When an envelope arrives in the mail that remotely looks like a medical bill, I (Litsa) am afraid to open it!?! I never know what to expect! We have private insurance which is outrageous each month——–and we carry a LARGE deductible on each of us to maintain a lower premium each month. The last two years the figures have been outrageous! We’ve tackled medical debt month by month to watch it almost completely disappear until the next medical emergency. Now, the medical debt is back in it’s scary state.
Luckily, most medical facilities have worked with us on a minimum payment on the bill. Most facilities have required that we pay $25 a month towards our outstanding bill. I have accepted the $25 payment option on ALL of our medical debts so that I could accumulate more savings to pay off a medical debt IN FULL after negotiating a payoff amount.
If you ask for a payoff amount, usually the provider will work with you. Recently, I called for a payoff amount for the last remaining 2011 medical bill/debt. The bill was for $1000 (paying only $25 a month, I was able to bring it down to a PAYOFF amount). Thus, I called the billing office and asked for a possible % if I paid all of it off. They gave me 10% off. Thus, I was able to save $100 by paying one bill off completely.
Negotiate. Ask for savings. Be diligent—stay focused.
Paying off debt whether medical debt and/or credit card debt or student loans is HARD but doable. Start small.
Minimum payments are optimal because you don’t know what’s around the corner. Don’t deplete your budget and/or savings but do keep all accounts current!
If you need a visual to help you with medical debt, remember to checkout my medical debt snowball post.
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