One of the hottest issues in the recent
Presidential election was that of healthcare. The country say Hillary Clinton
push an agenda that did not completely obliterate Obamacare, while the eventual
winner of the election, Donald Trump, has made promises to massively overhaul
the controversial health care law. The manner in which President Trump intends
to change the system has not yet been fully revealed, but some of his comments
and actions have struck fear in the hearts of a great many of our citizens. It
seems everyone is wondering how they will be impacted by a change or
elimination of Obamacare, both for their health needs and for their pocketbook.
But one thing that has not been discussed at length is what will happen if
significant changes are made that lead to a patient’s inability to pay their
medical bills. The most likely outcome of this type of scenario would be an increase
in collection activity for past due medical expenses.
One of the biggest problems with medical
debt is that most everyone has at least a small amount of expenses related to
their healthcare. This is unlike other forms of debt, where not everyone makes
the choice to take on a mortgage, to finance a car, or to take out a credit
card. So if changes to the system are made, experts
say it is possible to see:
•
A loss of coverage, which leaves a patient open and responsible
for the full amount of care provided. Most people are not able to pay even the
percentage of their bill not covered by insurance, so if nothing is covered it
is plausible to presume nothing will be paid and the healthcare providers will
have to resort to collection efforts.
•
Services that are typically provided to lower income or uninsured
patients may no longer be offered.
Some
of the harsher consequences that go along with medical collection suits are an
increase in harassing calls, and reporting delinquencies on credit reports.
These are very real problems that can lead to bigger financial pitfalls,
because a lot of people look for other options to pay the bills rather than
have a bad mark placed on their credit. But unfortunately, many of the other
options used (such as paying for medical expenses with a high interest rate
credit card, or by taking out a signature loan), only cause more financial
trouble. If you have a lot of medical debt, call us to see what can be done to
alleviate the burden. We have experience helping people make decisions about
how to manage their money, and will let you know what will work best for you.
You might be a good candidate for bankruptcy, or your situation may be resolved
by working with your lenders on loan repayment or mortgage modifications.
For more information about
healthcare expenses and medical bill collections, contact us at www.law-ri.com. We will help by coming up with solutions that
work for you and have multiple locations to meet your needs for office visits.
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