It is unfortunate if your critical health condition has driven you to become bankrupt. Yet this is a common reality for many Americans, between the high cost of health insurance, medical bills, and the other financial ramifications that come with a health issue. Rest assured, filing for bankruptcy may allow you to rid yourself of some financial responsibilities and place your entire focus on what matters most, your physical health. Read on to discover whether medical bills may be discharged in your bankruptcy proceedings and how a seasoned Rockland County bankruptcy attorney at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq. can help relieve you from this burden.
How might medical bills lead me to become bankrupt?
Unfortunately, even if you pay for a solid health insurance plan, you may still be financially unprepared to pay for the piling medical bills that come with your critical health condition. With that being said, below are examples of how your medical bills might lead you to become bankrupt:
- The health insurance premiums you have to pay every month, in addition to your deductibles, copayments, etc.
- The surgeries and other extensive treatments that are required to heal your critical health condition.
- The prescription medications and medical devices that are required to heal your critical health condition.
- The lost wages you may incur if your crucial health condition makes you unable to return to work or your field of work.
- The strain that a loved one’s special medical needs may put on your personal finances (i.e., nursing home care, hospital visits, etc).
How might medical bills be dischargeable in my bankruptcy proceedings?
The silver lining in this situation is that your medical debt is considered to be a type of dischargeable debt. In other words, it is eligible to be eliminated from your overall debt upon your bankruptcy filing. With this, the medical bills you receive after your bankruptcy filing may also be eliminated; this is so long as the medical treatment being billed took place before the date on which you filed.
Understandably so, you may not want to have to deal with bankruptcy proceedings when you have your physical health to worry about. However, the payoff may just make this process worth it. This is because, upon filing for bankruptcy, you will stop receiving calls from hospital bill collectors. What’s more, your house will no longer be in foreclosure. Overall, your medical bills may never have to be paid back.
At the end of the day, you must not take any chances when it comes to your bankruptcy proceedings. So please retain the services of a competent Rockland County bankruptcy attorney from The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq. as soon as you can.
