Thursday, August 24, 2017

Getting Medical Bills Under Control With Freedom Financial Asset Management



Sudden medical bills or expenses can be forced on us without any option for getting the best value. You can’t simply shop around for the best deal when you’re having a heart attack in the emergency room.

The truth is that you receive the bill in your mailbox some time later and must deal with it after the fact. Unlike comparison shopping on different websites, the amount you have to pay has already been determined. The next couple of steps look like this:
  • Try to negotiate down the amount or establish some type of payment plan
  • Figure out how you’re going to pay it

Don’t pass up the opportunity to call the hospital or your doctor’s office and try to negotiate down the total bill. Let them know you fully intend to pay. There isn’t a 100% guarantee they will reduce your bill, but if you don’t ask you might be leaving money on the table.


Once you have some type of payment plan in place through discussions with the hospital or doctor’s office, you’ll need to start making regular payments.

These payments are usually made using a credit card with a high interest rate. In fact, a 2015 Federal Reserve report found that 38% of Americans use their credit cards to pay off medical debt.

This is not a situation you want to find yourself in. Freedom Financial Asset Management could help by providing more affordable options for managing debt expenses.


A More Affordable Method For Paying Medical Bills


The same Federal Reserve study found that 46% of Americans would be in a bind if they were hit with an unexpected $400 expense. They would have to borrow or sell something to pay for it.

Not having a plan for how you’ll pay sudden medical expenses can you leave you scrambling. Often, you end up with some of the worst options. There are much better alternatives to pay these sudden expenses.

Freedom Financial Asset Management provides APRs that range from 4.99% to 29.99%. Unlike interest rate alone, APR is the full loan cost. Terms on these loans range from 2 - 5 years, giving you plenty of time to pay off the loan.

There may be an origination fee, which can range from 0% to 5% of the loan value. There’s also no prepayment penalty. Meaning, you can pay off the loan at any time without incurring an additional fee.

This type of loan can be a great option compared to other alternatives such as a high rate credit cards for paying down medical expenses.

If the above sounds a little overwhelming, don’t worry. Freedom Financial Asset Management offers great customer service (they have a Better Business Bureau A+ rating) and will make sure you get the best financing possible for your situation.


Medical Bills And Your Credit Score


Overdue medical bills that are reported to the credit bureaus can have a large negative impact on your credit score. How credit scores are used is in fluctuation right now, but you count on unpaid medical bills having a negative impact.

Even worse than an unpaid medical bill is when a debt goes into collections. This is one of the worst cases and should be avoided.

Another drawback of using a credit card to pay expenses is that it is no longer categorized as a medical expense. This means you’ll lose medical bill protection in the latest iteration of credit scoring (specifically FICO credit scoring).

Freedom Financial Asset Management is not a credit card company and does not have the same draw back when it comes to FICO credit scoring medical protection.


No comments:

Post a Comment


Join 1000's of People Following 50 Plus Finance
Real Time Web Analytics