Medical debt can be a huge expense and a tremendous burden. Many times the debt is even more difficult because of having just been out of work or having to take off of work. Some people may even lose their job during a medical emergency and find the additional burden of having to find another job.
Years ago, my wife and I found ourselves in $600,000+ in medical debt. During the weeks that followed, I discovered a few tips that may help some of you who find yourself in a similar circumstance.
1. Hospitals tend to increase the actual cost of service significantly because it is often an insurance company that is the one who pays the bill. If you are without insurance and find yourself in debt, go to the finance department and let them know that you are without insurance and are unable to pay your bills. They may ask to see your bank accounts and know what assets you have. If you have very little they may be willing to significantly reduce your bills. After providing the requested paperwork, such as bank statements, and talking with them on a few occasions over the phone, they reduced our bill down to about $20,000.
2. Even though our expenses had been dramatically reduced, I continued to talk with the finance office. Our particular hospital (and I would assume this would also be the case for other hospitals) had an account with donations that people had given for those who found themselves with large bills they had to pay. They took the $20,000 and paid it out of this account leaving us with a $0 bill. We did have a $10,000 deductible through Medi-Share* but that was a small price to pay compared to the original $600,000 bill.
3. There was an additional bill from a medivac helicopter transport that cost $30,000. After talking with the finance office they agreed to receive $11,000 if it was paid in 6 weeks and did not require the balance of the $30,000 flight This $11,000 was covered through those in our Medi-Share* network. During the dialog with this company I realized that sometimes companies are willing to take a smaller amount if they know that they will receive it in full in a short time.
Although medical debt can put families into lifelong financial ruin, there may be ways to significantly reduce bills or even find debt forgiveness. It may take time and tenacity or it may be as simple as just asking. But the effort is worthwhile and con provide freedom from debt.
