Medical Bills Could Lower Your Credit Score
Among the most common credit score killers is medical bills. There are a lot of instances where your score can suffer because of a misunderstanding with your insurance or your doctor. This could actually dock you big points for something that isn’t actually your fault. And then there are time where your score suffer because you simply just can’t afford the bill.
As a matter of fact, medical bills that go to collections are treated the same way as any other type of bill that goes into collections in the FICO score formula. Experts claim that even just one medical bill that has gone to collections can mess up your credit score by 100 points, thereby compelling you to enact a lengthy credit repair technique to bring the score back up as time passes by.
That being said, understand your insurance: A lot of medical bills go to collections due to people not being able to afford them. One way to better plan and get ready for prospective medical costs is to know and understand your insurance plan. For instance, is it going to cover wellness visits? What about the deductible? Will you need to shell out money out-of-pocket after you meet the deductible? If you are aware of these things, it can better help you prepare should there be a surgical procedure or emergency instead of take a “wait and see” approach for when the comes.
Get a payment plan. Surgeries, procedures as well as hospital stays can build up. A lot of people could not afford to pay the sum of the bill in full right away. Ask the hospital to see if you can have any particular payment plan to make regular installments toward the bill. A lot of hospitals will not charge any interest as long as the balance will be paid within one year or two.
Always have the records and keep them. See to it that you keep all your medical bills and always look into your credit report and be watchful of inaccuracies. If your report doesn’t go hand in hand with your personal records, take immediate action to have any get rid of any discrepancies from your report. Or else, you may need to repair credit for nothing.