Medical Debt Strategies
Our Services
We review your medical debt and financial situation and help you implement the best strategy to eliminate your medical debt.
Medical debt is confusing, stressful, and often overwhelming. Most people don’t know what their real options are—or which ones actually make sense for their situation.
Our role is to help you understand what’s happening, decide on the best strategy and—if you want—stay with you while that plan is carried out.
Contact us to schedule a complimentary discussion of the services we provide and how we can help.
We offer two levels of support.
Strategy Session
Who this is for
Anyone who wants clarity before taking action.
What this is
Our focus is on understanding your situation and identifying the best path forward. This includes a one-time strategy session.
What we do
Review your medical debt and financial situation
Analyze and discuss your realistic options, such as:
Financial assistance or charity care
Assessment of whether you might qualify for Medicaid and discussion of planning strategies to help you qualify
Settlement (this includes researching the Medicare and insurance reimbursement as well as the cash price your provider, if a hospital, will accept for common procedures
Referrals to medical billing advocates, Medicaid planning professionals or legal help if necessary
Help you understand the pros, cons, and risks of each option and decide what’s best for you
What you’ll leave with
A clear understanding of your situation
A practical strategy tailored to you
Greater confidence about next steps
What this does not include
Ongoing follow-up
Contacting providers or insurance companies or negotiating the amount of your medical debt
Legal representation
There is no obligation to continue beyond this session.
Guided Support
Who this is for
People who want ongoing guidance while they work through medical debt and related decisions.
What this is
Month-to-month support while your plan is being implemented and your situation evolves.
Medical debt issues rarely resolve all at once. New bills arrive, deadlines appear, and unexpected problems come up. Guided support means you don’t have to navigate those moments alone.
What we do
Support and guidance by text and email as well as scheduled phone calls as needed
Answer questions and explain what different communications mean and help you decide how to respond
Adjust your strategy as circumstances change
Help you prepare for conversations with providers, collection agencies and insurance companies
Coordinate referrals to appropriate professionals when needed (such as Medicaid planners, billing advocates, or legal help)
Provide steady, practical guidance
What this does not include
Negotiating or contacting providers, collection agencies or insurance companies
Legal representation
Acting as a billing or medical debt advocate or agent
Preparing documentation or applications or appeals
Our role is to guide, explain, and support your decision-making—not to replace other professionals.
Our support is designed to be affordable and flexible.
$150 for the Strategy Session; if after the strategy session you want Guided Support then
$150 per month as long as support is needed
If you can’t afford our fees, no worries; let us know what you can pay and we will do what we can to help.
Which service is right for you
If you want clarity, options, and a plan you can implement → the Strategy Session should provide what you need
If you want ongoing guidance while the plan unfolds and in case your situation changes → Guided Support is the best option
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.
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.