When it comes to your health, getting prompt treatment is a necessity. However, that treatment tends to come with a high cost. In fact, many individuals end up with costly medical debts that they struggling to pay off. Fortunately, we’re going to share different strategies with you on how to help pay off your medical debts whether it’s by cash, check, credit, or other financial avenues.
1. Eliminate Billing Errors
One of the very first strategies you want to implement when it comes to paying off your medical debt is getting rid of any billing errors. One error could be the difference between paying thousands and paying hundreds in debt. It’s important to ask your medical provider for a complete list of expenses broken down so that you can go over them line by line to determine if they actually are relevant to your treatment. You may be able to lower the amount of medical debt that you owe by simply fixing errors that happened during the billing process.
2. Setup a Repayment Plan
Another great tactic for helping to get rid of those medical bills is to set up a repayment plan. This can help make the repayment process more manageable on your budget. Speak with the medical provider and ask what sort of plans they offer and for what term lengths. Be sure to set up a repayment program that fits within your budget comfortably, so you’ll be more likely to stick to it in the long term.
3. Negotiate the Debt Amount
Just like insurance companies will negotiate pricing with medical providers, so can you. Be sure to explain your situation, especially if you’re on a fixed income, as many medical providers will be more than willing to lower the amount of debt that you owe. These medical offices will lower the debt because they know they’ll at least get some of the money instead of not getting any money at all for the services that they rendered.
4. Ask About Charity Care Programs
It’s very common for medical providers to work with charity care programs to help provide funding for patients who don’t have the money to pay their medical bills. When you speak to your healthcare provider, be sure to ask if there are any charity care programs that you can take advantage of. These are typically offered for those who have a fixed income or other major medical situation that hinders their ability to adequately repay the medical bills that they owe.
5. Check an Advocacy Network
If you find yourself in the position of having a hard-to-treat or rare medical condition, then you may qualify for different types of financial assistance. An advocacy network has a database of different organizations that provide financial assistance to patients with medical debts. You can spend some time researching the different networks to figure out if you qualify for their financing programs.
6. Consider a Side Job
Another great strategy for helping to pay off your medical debt is to simply take on a side job. In this day and age, there are many different gigs that you can take advantage of to help earn extra income to pay off your medical debts. You can opt to be a delivery driver. You could rent out a spare room in your home. You can even get a part-time job at a local convenience store.
7. Consider a Special Financing Credit Card
While putting your medical debts on a credit card can get costly without the right financing terms, it’s important to realize that there are different cards available that you can take advantage of. There are some credit cards that are specific to medical debts that will offer you special financing terms at a very low interest rate to make your bills more manageable. There are also major credit card companies that will offer zero interest for a period of one to two years as an introductory promo. This can allow you to pay off your medical debt within the promotional period without adding any extra interest.
8. Get a Loan
One last option for paying off your medical debts is to simply get a loan to cover the cost of the debt. If you can’t qualify for a traditional personal loan or the interest rate is too high, you may want to consider using one of your existing assets to help get a loan with a favorable interest rate. You can use things like your home, car, or even your 401(k).
