“Dear Steve,
We have over $35,000 in medical bills and our income will not let us get ahead on the bills. I am disabled due to an injury. I am on disability and my wife works.
Over two thirds of the bills are on our credit cards as we had no other way at the time to get the service.
Our insurance paid a great deal of the debt, but left us oweing this hugh amount.
Is there any source out there that can help us?
Bill”
Dear Bill,
Since you are on disability your income is probably fairly limited. Even though your wife is working, if you could afford to, you’d certainly pay more towards the bills. It just sounds like the bills are getting to be too much to handle.
Not sure what “the service” is that you are referring to but bankruptcy is a probably an end game in your situation. My worry is if you’ve been making ends meet by supplementing your income by using the credit cards. If that’s the case then if you go bankrupt, and discharge your debt, it will still be difficult to live within your income.
If you and your wife can make it from month-to-month on your disability and her income then bankruptcy is worth investigating. Click here to schedule a free bankruptcy consultation with a local bankruptcy attorney. Get the facts.
The last thing to watch out for is if you are still incurring medical bills. If you go bankrupt now and new bills come streaming in you’ll just be right back in debt again. When you have a confidential discussion with a local bankruptcy attorney, be sure to let them know what your medical condition is and the likelihood of getting some big medical bills in the near future.
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Bill, I can relate to your situation — a few years ago I incurred $450,000 in medical bills and while most was covered by insurance, I had to pay the balance. I was very sick for a long time after the hospitalization, and found that it was just easier to put the remaining balances on credit cards as they came due rather than think about working with the healthcare providers directly. (I’m single and live in a city without family or friends) It was the worst decision ever….I learned subsequently that if I had left the bills in the hands of the healthcare providers directly (rather than transferring the balances to credit cards) I could have worked out payment plans that likely would have had reduced balances and less of a credit impact. In the meantime, I’m in the same position — where chapter 13 is likely the best option. I wish there was a better way to get this message out to people before it’s too late….but good luck in your efforts going forward.