Hospitals often will work on settlement for past-due bills if payer makes effort
Hospitals will often work with a patient to reach a settlement when it comes to past-due medical bills. Pay what you can as a show of good faith.
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
Dear Dave,
Will hospitals take a settlement on past-due medical bills, or is this a rare occurrence?
— Kristin
Dear Kristin,
It’s not all that rare for hospitals to accept a settlement on past-due bills.
Most businesses will accept a settlement on past due accounts, and many hospitals will accept a deeply discounted settlement because they’ve usually gotten a big chunk of their money up front from the insurance company.
Let’s say you had a $1,000 hospital bill you honestly haven’t been able to pay for several months, or even two or three years.
If you go to them and offer $300 or $400 as a settlement, there’s a good chance you’ll have a deal. Just make sure you get the agreement in writing before you hand anyone a check.
Remember, you have a moral and legal obligation to pay your debts in full if at all possible.
But if you truly can’t afford to pay, an agreed upon settlement between two parties can be an honorable and acceptable compromise.
— Dave
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Comments
9 Comments
The fact is those of us who pay with cash or insurance pay for the illegals that have stolen from the hospital by not paying.
Sorry to be so late - this would be one heck of a great topic to kick around on soooo many levels. We can be sure that any enterprise was first started to provide for hearth and home. So what happended? A brief look at large beneficent organizations you find the "fortunate" have given very generously indeed, so who are the bad guys?
Might be. I'll be labeled a conspiracy kook, but I do think something bad has infected the medical system from top to bottom that we are just seeing in the nascent stage. People in any human organization are going to be insular to some extent but whether it be clergy, or government, or corporations it eventually gets into a tipping point situation that would approach metaphorical evil if an organization had a soul instead of the misguided individuals who allow their's to be used thus.