All across the globe, there’s a growing trend of bad health care systems and plans. Governments should actively work towards making this problem less common, but the reality of things is rather different. Astonishingly high medical procedure costs and bills are getting even higher as times go by. We’re really not trying to sound like prophets of doom here, but everything indicates that the situation is only worsening. Unfortunately, people in Australia aren’t excused from these problems, as many of them face the difficulties of paying off substantial amounts of money in medical debts. Even when the actual ailment and the pain are gone, people are left off with another kind of aching – physical suffering or discomfort is being replaced with the anguish and worry about how to pay for the medical expenses. This is the reason why we present you the following options to consider: personal loans are probably the best and easiest way to get rid of the medical debt pains for good.
The Sad Reality Of Things: the Insurance Won’t Always Save You
You’re paying your monthly health insurance regularly. Everything is going well – you think you have a safety net that’s going to catch you in case of an emergency. Your mind is at ease: whatever happens, the insurance has your expenses covered. You don’t have to worry about anything other than pledging a certain amount of money on a monthly or yearly basis. But this is how things should be, and not the way they are. Even though you’re paying the insurance regularly, you’re actually not completely covered. And the list of things that they charge you extra only continues to grow. One day you realize that you suddenly have to pay a significant amount of money in case the ambulance comes to pick you up. Another day it’s going to be something else. When and who’s going to draw the line? On top of this, many of us don’t even realize that the majority of people who experience troubles paying their medical bills actually have health insurances. So, in case you were thinking: ’that won’t happen to me, it’s the people without health insurance that are in real danger’ – we strongly encourage you to think again.
The Endless Cycle Of Debt: Is There a Way Out?
The idea to pay off your medical expenses and debt by putting the medical bills on credit cards might seem like a good, and sometimes an only viable option, but it can lead to creating an even larger debt. Debt just creates more debt, and you already know that this can get you in trouble rather quickly. It’s not just the medical bills that you have to cover here, it’s the mortgage payments, student loans, car payments, etc. This creates an endless cycle of debt which you can’t possibly deal with. Another way you’ll create even more debt is if you have to miss work because of the medical issues. This only adds to the expenses since you’re simply not earning enough money to cover the medical bills. And in case you have to hire in-home care for you or a family member, the debt only increases.
How To Get Rid Of Medical Debt Through Personal Loan
So, what are (or are there any) options out there, other than not getting ill? The short answer is: yes, there are. One of those options includes using a personal loan to pay for medical expenses. There are more than a few advantages to using a personal loan. One of them consists in the fact that these loans are usually unsecured, meaning that the lender can’t take away your assets or personal belongings such as cars, or a house, if those were used as a collateral. Apart from that, personal loans have a fixed term in most cases, leaving you with the exact information about how much money you’ll need to pay each month until the loan is settled. And the best part about this option is probably the fact that you can sometimes choose an online debt consolidation loan, thus getting rid of the vicious cycle of debt. Once you’re free from the burden of debt, you have a chance to start anew. This can be a huge load off your back, offering you and your family the opportunity not only to pay the debt from medical expenses but to start saving again.
Be Ready To Negotiate
Another alternative to consider is negotiating the costs with the medical provider. This isn’t something that’s always going to work out, but you can’t lose anything by trying. You can only benefit from this, in case the medical care provider is willing to meet you halfway. Your best shot when negotiating comes if the medical bill is somehow flawed or incorrect. Hospitals and medical care providers make these mistakes all the time, so this is probably your best ground for negotiating the better deal. If that’s the case, then you need to work this in your advantage, and you’ll most likely get a discount. Sometimes this can result in significant savings. Just make sure that you talk to someone from the billing department, as other employees probably won’t have the authorization to discount your bills.
Medical Bill Advocate Might Be a Good Option For You
You have an even better chance of getting the aforementioned discount if you don’t do this negotiation process yourself. If you’re in a position to hire a medical bill advocate, you should go for it. Not only will it look more professional, but it is more likely that she or he has better negotiating skills and knows exactly what she or he can get. The amount of money that you can save by opting for this can be larger than it would be if you were the one doing the talking with someone from the billing department. Bear in mind that you should also have a well-established plan prior to coming to negotiate a new deal. You need to know how much money you can pay, if the payments are going to be on time, do you settle everything at once, is there going to be a different interest rate, among other things. This is where the medical bill advocate can be proven to be extremely helpful – if they’re good, she or he will know what type of deal is the best for you in the current situation.
Consider Financial Aid/ Charity Care Programs
Although this is something which the governments are supposed to do (provide their citizens with health insurance, no matter what are the costs), sometimes this is the only way to go. How many times have you heard that a person needs an X amount of money for the procedure or they won’t get better or, even worse – they’ll die? And then there’s a charity event, a fundraiser where the money is collected (if the person is lucky enough), and everyone’s happy and cheering that the person won’t die/ will get better? This is all great, and the people who were there to help are true heroes, but what everyone should notice is that this is something a health care system should take care of. In case you don’t have any other option available to you, it is completely understandable and reasonable that you’ll consider these financial aid/ charity care programs.
Conclusion
Not having enough money to pay for high medical bills and expenses is a sad reality for many people around the world, and Australians aren’t the exception. Health care systems tend to offer less and less – for the same or even more money. That’s why medical costs are making large population groups go into debt. This debt becomes an endless cycle unless it’s repaid with a good personal loan plan. Other options to keep in mind are negotiating new deals (either by hiring medical bill advocates, or doing it yourself), or turning to financial aid/ charity care programs. Whichever option you end up choosing, the most important thing is to find a viable solution for ending the medical debt pain for good.
