Failing to prepare for the unknown and unexpected is one of the worst things someone can do to themselves.
With the rising cost of medical bills, if people aren’t careful they can find themselves in quite a bit of debt after it’s all said and done.
What’s worse is that a good portion of the money that goes into medical bills goes toward paying off the money lost from those who commit health care fraud.
This means that a lot of people who are paying medical bills are getting interest on small parts that are there because of other people committing fraud. This is just one small reason why people need to make sure to stay ahead of their medical bills as much as possible.
Step 1: Deal with the debt
Those who are trying to keep up with their medical bills must discipline themselves to deal with the debt head on rather than trying to ignore it. Although ignoring the problem can make people feel better in the short term, it actually causes a lot of problems later in life. If someone neglects to make payments on their medical bill debt, it can go to a collection agency, which will show up negatively on someone’s credit report as being unpaid or delinquent.
Should people allow this to show up on their credit report, it will probably cause them some trouble later when it comes to getting credit cards and loans and many cases, those with mid-range credit will have to pay much higher interest rates or annual fees on their credit cards and loans than others.
Step 2: Analyze the debt
Analyze the medical billing statements that were received and make sure to always look over every bill before it’s paid. With things such as medical bills, it’s easy for companies to make some mistakes since they’re often fairly large and complex.
It’s up to the patient to look for these mistakes in their bills so they can contact the company directly before they start paying for services they may not have received.
Likewise, if someone sees anything on their statements that they don’t understand – even if they feel they should – it’s important to call and see what those things are. It’s always better safer than sorry when it comes to paying back medical bills.
Step 3: Make the calls
As with any other piece of debt, sometimes it’s worth calling the lender or provider to see if they can offer anything for the patient before they begin paying the debt down. Sometimes these companies will offer special discounts or lower interest rates if the person calls to negotiate before the pay-back method gets carved in stone. Nowadays, lenders seem much more willing to help medical patients when it comes to paying down their debt since more often than not, if patients aren’t able to pay the money back, they just won’t pay anything at all. Since these companies obviously want to get their money back, they’re willing to give a little bit of leeway in order to help the patient make their payments.
Each year sees another rise in the cost of medical bills for patients who require it, sometimes as much as ten percent, and staying ahead of these bills is vital for keeping good credit. It’s not always easy, but keeping up on the payments and making sure to pay the debt down as much as possible is certainly doable.