Letter of hardship to reduce overall charge?

Question

I have some ridiculous medical charges against me currently.. I am a full time student, that works min wage part time jobs. I am not one to skip out on bills, always pay my credit card etc. .. However those are planned expenses, and this medical one was not.. and its very high for me to afford. I've been researchin letters of hardship, just for an idea of what I would write, but all of those I've found are for just spreading the payments out.. I'm wondering if its possible to actually reduce the priced for good, since I feel that paying this in full will hurt me significantly for at least the next year as I'm trying to pay tuition/living expenses/etc..

Answer 1

Go in person and speak with the hospital.

Hospitals generally have lists of different charities that help pay medical bills.

Plus, as the first two posters stated, you may be able to negotiate the amount down.

If they do find a charity that will help pay and if they will agree to reduce the amount owed, be sure to get that in writing before you leave.

Answer 2

Whether or not an expense is planned is rather irrelevant to the validity of the debt involved. As you have discovered on your own, a hardship letter is not intended to get you a reduction of debt, but rather a grace period in which to retire the debt.

You are correct in assuming that it WILL hurt you to have this unexpected debt, but that is part of life. Generally, medical facilities will only reduce debt in return for quick and FULL payment. You may be able to negotiate a delay in repayment until you graduate and obtain a much better paying job, at which time you will be in a better position to start retirement of this debt.

I recommend working with your creditors in the best possible light to help you cope with the debt in the future, but I think your hopes of a reduction based upon hardship are rather wishful thinking.

Answer 3

you can try; but pretty much EVERYONE with an unexpected medical bill has a hardship. Better to negotiate as low a payment as possible to keep it from going to colllection and live with it.