Medical Debt During a Pandemic

For many Americans, COVID-19 has been a perfect financial storm. Lockdowns have cost income and opportunity, and some who had been climbing out of the hole financially have had to rely on credit to get them through as the federal government has been unable to reach an accord on extending benefits. At the end of the year, a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions concludes, even as political uncertainty clouds the prospects of economic recovery. Other suspensions of debt payment, including student loan payments, are also coming to a close.

For Americans struggling with medical debt, health issues, and often depression, exacerbated by isolation and deferral of scheduled health maintenance during the pandemic, this combination of factors has added up to the perfect storm. If you’re one of those who has had to be hospitalized for treatment for COVID-19, its impact on your financial well-being may have been almost as severe as on your health. According to statistics, the median hospital stay for CoVid patients who have survived has been from 10 to 13 days. Even if you have insurance, high deductibles may have cast you deep into debt.

State departments of insurance have been working closely with medical facilities to provide some relief, but mitigation efforts vary widely depending on the hospitals and the insurers. For the uninsured, the CARES Act is supposed to cover the costs. If your hospital takes money from the CARES Act Providers Relief Fund for your treatment, they are barred by law from seeking any further compensation. But not every hospital will attempt to take what is offered by the Fund. Some will prefer to attempt to recover more money for treatment by billing the patient directly, without regard to whether they have the means to cover the bill or not. If they don’t seek payment from the government, then the patient is liable for the debt.

People who are recovering from serious illness often lack the psychic resources to aggressively defend their financial interests. Often, particularly under present circumstances, they push it off until that future date when they feel more capable of dealing with unpleasant circumstances, and that is perfectly understandable. But a word of advice: When the new year arrives, and a lot of people who have been able to put off the unpleasantness of dealing with their debt suddenly find themselves on the receiving end of legal notices, or suddenly find their bank accounts seized or their wages garnished, there will be an avalanche of filings for bankruptcy. It is best, if that seems your best avenue to get out from under crippling debt obligations, to file as soon as possible.

You can be sure that lenders who have been put off will flood the courts with new filings. In the meanwhile, many of them have been busy trying to get out in front of matters, since most kinds of consumer debt collection have not been affected, though it takes time for filings to move through already burdened courts. You can also be sure that there will be an avalanche of bankruptcy filings at that time. The experts at Burr Law can help you make the decisions that will discharge your obligations with as little pain and loss to you as possible, and get you on your way to economic recovery as quickly as may be, whether that involves filing under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

Do yourself a favor, and call the experts at Burr Law. They will lay things out simply for you and help you make the decisions that will put you in position to get the Debt Monster off your back, so you can begin to breathe freely again.

You are not alone. Give Burr Law a call.