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HomeBlog BlogWhat You Need To Know About Dealing With Big Medical Bills
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What You Need To Know About Dealing With Big Medical Bills

February 19, 2013 by National Debt Relief

If you don’t think healthcare has gotten really expensive, try spending two or three days in the hospital. I was hospitalized for four days a few years back and my total charges were more than $36,000. And I had a minor procedure last year that cost $6,000 and didn’t even involve a hospital. Fortunately, my healthcare insurance covered all but $600 of the $6,000.

Review your billStethoscope on pile of money

Let’s say you had to make a trip to the hospital that resulted in a $36,000 bill like mine. Whether you have insurance or not, the first thing you should do is sit down and go over it line by line to make sure you’re not being billed for services you didn’t actually receive. You can probably skip over the minor charges but be sure to look for big items such as an MRI or CAT scan. If you don’t remember getting any of the services for which you’ve been billed, mark them with a highlighter for future reference.

If you have health insurance

In the event you have health insurance, all you need to do for now is wait until you’re told how much of that $36,000 is covered – or will be paid by the insurance company. Read your policy very carefully to make sure you understand which costs were covered and which weren’t and any co-pays you’re required to make. That way you’ll know if the insurance company is playing fair with you. If you feel it’s not for any reason or if you disagree with the co-pays or limits on your coverage, you will need to meet with your HR department or insurance agent to get the differences resolved.

If you don’t have insurance

If this is the case, you will need to meet with the doctor, hospital or clinic responsible for the bill. If you found errors when you reviewed the bill, you will need to bring these to the provider’s attention and ask that they be deleted. Barring this, you have several options for dealing with that bill or bills.

Negotiate a settlement

I saw a report recently that healthcare providers often inflate their charges by a multiple of 3x or 4x because they don’t really expect to collect the full amount. This means you might be able to negotiate that $36,000 bill down to $9,000 or less.

Ask for a payment plan

Step two is to ask for a payment plan. Most hospitals and clinics are willing to work with patients who can’t afford to pay their bills immediately. You could ask for one, two or even three years to pay off your bill. Of course, you may have to pay interest because you are, in effect, borrowing money from the hospital or clinic.

Card it

A second option for taking care of that big bill is be to put it on your credit card – assuming you have a high enough limit to cover it. If not, you might be able to spread it across several credit cards – putting maybe $5,000 or $7,000 on each of two or three cards. You could then pay off the bill at your own speed.

File for bankruptcy

One of the biggest reasons why people file for bankruptcy these days is due to big medical bills. If you’re uninsured and can’t see any other way to pay that huge bill, you could file for a chapter 7 bankruptcy. This would discharge almost all your unsecured debts, including any medical bills, credit card debts and personal loans. Chapter 7 bankruptcies typically take about six months and cost anywhere from $500 on up.

Opt for debt settlement

A fifth way to deal with big medical bills is to let us negotiate settlements with your creditors. Our debt counselors usually negotiate settlements that save our clients thousands of dollars. While debt settlement will affect your credit score, it won’t be as bad as if you had filed for bankruptcy. Plus, it’s a more ethical way to handle your debts vs. a bankruptcy where you basically stiff your creditors for everything you owed them.

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By clicking "Get Free Quote", you agree that the phone number you are providing may be used to contact you by National Debt Relief (including autodialed and prerecorded calls, as well as text/SMS messages). Msg. and data rates apply, and your consent to such contact is not required for purchase.
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Moderate National Debt Relief Caller: Charlotte Transcribed WE 1/24/2021 Charlotte: Before I begin, I have to let you know that our call may be recorded. Can you tell me, how did you first hear about our National Debt Relief? JOAN: Oh, I don't know. I don't remember. I don't know how I heard about it. Charlotte: What made you decide to work with them? JOAN: Well, obviously, I needed to consolidate my debt. Charlotte: Tell me about the service program that they provided you with. JOAN: Well, I'm not done. But for me, it’s costly. What I did not like about it was that they add on. They say it's going to be X amount of dollars. But then what they do is they say, “Oh, well, we found another creditor that you need to…” So that'll be at a different part of the month and I don't like staggered bills. If I'm gonna pay a bill, whether it's to the phone company, the insurance company, whatever it might be, I want to pay that bill once a month. That's the only drawback. Charlotte: So let me get this. Normally, they are collecting the bills upfront. And then they work to get them paid off at a different rate. So everything wasn't collected all at once, if that's what I'm hearing correctly. JOAN: No, no, no. Every month, money is taken out of your account. And they pay X amount of dollars. Like let's say you owe $5,000 with Citibank, $500 in Credit One, whatever. They work out a deal with them and then they say, “Well, you have to pay $350 a month.” And they'll pay $20 a month towards -- they give you like around about how long it's going to take. Two years, two and a half years. And then they work it out that way. Charlotte: Now, what did you think about your negotiator? JOAN: I don't know. I just called up. It's a completely different department. So when you call up to sign up, it's very different. I don't remember that. It's just that they collected all the information. It was easy for me. I didn't have to go through and find whatever bills I wanted to put in the debt relief. They did that. Charlotte: So say you have questions or concerns. How did you get your questions or concerns addressed? JOAN: I would just ask and they answered it. They're very helpful like that. They'll answer any questions you have. And if they don’t know, they will find out. Charlotte: So was there not a particular person that you spoke with? JOAN: No, you don’t have one person that you deal with that just handles your account. Once you do – they’re like headhunters. Until you sign up, you're going to have that one person and even other people calling. Once your name is out there, they're going to keep calling you. So, once you sign up, then it's whoever answers the phone. It’s customer service. Charlotte: How comfortable did you feel working with National Debt Relief through this process? JOAN: I felt very comfortable, very safe. I was not worried about anything. Charlotte: Is there anything about this process that you would have liked to seen handled differently? JOAN: Yes. The way the payments come out. I'd rather have them one instead of … Charlotte: Everywhere. JOAN: Right. Well, not everywhere. For the most part, the bulk of them were. But then if there's one here, one there, they don't just extend it to another payment. And then the payments change, like the payment amount. You could pay $20 for six months, and then all of a sudden, it's $80 for the next three months, so you really don't know. Charlotte: So if you have to rate this experience on a scale of one to five, five is you’d recommend to friends, one you're pretty dissatisfied… JOAN: No. I would definitely recommend it to a friend. Charlotte: How would you say working with National Debt Relief has impact your life? JOAN: Well, it did help until I hit a speed bump. I'm in the middle of a divorce and my husband closed our checking account, of course. But so far, as a matter of fact, that's why I thought you were calling. I have to postpone the next month, so hopefully, they'll be able to postpone it, because I've been postponing it for a few months. Charlotte: Would it be okay if I posted your comments as a review on our public website for National Debt Relief? Because you did give us some really good feedback. JOAN: Yes, but not using my name. Charlotte: Okay, I will make it anonymous for you. I will also send over a link so that you can have it as a record for yourself at jdola20@yahoo.com. JOAN: Yes, but do not put that public. Charlotte: Oh, no, no, no. That doesn't go public. Definitely. How would you say working with National Debt Relief has impact your life. JOAN: Well, really, it would have helped if I could have stayed on the program. Charlotte: We’re recorded.

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