Personal finance experts sometimes talk about good debts and bad debts, depending on how much each debt puts you in a position for future financial well-being. In this context, medical debts are among the worst debts you can owe. No one plans to suffer an illness or injury, so you cannot build them into your budget. Even if you build “emergency fund contributions” into your budget, which is a wise thing to do, medical costs are so expensive that a single course of treatment for a relatively minor illness or injury can annihilate your emergency fund and cause you to incur debt. Many medical debts are eligible for discharge in bankruptcy, but you may also be able to resolve your medical debts through simpler means. To find out more about getting relief from medical debts, contact an Oakland bankruptcy and medical debt lawyer.

Discharging Medical Debts in Bankruptcy

Medical debts are a major motivation to file for bankruptcy for many applicants. Creditors in the healthcare sector often pursue patients relentlessly, sometimes resulting in business-to-consumer lawsuits by hospitals, doctors’ offices, and collection agencies, and in some cases, after prevailing in the lawsuit, the creditor will receive the court’s permission to garnish the patient’s wages. California has greater protections for consumers against abusive debt collection practices than most other states have, but medical debt is still a major source of stress here in the Golden State.

Filing for bankruptcy protection enables you to discharge eligible debts. Medical debts, unsecured personal loans, credit card debts, and BNPL debt are among the easiest kinds of debt to discharge in bankruptcy. Student loans, tax debt, and child support obligations cannot be discharged, but discharging your eligible debts in bankruptcy court can free up funds to pay them.

Other Ways to Deal With Medical Debt Besides Bankruptcy

Filing for bankruptcy can bring you major relief from your credit card debts, but a bankruptcy case costs time, money, and effort. There are other ways of getting relief from medical debt without having to go through bankruptcy court. The sooner you act after receiving the unaffordable bill, the easier it is to get relief. Many hospitals offer financial aid to help low-income patients with or without health insurance afford their medical bills. It is worthwhile to contact the hospital’s financial aid department as soon as you get the bill to lower the amount due. The financial aid department may not be able to make your entire bill disappear, but they may be able to lower it substantially and set up a payment plan with low monthly payments, even if it takes a long time to pay it off. If the bill is already past due, or even if it has gone to a collection agency, you may be able to settle it for less than its face value by negotiating directly with the creditor or the collection agency.

Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare About Medical Debt

A bankruptcy lawyer can help you get relief from medical debt. Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare in Oakland, California, or call (510)255-4646 for a free case evaluation.