Tag Archives: costs
Can Medical Bills Cause Bankruptcy?
Most bankruptcies occur for reasons beyond our control. As medical bills continue to soar to extraordinary heights, those who cant afford adequate health insurance have no choice but allocate their savings to vital treatments and procedures. Once these individuals run out of cash, they must resort to bankruptcy. Heres a brief look at the correlation between bankruptcy and medical expenses in the U.S.
Rising Medical Costs
In recent years, medical costs have become more daunting than ever for struggling families and individuals. According to a study by health care consulting firm Milliman Inc., healthcare costs for the average family of four exceed $20,000. Those forced to file for bankruptcy often pay much more than thatespecially considering that an average night in a hospital costs nearly $2,000.
Health-Related Filings
According to the American Journal of Medicine, just over 62% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were filed because of insurmountable medical debtsup from 46% in 2001. After exhausting their savings, many people sell their cars, jewelry, and homes. After months of trying to keep up with medical debts, these individuals have no choice but to resort to bankruptcy.
How Bankruptcy Helps
Bankruptcy is a perfectly legal and honest way to eliminate insurmountable debtsespecially if those debts are of a chiefly medical nature. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can immediately eliminate most debts, including outstanding medical bills, but involves the seizure and sale of personal property. Chapter 13 bankruptcy can also eliminate outstanding debts, but only if the debtor adheres to a three to five-year repayment plan. Before selecting a bankruptcy option, its always a good idea to speak with an experienced bankruptcy attorney.
Millions of Americans are just one illness away from financial ruin, despite being in general good health and obtaining the best health insurance possible. In case of medical emergencies, however, the law permits bankruptcy as a strong safety net. If your medical bills are becoming insurmountable, consider bankruptcy as a solution to your financial problems. You can contact Gary Brenner Law Offices for any further questions.
Getting Student Loans: Bad Credit Or Good
If you are someone who would like to go to college but believe you can’t as a result of a bad credit report, know that you are not alone. In the current economy, millions of people are now finding it difficult to pay their monthly bills. There is a way to obtain student loans, bad credit or not. Even if you have a poor credit score, there are still lenders that handle student loans for bad credit borrowers. In fact, there are a number of companies that will help you in spite of the state of your credit report, letting you apply for a bad credit student loan.
Why You Probably Will Need A Student Loan
Nowadays, a college education is very expensive. Tuition costs at most universities run into tens of thousands of dollars each year, not including money for textbooks, individual course costs, or ordinary living expenses. Knowing all this, several institutions make substantial amounts of money available for this type of funding. The problem is that many people cannot qualify.
Although there are many sources of scholastic funding available for students, more times than not the availability of funds is limited due to the law of supply and demand. This dictates that some people apply for loans so that they can attend college or university.
Student Loans For People With Bad Credit
One of the ways that people can get funding for their education expenses is to obtain a student loan. If your credit is sub-standard, there is a way that you can get prompt approval by following this rule: Lenders love to loan to people that have first class credit ratings. If you can locate someone to cosign the loan with you, your approval is nearly always guaranteed.
This explains why private student loans for people with bad credit often seem more appropriate than applying for grants or scholarships for which you may not qualify. This virtually locks in your ability to attend a four year institution.
However, you need to know that there are advantages and disadvantages to obtaining a bad credit student loan.
The lender knows up front that your credit precludes your getting a regular bank loan. Thus it’s possible that they won’t run a credit check on you. That could spare you a bit of discomfort and embarrassment when applying for college student loans for bad credit.
On the other hand, many lenders will insist that you put up some type of property as collateral against your loan. If you and your family have nothing to put up as collateral, then you will need to seek out those lenders that do not require it.
Another thing that you must be aware of is the cost of a bad credit student loan. When it comes to student loans, bad credit almost guarantees that your costs will be greater. While there may be very competitive interest rates offered to those students with a good credit score and clean credit report, you will not be eligible for them. In fact, since you are deemed a poor credit risk, your interest rates may be quite exhorbitant. The bigger the chance that you will default on your loan, the higher the rate of interest charged.
Not only that, the amount will be compounded. This means that if you fail to repay your loan on time, the amount of interest you have due will be added to your principle, with interest and penalties added on that.
So, while it is really not difficult to qualify for college student loans, bad credit or not, there is a price to be paid. Just make certain that if you do go ahead and borrow, don’t borrow more than what you unquestionably need, and make it a priority to pay it off on time.