tips for
Paying High Medical Bills
after a car accident
After a car accident, no matter who caused the collision, parties may have high medical bills to take care of. While a car wreck attorney may help motor vehicle accident victims calculate their legal damages, clients have medical bills to pay sooner rather than later after receiving a settlement. While building a legal case, those injured must understand how to navigate high medical bills resulting from the accident. The following tips for paying high medical bills after a car accident might help you cope with the inconveniences.
Look over the bill
Before paying medical bills, it’s a good idea to double-check them for accuracy. Some medical facilities bill patients for prescriptions they never took and medical services they did not receive. During overnight stays, a bill could include a full day’s room rate for patients who checked out during the morning. Requesting an itemized bill and asking about unusual or inaccurate charges could help patients save money.
Contact the healthcare facility
Car accident victims should not ignore their medical bills because they cannot pay them or have a valid legal case. When a person ignores medical bills, they go to collections, which harms the person’s credit and could bring an onslaught of phone calls from collections agencies. A better alternative is to communicate with the medical facility and work something out.
Consider an interest-free payment plan
When a patient receives an accurate medical bill she or he cannot pay, the patient may contact the facility to ask about an interest-free payment plan. The health care provider breaks the bill down into smaller regular payments over time without the patient incurring interest.
Reconsider using credit cards
To sidestep the headache that comes with financial burdens, a car collision victim may use a credit card to pay off high medical costs. The issue with this move is it solves one problem while creating another one. Having any kind of balance, big or small, on a credit card means the cardholder pays interest. Instead of carrying medical debt, the person carries credit card debt.
Request a prompt pay discount
Patients with the financial means to pay most of a hospital bill could ask for a prompt pay discount. Some doctor’s offices and medical care facilities offer a one-time prompt pay discount when patients take care of outstanding bills in a single lump sum within 30 days of receiving the bill. No matter how much of a discount the facility offers, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a larger one.
Motor vehicle accident victims already have enough on their minds without worrying about paying expensive medical bills. The right financial tips give them one less thing to fret over.
Stay safe!
Klaudia xx
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