Talk about trauma. The last thing most people need after a frightening or painful medical procedure is an equally terrifying hospital bill.
“The impact of unexpected, high medical bills can be really devastating and stressful to individuals and families,” says Maureen Lamb, CEO and founder of Medical Bill Support LLC, which works with health care consumers to reduce medical costs.
In fact, among working-age consumers with health insurance, 20 percent reported problems paying medical bills in the previous year, according to a 2016 Kaiser Family Foundation and New York Times survey. The situation is even more dire for the uninsured, with more than half reporting medical bill repayment problems.
But don’t despair. Health care consumers have a range of options when it comes to tackling medical debt. Here’s what to know if you can’t repay your medical bills.
[Read: 8 Ways to Get Help Paying (or Cutting) Medical Bills and Drug Costs.]
Understand what happens when bills go unpaid. After a period of nonpayment, the hospital or health care facility will likely sell unpaid health care bills to a collections agency, which works to recoup its investment in your debt. The amount of time before a debt goes to collections can vary depending on the health care provider, location or service received. But once the debt is in collections, it can continue to haunt you as collections agents call, write and text to request repayment. Having a bill in collections also dings your credit score, with collections listings remaining on your FICO credit report for up to seven years.
You can’t make medical debt and hospital bills disappear by ignoring them, experts say. “The biggest risk of ignoring debt is that the creditor or collector will file a lawsuit against you,” says Amy Loftsgordon, foreclosure, collections and debt management editor at Nolo, a publisher of do-it-yourself legal books and software, via email. “If you then also ignore the suit, a court will most likely award the creditor a default judgment, which is an automatic win.”
While having a medical bill in collections is never a good idea, remember your rights when dealing with debt collectors. They can’t harass you, lie to you, threaten to arrest or deport you or call you in the middle of the night. You can take the time to confirm the debt is yours and try to negotiate with collection agencies to get on an affordable repayment plan, or even reduce the amount owed.
Check your medical bills for errors. Confirm whether the hospital bill you received is correct. You have a right to ask for an itemized statement and audit it for unnecessary charges, such as double-billing and unexpected hospital fees. To avoid seeing your debt sent to collections, request that the health care facility put your account on hold for 30 days while you review your bill and make necessary calls. For example, if you’re in talks with your insurer, Lamb suggests explaining, “‘I’m waiting for my insurance company. I have an appeal because of a bill that wasn’t paid, and can you please work with me? I don’t want to see bill go to collections.'”
If you think your insurance company didn’t cover what it was supposed to cover, get them on the phone. Compare your itemized bill against the explanation of benefits form and make sure that everything was covered as it should have been. A representative from the insurance company may need to walk you through some of the jargon, Lamb says. “Sometimes the representatives will be able to explain what was paid according to their code,” she says.
If you still have questions, compare your bill against your medical records to ensure that the services you received match what’s on the chart. You’ll like pay some kind of fee for medical record forms, which varies by state.
Bring any errors or discrepancies to the attention of your health care provider or insurer to get them removed and have your medical bill reduced. Medical billing errors are surprisingly common. In fact, there were mistakes in 99 percent of 2017 medical bills analyzed by Medliminal, an organization that works with companies and consumers to reduce medical costs. Common mistakes include double-billing, when a patient is charged more than once for the same item, procedure or service, and charges for items, such as routine supplies, that shouldn’t be on the bill. Hiring a patient advocate can also help you through this process if you’re finding it tough to navigate solo. For a medical billing advocate, expect to pay an hourly rate or sacrifice a percentage of savings. Lamb’s company charges $125 per hour or 25 percent of savings, depending on the client’s individual case.
[See: 10 Medical Services Medicare Doesn’t Cover.]
Negotiate medical bills. Speak with the hospital billing office — or debt collector if you’re in collections — to review your options and make payments affordable. Explain the situation and try asking for a break. Consider asking for a zero-interest payment plan, Lamb says. “I always recommend working out something with the billing office in terms of some sort of payment plan,” Lamb says. You may also be able to secure a discount if you offer to pay what you can in cash.
If your procedure wasn’t covered for any reason by insurance, ask the health care provider if you can pay the insurance rate, which can be lower than what the health care facility charges individual payees. James Shagawat, president of Windfall Wealth Advisors in Paramus, New Jersey, suggests saying, “‘I don’t have health insurance. I fully intend to pay on time, and can you match the Medicare price?'”
When talking to any billing or debt collection representatives over the phone, note the date, time, representative’s name and any call reference number, says Missy Conley, director of the consumer division of Medliminal. Make sure to be polite and treat customer service representatives with respect, Lamb says. They’re more likely to work with you if you’re not shouting furiously at them.
If you sign an authorization form, a patient advocate like Lamb can make phone calls to insurers and billing offices on your behalf, parsing through the jargon and clearing other hurdles.
[Read: How to Negotiate Your Medical Bills.]
Get help with medical bills. Nonprofit hospitals are required to provide financial assistance to qualified low-income patients who can’t repay their medical bills, so check whether the hospital treating you is a nonprofit. Applicants will need to show proof that their income is low enough to qualify, such as pay stubs, tax returns and other financial documents. “If they qualify, [patients] will have a bill that is reduced or completely written off,” Lamb says. That means you may even get out of paying your medical bills.
Even if the hospital operates as a for-profit institution, it might choose to offer one of these programs voluntarily, so it’s worth checking, says April Kuehnhoff, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center in Boston.
It’s also worth applying for financial assistance, even if you suspect that you might not be approved, experts say. “It never hurts to try, because the only thing they can come back and say is ‘No,'” Conley says. These plans often work on a sliding scale, so you may still get 20 percent off your medical bill or more.
Consider filing bankruptcy for medical bills. Medical debt may be discharged in bankruptcy, but experts caution that a medical bankruptcy shouldn’t be taken lightly since it will crater your credit health and make it tough to qualify for consumer debt in the future. Bankruptcies will stay on your FICO credit report for up to a decade. Says Loftsgordon: “If you need help weighing the pros and cons of trying to settle your debts versus filing for bankruptcy, it’s a good idea to talk with a bankruptcy attorney.”
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How to Get Help Paying Medical Bills originally appeared on usnews.com
