How To Handle Medical Bills

 How To Handle Medical Bills 

The expense of medical care for a single illness, injury, or pregnancy in the United States can quickly go into the five figures. This can be worrying, but it’s also something that, in many cases, can’t be avoided. So it’s a good idea to know how to handle these larger medical bills if and when you need to pay for them. Read on to find out more. 

 

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Check All The Figures

It is important to double-check that you are being charged for the services that you actually received because medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and billers, are human and sometimes make mistakes. If you have insurance, you should contact your insurance company to verify that the correct itemized amounts have been deducted from your account in line with the terms of your policy.

 

Don’t Pay With A Credit Card

It can be tempting to use credit cards to settle seemingly endless medical costs and get the doctors off your back. However, you should never put off paying your medical expenditures with a credit card. High interest rates make it difficult to pay off a credit card amount in full. The impact on your credit rating might be devastating if this happens.

 

Unlike other types of debt, medical bills have more opportunities for negotiation when it comes to payments. You can get by with lower payments for a while, so long as you pay something and establish a payment plan. Unlike other forms of debt – including credit cards – medical bills typically come with negligible or no interest.

 

Ask How Much 

Before booking an appointment, you can ask your doctor for an estimate of the cost of a procedure or service. If you can't afford the whole price, now is the moment to bargain (or cancel) your appointment. It may be simple to shop around with other doctors if the treatment or visit in question is a common one. Also, you have the option of arranging a payment schedule before you're presented with the final bill. 

 

Have Insurance 

Having health insurance is one of the best – perhaps the very best – ways to save money on and deal with your medical bills. By lowering out-of-pocket expenses, health insurance makes medical treatment more accessible to those who need it.

 

Additionally, having health insurance improves access to care, which in turn reduces mortality rates and improves health outcomes. To put it simply, having health insurance can make the difference between staying well and getting sick.

 

Don’t Ignore The Bills 

Don't ignore your bills, no matter what you do. It's one of the worst things you can do. If you do that, your bills will be sent to collections, and you'll get annoying phone calls and see a big drop in your credit score.

 

Start A Savings Account 

A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged way to put money aside for medical expenses beyond what your health insurance will cover. As long as the funds are used to pay for qualified medical expenses, all contributions to the account, whether made by you or your employer, as well as any earnings on the account, are exempt from federal income tax.