People who are swimming in medical debt often don’t really think much of it. Instead, they make the required payments on those debts, but some people find that they are too deep in debt to even make a dent in it. This might be the case if there was an unexpected and catastrophic illness or injury that you had to cope with.
One option that people who are deep in medical debt have is to file for bankruptcy. This doesn’t include only the medical bills. Instead, the person will have to include all debts when they file. There isn’t any option to pick and choose what you’re going to include in bankruptcy.
If you do opt to file for bankruptcy, you need to contact your doctor’s office. There’s a chance that you’ll need to find a new doctor since you won’t likely get to pay the full bill. Some doctors will continue to see a patient who filed for bankruptcy, but they may require payment up front for all visits.
It’s imperative that you carefully weigh your options if you think that you’ll need to file for bankruptcy based on medical bills. There isn’t any reason for you to struggle to pay off debts that you can’t even make a dent in. And, you may enjoy the benefit of the automatic stay since the creditors can’t contact you for payments.
Discussing your situation with your attorney can help you determine what chapter to file under and how it might impact you. This is your first step toward being able to enjoy a fresh financial start.