Unlike other forms of debt that are incurred by choice, medical debt is often unexpected and caused by an emergency that you might not have foreseen. Just because you have medical insurance doesn’t necessarily mean that you are fully protected. Many people find that they still end up with large medical bills.
If you are having issues managing the debt caused by medical bills and are worried that you won’t be able to make the repayments, there are several options that you can pursue. Some healthcare providers may be willing to negotiate and come up with a payment plan, but that isn’t always the case.
While filing for bankruptcy is certainly one way of clearing your debt, it has a lot of consequences and should normally only be used as a last resort. That is why before you go down that route it might be better to look into medical debt consolidation so that you can consolidate all your medical debts into a single loan.
Typically medical debt consolidation can help by:
- Lowering the interest rate attached to your debt
Many people make the mistake of paying off their medical bills with credit cards that normally have high interest rates. By using credit card loan consolidation, you will be able to pay off those debts immediately, and you’ll be left with only the medical debt consolidation loan that would have a much lower interest rate. It is worth noting that the interest rate you’ll be able to secure will depend on several factors such as, including the collateral that you are willing to put up, your income, and credit rating.
- Providing you with the opportunity to negotiate with healthcare providers
As part of consolidating your medical debt, you should get a debt counselor or medical bill advocate to negotiate with your healthcare providers. When they do so, they may be able to secure a lower principal balance, so you’ll end up having to pay less in the long term. Most debt counselors and medical bill advocates work on a contingency basis, so there will be no risk involved.
- Ensuring you only have one monthly repayment
In some cases your medical debts may be stretched across multiple credit cards, loans or repayments. By consolidating those debts you will end up with just a single monthly repayment which should be easier to manage. It is also going to be more convenient to keep track of when that repayment is due, as well as the amount of debt that remains.
As you can see, medical debt consolidation can help in a number of ways. Overall it should make your debt much more manageable. It is certainly preferable that you declare bankruptcy, as it won’t affect your credit rating or your ability to take on credit in the future. Nowadays there are many services that specialize in dealing with medical debts, and their experience may be able to help you – especially when it comes to negotiating lower principals from healthcare providers.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
