The advances in modern medicine in recent decades have been truly impressive. Conditions that were once a death sentence now respond to treatment. From childhood cancers to HIV/AIDS, there are more medical options for people with potentially fatal health issues than ever before.
Unfortunately, that progress comes with a massive price tag. The best treatments can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and may not be eligible for full insurance coverage. The average adult has an insurance policy with a large deductible, significant coinsurance and also co-pays for every visit or prescription medication.
Those costs can add up, especially when you have a major or chronic health condition. If you are one of the roughly 50% of Americans currently struggling with medical debt, bankruptcy can be a path back to a healthier financial future.
Medical debt is serious business
Your medical debt can have a massive adverse impact on your financial circumstances. Although people often assume that the hospital where they seek treatment will treat them with compassion, the empathy offered by health care providers often ends when a patient ends treatment or has past-due balances.
Many hospitals and medical service providers will sell past-due debts to collection agencies. Some will even go so far as to directly pursue collections and even ask for a lien against a patient’s house. If you wait too long to take action, your home and your future income could be vulnerable because of a judgment granted to the medical service provider.
By pursuing a bankruptcy filing before medical creditors take you to court, you eliminate the possibility of a judgment endangering your future income or your most valuable assets.
Don’t let medical collections affect your health
The stress that you experience when dealing with intense medical collections can affect everything from your ability to sleep at night to how well your immune system works. It is tragic that countless Americans struggle in an uphill battle against a serious medical condition and achieve success, only to then have their health compromised by the very businesses that helped provide them with treatment previously.
If you feel like you can’t answer the phone or see who has knocked at your door because you worry about collection calls or process servers, filing for bankruptcy can discharge your medical debt and relieve that stress. Learning more about personal bankruptcy can help you regain control over your financial help after recovering your physical health.