Question: Dear Steve, Scores in mid to upper 600’s needs improvement. Cannot afford negative marks on credit report. Injured lounging hotel poolside. resulted in one ER visit resulted in 3 bills. hotel dragging feet, deny liability and now claims payment delayed because I don’t have most recent bills. anyway. the largest of the three was …
Question: Dear Steve, I have a large over $50K in credit card debt. Most was racked up during an injury. I get debt solution letters daily promising help. Are any of these “debt relief” companies real? Brian Answer: Dear Brian, It’s amazing how such an innocent question can be so complicated to answer. The offers …
Question: Dear Steve, Friend’s husband died after a 9 year battle with a brutal cancer and she is about to go under financially because of the medical bills. She has two girls who have just started college, she works and has a house – I’m afraid she is about to lose it all because of …
Question: Dear Steve, I am a 60 year old divorced male-living on social security disability-children are grown and on their own- lost 50% of life savings waiting between heart attack on 3/1/2015 and disability starting in 9/18/2015. Just started medicare this month and paying for doctor’s visits, prescriptions and blood work-medicare is 134 monthly withdrawal …
Question: Dear Steve, My husband’s ex-wife incurred a hospital bill for a broken leg prior to their divorce. she was not covered under a health plan at that time, so she was responsible for the entire hospital bill. As part of their divorce agreement, which was signed by the Judge, the hospital debt was assigned …
A leading consumer group, OSPIRG, released the ninth in a series of reports that review complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The latest report explores consumer complaints about medical debt, a major source of problems for consumers, since medical debt items on credit reports are often wrong or about the wrong consumer. The …
Question: Dear Steve, My daughter recently had a stint at hospital leaving her with a $2000.00 co-pay. She is a single mom with a poverty level income. She has been paying $50 a month on this debt. The hospital called her today saying $50 a month wasn’t enough. She said it was all she could …
“Dear Michael, I called a collection agency last week to pay off an account I had with them. This week they took 9 of my Wife’s medical bills changed the status from “Personal” to “Joint” and reported this debt as mine. Is this legal 5 years later? Or is it even legal at all? Justin” …
Butte is an old mining town, tucked away in the southwest corner of Montana with a population of about 34,000. Locals enjoy many things you can’t find elsewhere — campgrounds a quick drive from downtown and gorgeous mountain ranges nearby. But in Butte, as in much of rural America, advanced medical care is absent. People …
by Paul Kiel ProPublica, Jan. 15, 2015, 10:33 a.m. Last month, ProPublica and NPR detailed how one nonprofit hospital in Missouri sued thousands of lower income workers who couldn’t pay their bills, then seized their wages, all while enjoying a big break on its taxes. Since then, the IRS has released long-awaited rules designed to …