| Medical Debt Consolidation |
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| Written by Jonathan Pollack |
| Sunday, 15 March 2009 14:12 |
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Maybe you're one of the people who are dealing with a mountain of medical debt. The thing is that it doesn't even have to be a lengthy hospital stay: if you're uninsured, the shortest trip can land you in serious (financial) trouble. Besides, everybody knows that health issues can turn even the best financial situation totally upside down.
Maybe you're one of the people who are dealing with a mountain of medical debt. The thing is that it doesn't even have to be a lengthy hospital stay: if you're uninsured, the shortest trip can land you in serious (financial) trouble. Besides, everybody knows that health issues can turn even the best financial situation totally upside down. A debt consolidation company works for you on two levels. On the one hand, they contact your creditors to work out deals; typically they push for part of your debt to be forgiven, and to have all your penalties written off. And on top of that, when the deal is reached, they give you a monthly payment to make, and they handle the rest, which makes things easier for you. The first thing the debt management company will do is have sort of an evaluating session with you. They will look at your total debt, and go through your budget to see how much you can pay. From that point, they will get in touch with your creditors to work out a payment plan. Since medical debt is unsecured (your doctor or hospital has no collateral to cash when you default), its interest rates are higher, which gives the debt consolidation company some room to negotiate for you and bring it to lower levels. The debt consolidation company and your creditors will negotiate until everyone is clear on what the plan is and agrees to it. Your new balance will then be used as the base to give you exactly how much your monthly installment will be. The payment will be made to the debt consolidation company, which will handle the paying of the creditors. Thanks to their know-how and connections, they can often get much better deals than people would have gotten on their own. A debt consolidation program can be of great help to bring down your debt to manageable levels. As an added bonus, once you start making regular payments, it will have a positive impact on your credit score. Hiring a reputable debt consolidation company helps because they will indeed help you get out of medical debt. The biggest advantages of medical bill consolidation programs is that you get some of your debt forgiven, which translates into lower monthly payments, and you only have to deal with one company instead of several. It's probably not something that everyone would feel comfortable doing, but if well-executed, it can help you get rid of a burdensome medical debt load. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Jonathan Pollack is a freelance writer. He focuses on the debt consolidation industry and has written extensively on how to negotiate hospital bills on his personal finance blog. |