At least 43 million Americans are behind on medical bills | Hatfield Harris, PLLC | Hatfield Harris, PLLC
At least 43 million Americans are behind on medical bills
Medical debt is an issue that can plague people. Most people who have it want to pay off those debts. The problem, however, is that these bills are often unexpected and usually high. Some medical providers are willing to make payment arrangements for these bills, but there are often multiple bills from more than one provider that stem from one medical care encounter.
There are at least 43 million Americans who have medical bills that are classified as overdue on their credit reports. Many of these have been turned over to collection agencies, which introduces the possibility that errors have been added to the account during the transfers.
Some people don’t worry too much about medical bills they can’t pay since they don’t deem them critical bills. After all, not paying the hospital isn’t going to result in being evicted from your home or having the utilities turned off. Still, there can be some very harsh impacts due to these overdue medical bills.
For one thing, they can ruin your credit score. This can affect your ability to find a job or a place to live if those rely on having a good credit history. It can change the interest rate on variable rate loans like mortgages. The result is that you could end up with higher payments for those.
For many people who are drowning in medical debt, filing for bankruptcy is the only hope they have for getting back on top. It may be the only real way to wipe out those medical bills and other debts so that financial freedom is a step closer.