Avoid Using Credit Cards for Medical Bills

Medical bills are an awful expense. Whether you have to get a routine check-up and don’t have medical insurance or you’ve had extended medical care that requires significant out-of-pocket payments, those medical bills can add up quickly. As they start turning up in your mailbox with warnings that they must get paid, you can start to feel a sense of panic. This is especially true if you’ve had to take some time off of work because of your medical condition. The solution that many people use is to pay their medical bills off with their credit cards. However, this is usually a mistake.

In general, it is going to be better to work with your medical care provider to find a solution to making payments than to use a credit card to pay off what you owe. There are several reasons for this. The most obvious one is that when you pay off the debt with a credit card, you are going to be paying interest on the amount which increases the total that you end up paying in the end. Additionally, this limits the amount of credit that you have available and can negatively impact your credit score. And finally, adding credit card debt to your problems can cause you stress and actually increase your need for medical care.

So what should you do when you have medical bills that you just can’t pay? Before you go for the credit cards, try talking with your medical care provider. They are used to dealing with their patients’ financial problems and will probably be willing to work out a solution with you. If you take the time to barter, you may actually be able to negotiate a lower total bill that you can pay out of pocket. Alternatively, you should be able to work out a monthly payment plan. Because it won’t include interest, this payment plan will result in paying off the medical debt more quickly than if you did this on a credit card.

If you can’t work something out with your health care provider, you might be able to find assistance within your local community. There are non-profit organizations, support groups and government assistance programs specifically designed to assist patients in paying off excessive medical bills. Do some searching in your community to see if this solution is a possibility for you. Although credit cards can be used to pay off medical bills, it’s always better to try out other solutions first.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 at 4:17 am and is filed under Credit Card Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.