Do you need help with how to finance medical expenses? In an ideal world, healthcare would always be affordable, easily accessible, and medical emergencies would never happen. Unfortunately, in our reality, medical expenses are a crushing burden on many individuals. Because healthcare costs can be daunting we’re going to run through some of the available resources and provide strategies to help you finance your health care expenses.
The first thing is to check that your medical bills are accurate. Next, negotiating. Many people don’t know they can discuss discounts with their medical provider’s billing department or even get help setting up a payment plan that works for them. A medical bill may seem impossible to pay off but with the right plan, it can suddenly become affordable.
Health insurance is the best initial course of action. It acts as a safety net when it comes to offsetting medical expenses. Contacting your insurer find out how much you’ll end up paying out of pocket. Another proactive strategy is to set aside an emergency fund. This can be for any of your monthly or routine expenses. Having a money set aside can be crucial when hit with an unexpected medical expense. What should you do if insurance isn’t covering enough, the payment plan is still too steep, and pulling from an emergency fund just isn’t an option?
Personal loans can be an effective tool for help with financing medical expenses. If you’ve got a high enough credit score you can get a low interest rate. You’re going to want affordable monthly payments even if that means stretching the loan term for a longer period of time. There are also medical loans which are a specific type of personal loan. Most medical loans are unsecured meaning you won’t have to risk personal collateral for the sake of your health.
The biggest advantage of a loan is the repayment term options. Just like discussing a payment plan with your medical facility’s billing department, a loan payment plan can turn a scary bill into a mundane one. You can also get loans rather quickly. Two big disadvantages of loans are: if you’re a bad-credit borrower then the interest rates may be too high to consider loans. Loans are a source of limited funding as many lenders have caps of around $40,000.
Lastly, some medical facilities, especially nonprofit offer a charity care program designed to reduce or cover medical expenses. The billing department can let you know if you qualify and if they have sufficient funds to cover you. You should never have to sacrifice your health due to financial restraints. Hi-Neo strongly believes healthcare should be easily accessible and affordable to everyone. Utilizing the options and strategies above alongside our price transparency tools means you can secure the best care for the best price.
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