Medical Debt Strategies
Financial Assistance
Nonprofit hospitals are required to provide financial assistance to qualifying patients to reduce medical bills. You may be eligible for a discount or even be able to eliminate the entire bill.
The problem is hospitals do a poor job of making patients aware of financial aid that’s available and make it difficult to apply. For many, the process can be overwhelming. We can help you determine if you qualify. We work with a nonprofit that will help you apply for financial aid. And they don’t charge for this service.
Medicaid
You may qualify for Medicaid, a public health insurance program that provides free or low-cost health coverage to eligible low-income individuals and families.
Medicaid is designed to help certain groups of people, including low-income children, pregnant women, elderly adults, people and with disabilities. You must meet income and other eligibility requirements set by the state.
The program covers a wide range of health services. These typically include doctor visits, hospital stays, long-term care, preventive care like vaccines and screenings, mental health and substance use treatment, prescription drugs. as well as dental and vision care.
We can make an assessment of whether Medicaid might be a good option and connect you with Medicaid planning specialists who can help you apply and, if you don’t qualify, help with planning strategies so you can qualify.
Negotiation
Medical bills, especially hospital bills, may contain errors or charges for services that were not provided. Uninsured and out of network patients often are charged arbitrary, inflated amounts far in excess of the insurance reimbursement they would accept. However, most hospitals are willing to negotiate the amount you have to pay.
We will research the cash price and insurance reimbursement your provider will accept. This is information should be very helpful in your negotiating a settlement of the bill to an amount that is reasonable and you can afford.
We can connect you with medical billing advocates to review your medical bills to be sure they accurately reflect what you should have to pay. They are experts in negotiating the amount of medical bills.
Insurance Denials
Insurance companies are notorious for unjustified denials of pre authorization requests and insurance claims even though the treatment or medication is recommended by your doctor.
This is extremely frustrating with the result that most people won’t challenge the denial and end up with medical debt or foregoing needed medical care. We can refer you to and coordinate with healthcare advocates who have the expertise to file an appeal.
Harassment by Debt Collectors
We can recommend a consultation with a consumer law attorney to stop harassment by debt collectors. Usually there is no charge for the initial consultation. You may even have a claim for damages.
These cases are typically handled on a contingent fee basis with the debt collector required to pay your attorney fees if you are successful. Filing an action for damages against the debt collector provides tremendous leverage in negotiating a settlement of your debt.
Debts in Collection or Litigation
If your debt is in collection or a lawsuit has been filed, you need to be proactive. Doing nothing is not an option; the debt will not just go away.
If a lawsuit has been filed, you need to immediately contact an attorney to file an answer; otherwise, a default judgment will be entered against you.
Then you risk having your wages garnished, a lien filed against your home and other assets seized to satisfy the judgment. Unfortunately, if a default judgment is entered, the only option for most people may be to file bankruptcy. That should never happen.
We can recommend an attorney that specializes in defending debt collection actions. Filing an answer to the complaint lets the creditor know further collection efforts will be costly. If necessary, as a last resort, we can refer you to a bankruptcy attorney to review what you can do to protect your property.
Our Services
We will review your medical debt and financial situation and help you implement the best strategy to eliminate your medical debt. Our services include:
Unlimited phone consultations for 30 days to answer questions and provide the guidance you need.
Research the cash price and insurance reimbursement your provider will accept to help you negotiate a settlement.
Assessment to determine if you qualify for hospital financial assistance and referral to a nonprofit to help you apply. They don’t charge for this service.
Assessment to determine if you qualify for Medicaid and referral to Medicaid planning professionals to help you apply for benefits.
Referrals to medical debt advocates who can review your medical bills to eliminate errors and excessive charges and negotiate the amount of the bill. They are also experts in appealing insurance denials of coverage.
Referrals to attorneys to stop harassment by debt collectors or represent you if a lawsuit has been filed.
We don’t charge a fee. We ask that you make a donation in whatever amount you can afford so we can cover the cost of our services and help others. If you can’t make a donation, no worries; we will still do what we can to help.
Disclaimer
Our goal is to help with guidance to eliminate your medical debt. We do not provide debt negotiation services. Further, our services are not intended nor should they be considered to be legal advice.