Old People Help Me- Do unpaid medical bills put a big dent in your credit...

I am not sure but my guess is that it won't affect your score; however, I am pretty sure it will show on your credit report at the top where any judgments, liens, and other really negative things show.

I worked as a loan officer for over a year at a credit union in the late '90s and we used to get people applying for loans that had unpaid medical bills showing on their credit report and we always overlooked them. If they had a lien with the IRS or a judgment?? That was a different story, lol.

 

Yup, you're credit's going to take a hit. I had unpaid medical bills in my younger days. They also know when you settle for a lower amount. But after 10 or so years now, my credit is fine.

 

Your credit will definitely take a hit and unpaid or delinquent bills have a huge impact on your score and if the amount is large it will probably weigh more.

You can let it go to collections and settle but then you have to deal with a multitude of other things like zombie debt and such too.

 

let me jump in this thread...

i had one bill i didnt pay off...about $800......Hospital sent me bills for quite a while and eventually i was getting calls from a collections agency, but then they completely stopped...

Someone told me that sometimes it just gets written off, especially at Ben Taub. I realize it may not, but has someone dealt with them before? Maybe it depends on the amount?

I thought the collections agency did a poor job of contacting me...no messages, no letters, if i hadnt looked up a number i didnt' recognize i would have never known...you'd think they would actually want to reach you.

 

It will affect your credit rating, but you should contact the hospital if you're having problems. See if you can negotiate a payment plan. If you're proactive and ask them to, they might even lower the amount that you owe, especially if you tell them you might have to default or declare bankruptcy.

 

why not contact the people you are paying and negotiate a pay off amount before it goes to collections?

 

If you pay anything to the bills they cannot send it to collections. Even if it is like $5 a month.

 

You really want to take care of your medical bills. They will affect you long term. Always try to work out a payment deal. Most places will work with you.

 

i'm here for you, always

 

Negotiate directly with the hospital. Approach them with humility, not arrogance. Say "look, I really appreciate the care given to me by your doctors and nurses and I will be eternally grateful, but I just don't have the money to pay this bill. I wish I did, but I don't."

Come at them from that angle and they will most likely work with you. Most people get into the medical field to help people, not collect bills.

And what do you mean by old people?

 

Who you callin' "old people" anyway?


Credit hit, for sure...

Good luck.

 

I'm pretty sure she was referring to Deckard.

 

Are you saying if you are paying $5 a month on a $500 car note (for example), they cannot turn it over to a collection agency?

 

Bloody hell! I have plenty to say about the subject, but frost will be seen in the bowels of Death Valley before I help this cretin.

 

This is not true. If you're minimum payment due is $20 and you only send them $5 then you are behind $15 to them and then I'm sure they'll tack on late fees, collection fees, etc where the amount balloons well over the original amount due and guess what, off to collections it goes.

When paperwork at the hospital was filled out, there was more than likely some wording in there that required you to pay whatever your insurance or coverage did not cover. If you do not contact them and work out a payment plan then the whole amount becomes due. If you do work out a payment plan, they should set you up with minimum monthly payments and if that's what you agree on then that's what you'll have to pay.

 

I don't think that's right. But, they might be less likely to sell it to a collection agency if they think you are trying to make-good.

I have to say though that I've tried working with the creditor on a payment plan before without much success. If they have some mechanism for a payment plan, sure. But, I'm pessismistic about them agreeing to something custom, especially a reduced amount. You may need to go to collections for that.

 

I've dealt with hospitals\doctors for years and I'm telling you that if you pay them anything, no matter how little, they will not turn it over to collection.