bill is sent already to the collection agency, there are certain steps that you could take. You may consider sending a ‘cease & desist letter’ at once to your collection agency if you want to tell them to stop getting in touch with you at once regarding the debt. However, you must understand that any collection agency would be having the right to directly report a medical debt on the credit report. They may consider suing you and garnishing your wages. You may educate yourself properly about all your rights and never think in terms of ignoring phone calls and letters about medical debts or even court notices regarding debt lawsuits.
Conclusion: File for Bankruptcy
When no other solution is available, you would have to seek assistance through bankruptcy court. Medical debt would be totally discharged provided you are eligible for Chapter 7 or you could pay your outstanding medical bill via the Repayment Plan of Chapter 13, extending over 3-5 years. We understand that bankruptcy would be the last resort and least desired decision; however, it is better than grappling with debts all your life knowing full well that the massive medical debt cannot ever be repaid by you.
