How to Get Medical Bills Off of My Credit

Medical bills are some of the most costly bills that people can incur. Not only is health insurance expensive for those who have it, but there are still deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses that may be unaffordable. The bad news is that if you fail to pay your medical debts, doctors and hospitals can report you to the credit bureaus causing your score to go down. This can adversely affect you in that you may not be able to obtain loans and credit cards, and it may increase insurance rates. There are a few things you can do to get medical bills off your credit report and regain control of your financial life.

Instructions

1

Become aware of the specific medical bills that you owe by obtaining a copy of your credit reports. Get a copy from TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax since they all keep separate records and reporting may differ among the three. You will want to compare these reports to copies of your medical bills and statements. Check each carefully to make sure there are no differentiations between them and figure out the total balance you owe.

2

Determine what you can pay monthly toward those medical bills. You have a few different options at your disposal: pay in full, make monthly payments, or use a debt consolidation agency. If you are able to pay in full, this will work in your favor as far as quickly removing the debt off your credit report. However, it is not feasible for many to do this so you may want to work out a payment plan with your doctor or hospital. Many will work with you as they would rather receive their money slowly than to not receive it at all. If you want to consolidate your debts, use a nonprofit debt consolidation firm. For a nominal fee, they can help lower your interest rates, reduce or remove penalties, and consolidate your payments into a lump sum so you only have to make a single monthly payment. Many creditors will work with a reputable debt consolidation agency since some are partially funded by them.

3

Negotiate a settlement if the bills are too much for you to afford. Often, doctors and hospitals will lower the costs for patients who do not make much money. Sometimes they may cut the bills up to 40 to 60 percent of their actual cost. Once you have gotten the cost down to an affordable amount, begin making payments so the statement of delinquency can be removed off your credit report.

4

Wait it out if all else fails. Medical bills may be so high that there is no way you can afford to pay them back. In this case, a doctor or hospital will report you as delinquent to the credit bureaus and you will have to wait up to seven years for them to fall off.