What Happens To Me If I Don’t Pay My Hospital Bill?

Failure To Pay Hospital Bills

If you are worried about unpaid hospital bills, well you should be.  Depending on your state of residence, the collector of a medical bill may have up to 7 years to collect from you.  During this period of time they can sue you in court to collect their money while also damaging your credit profile.  A medical bill works just like any other owed debt in the eyes of the law.  There is no compassion in the law that lets you off the hook because it was not your fault you owe the money but simply got sick or injured.  Similarly there is no exception made on your credit rating or score. 

If unpaid medical bills are reported to the credit bureaus they will significantly lower your credit rating and thus your ability to get available credit extended to you.  Unpaid medical bills can be life devastating.  In many cases, you may have these bills being sent to you, and at the same time, also be too injured to work and collect a paycheck to make payment on them.  It is a vicious cycle and is the reason why the number one cause of all bankruptcy protection filings in the United States is due to unpaid medical bills.

Medical Bill Judgment Against You

If you are unfortunate enough to not only have unpaid medical bills, but also be sued by the collector in an effort to collect their money, be warned.  The debt collection process for medical bills can be ruthless.  If you have not been sued yet for owed medical bills, take action immediately to get the bills eliminated.  Medical bills can be negotiated, settled, or consolidated to remove them before a civil law suit is filed by the debt collector. 

Contact the company sending you the medical bills and look for a solution.  Most often medical bills are highly negotiable and can be lowered significantly by working directly with the bill collector.  Also a debt consolidation can be used to include your medical bills.  By consolidating your medical bills, they will get paid off immediately and you will not be at risk for a lawsuit.

Related posts:

1. What If I Don’t Pay Hospital Bills?
2. Does Not Paying Hospital / Medical Bills Affect Credit?
3. What Happens If I Dont Pay My Medical Bills?
4. What Are Bill Consolidation Services?
5. What is Bill Consolidation?