After undergoing surgery or emergency medical procedure, patients often find themselves in another difficult situation: paying off their expensive medical bills. People usually feel distressed by their medical debt, considering it as their moral duty to pay their bills and a personal failure that they can’t afford them. However, in order to pay off their debt, they struggle to handle other emergencies, deplete their long-term savings, damage their credit and even, in some cases, declare bankruptcy.
Medical Debt Is More Common Than You Think
But many people don’t know is that medical debt is not a personal failure; it’s a common affliction. According to The New York Times and KFF report, approximately a quarter of Americans in the age group of 18 to 64 struggle to pay their medical bills, and almost half have reported a major negative influence on their families. And the problem isn’t just limited to uninsured individuals or low-income households, people with insurance and robust income source can face it too.
People often try to pay their debt by cutting back on household expenses, working overtime, delaying major household purchases and vacations.
Ways To Pay Off Your Medical Bills — Long-term Financing Vs Short Term Credit
Paying your medical bills is apparently frightening, given the high cost. However, there are many options available that lets you minimize the effects of your medical debt on your future finances. Two of them being short term credit and long-term patient financing. However, short term credit, being the most popular, does more harm than good and we are going to find out why in this article.
Credit Score:
Short- Term: Paying off your medical bills using a credit card can have a huge impact on your credit score. Your credit rating drops drastically if you are unable to pay the whole amount in a couple of months. And of course, a bad credit score can hinder your ability to get a reasonable mortgage rate. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to reverse your poor credit rating, even after you have paid all your debts.
Long-Term Financing: Long-term healthcare financing neither comes with credit check financing nor affects your credit check such as Denefits patient financing. Denefits long-term financing allows you to afford expensive medical services and pay off the bill in easy monthly payments. That way, you can save your credit check for other purchases, and prevent high-cost bills that lead to bad credit scores.
Interest Rates:
Short Term: Short term credit often comes with variable interest rates. This means the interest rate a credit company charges a patient is subject to change with time. Oftentimes, the interest rate is too steep and costly. So, when a patient delays or even misses a payment, the total amount tends to go up significantly.
Long-Term Financing: Denefits long-term financing options come with zero or low-interest rates which is determined by the doctor. Plus, there are no hidden fees and the rate of interest remains the same during the entire duration of the payment period. Having low-interest rates helps you cut down on your medical expenses on a great scale.
Affordability
Short-Term: Short-term credit options usually come with higher monthly payments since a large amount is broken up into monthly payments that need to be paid over a short period of time. Paying higher monthly payments turns out to be a more expensive affair if you can’t afford it or are late on making the payments.
Long-Term Financing: Denefits partners with many healthcare providers to ensure that the medical services you get are affordable in a myriad of financial situations. With Denefits patient financing, the amount of your medical bill can be broken into easy and affordable monthly payments that can be paid in 24 or 48 months.
It’s always imperative to weigh your options when it comes to paying off your medical debt and choose the best possible route. Therefore, unless, your medical bill sums up to be less $200, you can always choose short-term credit to pay it. However, if you are undergoing a medical procedure or stuck in a medical emergency, choosing Denefits patient financing seems to be the right solution.
