latest nhpb_banner 1__compressed2

 

Home

Help Near Me

Immediate Financial Assistance

Rental Assistance

Free Food Pantries

Utility Bill Help

Free Stuff

Work From Home Jobs

Public and Government Assistance

Disability Benefits

Section 8 Housing and Apartments

Senior Help

Free Money

Free Grants

Free Clothes

Charity Assistance

Church Assistance

Community Action Agency

Free Job Training

Help with Medical Bills

Free Healthcare

Free Dental Clinics

Car Payment Assistance

Debt Relief

How to Save Money

Search the Website

 

Medical debt forgiveness.

Many hospitals, doctors, and medical providers willing to offer medical debt forgiveness plans to low-income families or people with in insurance. Medical providers offer relief to patients who are in a financial hardship. This will help people with any type of health care need, and learn how to forgive medical debt and settle up with creditors.

Doctors, hospitals, dental practices and other medical providers will settle a patients medical debts as well as related bills. They are taking a similar approach as credit card companies, in that they would rather receive some payments on unpaid debt from the patient rather than have the consumer file for bankruptcy, in which case the medical provider will generally not get paid at all.

What is medical debt forgiveness?

Millions of families file bankruptcy every year as a result of overwhelming medical bills, including medical debt forgiveness programs help address those financial costs. Some studies show that excessive health care costs is the number one reason that families have to file. The bankruptcy filings are often caused by patients either having no health insurance, having a serious illness, or being underinsured. However, even many people with health insurance can be overwhelmed.

If you can’t afford to pay your medical debt or doctor or any type of hospital bills, this may be an option. Low-income patients and people with no insurance often enroll into medical debt forgivingness as well as settlement program. Some people decide to try this themselves or they use a company or professional to help.

While the amount of debt forgiveness will vary, patients may be able to do this and end up paying pennies on the dollar. The reason this can be done is that most doctors, and many hospitals, rarely are responsible for collecting their own debt and do not devote many resources to this. If the bill is not immediately paid, and as the account ages, it will be transferred to various steps of the debt collection process, depending on the company and provider.

  • With a medical debt settlement program, you can try to get the debt forgiven either yourself with the health care provider or you can use a third party company to do this. The goal is to lower the total balance you owe on your debt and to also agree to a repayment plan that will meet the needs of both parties. While results will vary, many people reduce medical debts by up to 60%.

 

 

 

Many studies and personal experiences say that it is easier to negotiate with a doctor or a hospital than it is say a credit card company, bank or mortgage lender. Doctors and hospitals are much less likely to go thru the process and expense of suing you. In addition, they tend to be more sympathetic to your situation, and do not want the bad publicity.

While very few medical providers will have an inhouse collection department, most will outsource this function to an agency or a local law firm, and some medical providers “sell” the unpaid bills to third party debt buyers. At each step of this process, the original medical creditor, such as a hospital or doctor, is forced to share more of the amount that is eventually collected, sometimes down to 5-10% on the dollar when the debt is sold. So the truth is that if you pay 10 percent immediately on your bills, it will close out an account and resolve the situation.

The benefits of a medical debt forgiveness program are many. Without help, you can default on your bills, possibly be sued and ruin your credit. Or you could file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy which is damaging to your credit score and the bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for up to 10 years. You may lose all your assets from a bankruptcy filing, not be able to take out future loans, a low credit score can hurt you when looking for a job, and in general, you may need to start all over. So the settlement may prevent all of that from happening.

Steps to forgive medical debt

1) Get all of your outstanding bills and medical debt statements in order as you need to determine exactly how much you owe on your bills and who you need to pay. That total amount due is the goal of a medical debt forgiveness plan. If you need another copy of your statement then you can get a fully itemized bill from the doctor’s practice or hospital.

 

 

 

 

2) Review your medical bills closely to determine the amount to forgive. Be sure to check that every charge is correct as medical bills are renown for errors or charging patients for services they do not need or did not request. As up to 80% of bills have errors, there is a good chance that there will be some inaccuracies in your case. While insurance companies and other companies do not have the resources or time to address each one (they often just pay), however if you are responsible for paying the bill yourself, it pays to double check it for errors. Find tips for how to check medical bills.

3) Third, determine how much of the medical debt you can realistically afford to pay up front and each month, and try to get the rest forgiven. Be realistic with your personal situation. Creditors will not forgive all of your debt unless you have a case that is well presented and if they decide they have no hope of getting money from your bills.

4)  Contact your local medical billing department and work out a low monthly payment plan, or pay it off directly with them. The fact is that if you can offer a lump sum payment on your medical debt that same day you may very well find that some organizations and/or collectors will accept as little as 10 percent of the total bill that was originally due. Find tips how to negotiate medical bills.

5) Try to make some payments on your medical debt, and have the rest forgiven. After you arrived at these amounts and paid as much as you can, contact the party you need to pay, such as the physician, doctor, debt collection agency, or hospital. Also, explore a payment plan if it is a third party collection agency If you state your case (professionally) and can document your situation, there is a fairly good chance that they will provide you with some settlement or forgiveness of the medical bills.Medical debt forgiveness

6) Or look into government help to settle medical debt. If you have no other options, either from a professional company and are not successful trying yourself, then there are still some government assistance programs that can help with medical debt. There are billions of dollars available in federal, state, and local government grants. While some of these funds are specific to certain illnesses or sicknesses, and others grants help pay for long or short-term care, there are numerous program and options to look into and some are bound to help.

Get help with forgiveness from debt settlement companies

Hundreds of companies, both non profit and for profit debt settlement companies, exist that can advise you. They can also handle the negotiations and paperwork for you. They will review your financial situation, including your unpaid medical bills, how much debt you want forgiven and also check your account for the all too common billing errors. They know the tricks of the trade and have relationships in the industry. They will use their expertise to contact the doctor or hospital and try to have your debt eliminated, and negotiate a reasonable payment plan for you on your bills.

It can’t be stressed enough that companies and organizations are experts at dealing with billing agencies, hospitals, debt collectors, as well as individual physicians. They know the regulations and the state law. They also know how to deal with medical debt collectors. They also have a good idea based upon past experiences how much of your medical debt can be forgiven in your situation. Using a third part can be an effective way to settle outstanding or overwhelming debts.

 

 

 

 

Medical debt forgiveness can be done by non-profit credit counseling agencies. These agencies can help low-income patients or the poor deal with their medical bills. Not only that, but they can also address any other financial difficulties that a family may be facing. Low income families as well as seniors may use these health care debt settlement services for free. Organizations operate in every state. Find information on non-profit credit counselors.

 

Related Content From Needhelppayingbills.com

 

By Jon McNamara

Contact NeedHelpPayingBills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home

Forum

Contact Us

About Us

Financial Literacy Blog

Privacy policy

Visit Facebook page

Search Site