Medical Bills

Thanks for your question about handling medical bills and how to either consolidate them or work to resolve them with the services of a debt relief provider.  There are several different type of consolidation loans, but the one that will best suit your situation depends primarily on whether or not you own a home and your credit history.

Before going into detail on handling medical bills specifically, if you are struggling with the medical bills I would advise you to get quotes on bill consolidation and also on debt relief services, and see which is the best fit for your needs.  You can get a debt consolidation quote from Bills.com to deal with the medical debt:  Debt Relief Savings Quote or if you own a home you can get a free Mortgage Refinance Quote.

Now on to how to handle these pesky medical bills and what all of your options are.  Medical bills, and uncovered insurance costs as a result of hospital or medical procedures, can be particularly difficult to manage since they are very frequently billed as an invoice.  In other words, 100% of the payment is due when the bill comes.  This is very different from other large expense items like a home, auto or even credit card debts where a lender finances you and offers a repayment period with low monthly payments. 

We recommend, however, trying to first payoff the debt in full and if that is not an option we always advise consumers to reach out early and often to their hospital and try to get the medical debt accommodated with either a reduction or with payment terms.  In fact, many non-profit hospitals have in their charter an accommodation strategy for consumers who cannot afford to pay due to hardship, and many times will be willing to work with you.

If, however, your hospital alone will not work with you - then you can still try on your own to convert the debt to an installment payment plan by refinancing your mortgage to consolidate debt.  Alternatively, you can seek out debt relief options that typically will work with hospital and medical bills just like the debts were any other form of unsecured debt.

If you do not own a home or other property to offer as collateral for a secured debt consolidation loan, there are several other options you should consider. You could also look into an unsecured personal loan to consolidate your debts –check out the loans section of the Bills.com Savings Center for unsecured debt consolidation loans that may improve your situation. However, your ability to qualify for either a credit card or a personal loan that will actually save you money greatly depends on your credit score. If your credit history is less than perfect, you may have difficulty finding a lender willing to extend you credit, and if you do find a loan, you should expect to pay a premium in interest. A possible loan resource you may want to explore is www.Prosper.com, a site which puts private lenders in contact with private borrowers. A private lender may be more willing extend you a loan than a traditional bank. If you are unable to find a consolidation loan that fits your needs, you may want to look into alternatives such as debt settlement or credit counseling. I hope we can help you find a solution to your medical bills and debt troubles.

Best of luck,

Bill