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Im asking out of curiosity. In the last year we have accumulated some medical bills. Nothing extreme ,but enough to not be able to pay it all off at once. I am paying monthly on these bills and I have never let them become delinquent. In the past,I have been reading about people who file for bk and many people do it due to high medical bills. Is medical bills a lower priority to pay than other debt? I have always looked at my bills as equally important but if I was ever put in a situation where I would not have enough money to pay all my bills I would probably pay the doctors bill last, while rent and electric bill would be first priority. Also, I have heard people say that they have had the same medical bills for years, and they only pay a little here and there, or whenever they have the money to pay them.
Is this fairly common you think?
Last edited by glass_of_merlot; 11-05-2013 at 07:30 AM..
In the last year we have accumulated some medical bills.
Nothing extreme, but enough to not be able to pay it all off at once.
Is this fairly common you think?
Extremely common.
It also examples the limit of what most people need regarding health insurance.
With something very similar to an auto or home policy, with a low annual cost that can be relied
upon to deal with an occasional surprise and most real world need is covered.
The really serious bills, the bankruptingly expensive catastrophic and traumatic illness and injuries,
are just about impossible to insure against on an individual basis and not even by means of policies
with private health insurance companies. These require a 100% participation actuarial pool.
The chronic conditions in between are tougher.
But since most of that treatment cost is known in advance... insurance doesn't really apply anyway.
Budget your pharmaceuticals and diagnostic work and then pay as you go.
Medical bills are less important to a landlord if you have to move and rent a house/apartment. If I were in this situation where I had no money available and all my credit cards were maxed out, and I had no other option, I would pay rent and utilities over medical bills, any day.
Remember, student loans can usually be put into deferment in case of hardship, so if you have any of those, you could lower your monthly obligation by that amount with a couple of phone calls.
Also, medical collectors are usually willing to negotiate, as long as they are consistently receiving SOMETHING. So if you can't pay your bills, call them up and negotiate a lower monthly payment.
Being proactive is always the key. Don't wait for the collectors to come looking for you. Do your negotiating up front. Most people will work with you if you are honest and up front. Even some utility companies will negotiate a payment plan.
Medical bills are less important to a landlord if you have to move and rent a house/apartment. If I were in this situation where I had no money available and all my credit cards were maxed out, and I had no other option, I would pay rent and utilities over medical bills, any day.
Remember, student loans can usually be put into deferment in case of hardship, so if you have any of those, you could lower your monthly obligation by that amount with a couple of phone calls.
Also, medical collectors are usually willing to negotiate, as long as they are consistently receiving SOMETHING. So if you can't pay your bills, call them up and negotiate a lower monthly payment.
Being proactive is always the key. Don't wait for the collectors to come looking for you. Do your negotiating up front. Most people will work with you if you are honest and up front. Even some utility companies will negotiate a payment plan.
You are right. Calling the company you have a hard time paying helps and most of them will work with you. I think if you just ignore your bills, that's when you for sure are sent to collections.
Medical bills are my last priority. The reason is that if you send them something every now and then, they are happy and there is no interest. I have a $600 bill that I've been paying for the last few months, I send whatever I have left over in my budget at the end of the month whether it's $40 or $100. They don't complain and again there is no interest or fees. I think if the doctor's started to charge interest and fees like the utility/cable company does, things would be different. I wonder if there is something preventing them from doing that.
Medical bills are my last priority. The reason is that if you send them something every now and then, they are happy and there is no interest. I have a $600 bill that I've been paying for the last few months, I send whatever I have left over in my budget at the end of the month whether it's $40 or $100. They don't complain and again there is no interest or fees. I think if the doctor's started to charge interest and fees like the utility/cable company does, things would be different. I wonder if there is something preventing them from doing that.
That's very much a YMMV kind of thing. I have a pending hospital bill that is collected at 12% APR.
That's very much a YMMV kind of thing. I have a pending hospital bill that is collected at 12% APR.
Really, wow? Never had that happen, yet! In that case I would work on paying that first.
The other thing I believe too is that they don't often or don't always report to collection agencies. I'm not sure, but I had one bill that ended up going to collections because I moved. It was a while before I set up a payment plan with the collections agency and it never showed up on my credit report.
The ones that have no late fee, interest, or carrying charge and can't interrupt service and do not use Rocky and Angelo's collection service...
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