If illness or injury is taking a toll on your pocketbook, then it’s important that you know about your rights through medical debt collection laws. These bills can stack up after an illness or injury, causing devastating financial effects on the entire family. Even if you have good insurance coverage, it’s rare for all of the medical costs to be covered by the insurance policy. Since the medical provider doesn’t offer long-term payment plans, it means that you are on your own to find a payment solution.
Medical Bills in Collections
Too often, patients can’t come up with the money fast enough – resulting in medical bills that are sent to collections. Just as you are getting back on your feet after recovery is when the debt collections calls start rolling in. Not only are these collections efforts stressful, but they can take a toll on your mental health and financial future. These ongoing problems are the reason why medical debt collection laws were established.
Like other forms of debt, medical debt can result in a snowball effect that causes the balances to increase each month. Late fees, interest costs, and other expenses are added to the bills, making it harder and harder for patients to keep up with the payments.
Debt Collection Laws to Protect Consumers
Medical debt collection laws vary from state to state, so it’s important to understand how these laws affect your bills. Even though the nuances of these protections vary, every state maintains the same goals with these laws: to protect the consumers.
In the past, collections companies used deceiving and threatening methods to collect payment from consumers. Ongoing calls and threats of lawsuits can result in ongoing stress, which could have a compound effect on the patient’s health. As you are healing from your health concerns, you need to be proactive in protecting your rights through medical debt collection laws.
New Rules for Debt Collectors
The newest medical debt collection laws protect you from harassment and other harmful debt collection practices. For example, debt collectors can only contact people during reasonable daytime hours, such as between 8 am and 9 pm. Additionally, there are limitations on the number of times a debt collector can contact an individual each week and month.
Ultimately, the goal is to protect consumers against the harassment that has happened in the past. Just because you are looking for solutions to pay off your bills doesn’t mean that you need to be subject to harsh treatment from the debt collections companies. It’s time to look at debt repayment solutions such as debt settlement or consolidation. Additionally, you have the right to know about state and federal medical debt collection laws to ensure that you aren’t being mistreated.
