Medical Bills in Bankruptcy

By Derek Prosser
Partner

Even though debts such as credit cards, student loans and taxes are the most common sources of financial difficulty for our clients, many of our clients also have a considerable amount of medical debt.  Here’s the good news – whether your file for Dallas Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Texas Chapter 13 bankruptcy, bankruptcy can get rid of these medical bills.

How Does Bankruptcy Affect Medical Debt?

For whatever reason – no insurance, poor insurance, high co-pays and deductibles, etc. – many people struggle to pay their medical bills.  When seriously injury or illness happen, everyone hopes that their insurance will be there to cover them.  That’s why we have insurance, right?  Unfortunately, insurance often times only solves part of the problem, leaving the injured person with heavy medical bill debt.  Paying medical bills is difficult no matter what the income of the household is.  Fortunately, filing bankruptcy in Texas is an option.

Bankruptcy requires you to list everyone you owe money to, including hospitals and other healthcare providers.  In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you list all your medical bills and the discharge you receive approximately three (3) months after the case is filed relieves you of that debt.  Even though the medical bill is discharged, you can still voluntarily work out a payment arrangement with your doctor as a way to try preserve that relationship going forward.  Even in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, whether you file a Dallas Chapter 13, Plano Chapter 13, etc., you still could get a discharge of most if not all of your bills.  Because Chapter 13 is a repayment plan, you might be required to pay some of it back, but the balance you don’t pay under a confirmed repayment plan will be discharged.

If you are drowning in medical bills or simply have medical bills in addition to other debts, contact our experienced Texas bankruptcy attorneys today to review your situation and give you a list of potential solutions.

About the Author
Derek Prosser understands that clients need help and need answers and that in order to properly address those concerns, clients need to deal with an attorney first and always, not just an assistant or paralegal.  By effectively counseling from the outset of a case, Toronjo & Prosser Law can anticipate and address potential problems before they arise, as opposed to when they’ve already surfaced (the “Counsel Later” approach), and, in the end, strive for a seamless representation.