Unexpected Medical Bills and BankruptcyBy cj pollickCLEARWATER - Mary, from Hernando, Florida, was talking about her auto insurance dilemma due to her low credit rating. Yes, auto insurers use credit ratings to help evaluate risks. In Mary's case, the auto rate hike was due to an unexpected medical problem from her husband. The medical problem of her husband resulted in over $100,000 of medical bills due providers from Mary and her husband (no insurance coverage for the medical problem and Mary signed a medical form as co-guarantor.) Mary and her husband could not pay the bills and did not discuss a form of settlement with the medical providers, hospital and doctors. Mary saw a lawyer who reviewed a plan for bankruptcy to remove the debt. Mary had a job, still does, while her husband is rehabilitating. Suffice that things are financially tight at Mary's home. Prior to the medical problem of her husband, Mary had no debts. They did not live a life of splendor, but they had a good, debt-free life. Never had a credit problem. Paid bills when they were due. When Mary got her auto insurance bill she wondered why it was so high. Of course, her credit rating went down due to the medical bankruptcy. It will take years for her to regain a credit rating. When Mary noticed, at the end of the medical ordeal, that doctors wrote down the amount of the loss . . . as well as the hospital, she questioned whether she should have negotiated a settlement with the doctors before filing bankruptcy via her attorney. "I think we could have paid half of the bill if they gave us terms for repayment," stated Mary last Monday. "I just did not know what to do, it was a trying time for us." Unexpected medical bills? Perhaps you should consider all your payment options, including coverage options, before thinking of bankruptcy as the only option. |