Quick question… does medical debt hit my credit score like credit card debt, or do they just keep sending bills forever? Back in April, I had COVID, got a chest X-ray to check for pneumonia, and they hit me with a $1000 bill that was supposed to be covered by insurance. At the time, I had both pregnancy insurance and my regular insurance, but somehow they billed me $950. The bills just keep coming. Will this mess with my chances of buying a house in a few years, or do lenders even care about medical debt?
Medical bills can wreck your credit. Try to set up a payment plan if you can.
My hospital bills pushed me into bankruptcy back in 2016 when they started taking a chunk of my wages. If you can pay it off, do it! A lot of hospitals have charity programs that help cover part of the bill, maybe even up to 100%. Worth looking into.
Just because you have insurance doesn’t mean it covers everything. You usually have to meet your deductible and pay co-pays. Your insurance plan should break down what’s covered and what you’ll owe out of pocket. This info is usually on your insurance’s website or in the Explanation of Benefits they send after each bill.
Lawyer here (not your lawyer). $1000 for a chest X-ray is like getting a $25 bill for a Coke at a restaurant. Look up the CPT code for the X-ray, and use Medicare’s rate as a guideline. If your insurance had covered it, they’d likely pay a lower rate. Did the hospital even bill your insurance? Check the Explanation of Benefits to see why insurance denied it. If the hospital messed up billing your insurance, that’s on them, not you. Get a copy of the explanation and push for them to adjust the charge to Medicare rates.
@Zya
Funny thing is, I have the CPT manual right here. I remember that the billing department kept sending bills to my primary insurance for things covered by pregnancy Medicaid, so I dropped my primary insurance. I’ll look into it again!
@Zya
They still have my insurance on file, and it shows a $0 copay for radiology. No idea why they keep billing me.
I don’t get why we all stress about credit scores. Let’s be real… a lot of us may never own a house anyway. I’ve never paid a hospital bill, and nothing bad happened. Was even in the ICU once. But, maybe it depends on your state. I work at a small community hospital, and hardly anyone pays their bills, and no one chases them down either. Morally, I don’t think anyone should be paying these crazy hospital fees. Healthcare is broken.
@Cameron
They never send people to collections?
Attorney here. I’ve handled over 1500 medical debt cases, and only seen a few lawsuits. Most payday lenders, timeshares, and medical collectors don’t sue much at all. They’ll call and send letters, but it rarely goes further.
Yeah, they did send some bills to collections, and I got a few annoying calls, but they stopped after a while.
Honestly, I wouldn’t even pay it. Medical bills in the U.S. are a joke.
Asa said:
Honestly, I wouldn’t even pay it. Medical bills in the U.S. are a joke.
The bill is actually from a lifeflight radiology scan when I was pregnant. I don’t even know who to contact about it or where to send my insurance info, but the bills keep showing up at my mother-in-law’s place.
Medical debt usually ends up with a collection agency, which then reports it to the credit bureaus, and that’ll lower your score.
Set up a payment plan, even if it’s just $25 a month!
I’ve probably got $500+ in unpaid medical bills over the past four years, and it never touched my credit 
. I was a broke college kid with bigger things to worry about.