Legal Advice for Medical Bills

Many people are grappling with financial issues because of mounting medical bills. According to a CBS News report in June 2009, 62 percent of bankruptcies filed in the U.S. resulted from unmanageable medical bills and health care expenses. If you are dealing with expenses related to health care, you have some options for resolving your accounts.

Negotiation and Settlement

• Negotiate a payment plan or a settlement of accounts with your medical and health care providers. Many doctors, clinics, hospitals and others involved in the health care industry are willing to agree to payments over time or a settlement on an account for an amount less than the total balance actual due and owing. Rates charged by health care providers take defaults into account.

Bankruptcy

• Filing for bankruptcy may be the only real option available to you when it comes to medical bills. If you previously made an attempt to settle your medical and health care accounts and have made no real headway, a bankruptcy might provide the protection and relief you require.

  There are two options. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy permits you to have your medical bills and other debt discharged. Through this process you will no longer be responsible for these debts.

  A Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to use a payment plan to satisfy your debts, including those owed to health care providers. Over a period of two to five years, a monthly payment is made to the court that is divided among your creditors by the bankruptcy trustee.

Legal Representation

• Retaining an attorney is wise if your medical bills are unmanageable. This particularly is the case if you want to reach a settlement of accounts with health care providers or to file for bankruptcy. You have a number of options.

  First, you can obtain private counsel to assist you in dealing with medical bills and accounts. Of course, you will have to pay a fee for this type of professional assistance. In the case of hiring an attorney for a bankruptcy case, the court can order a payment plan even for attorney fees in some instances.

  Second, if you truly do not have the funds available to pay for private counsel, contact a legal aid organization in your community. Legal aid offices provide people who have limited financial resources with representation in several areas, including debt issues and bankruptcy, at no charge.

  Third, most law schools in the country maintain clinics. Through these clinics, law students in their final year (under the supervision of licensed lawyers) provide legal assistance to individuals in a variety of areas, including debt negotiation and bankruptcy. These clinics provide representation without charging their clients a fee.