Tag Archives: medical
Viaticals- A Dark Alternative To Shielding Survivors From Credit Challenges Of Medical Collections & Judgments (Page 1 of 3)
Its just not enough to face the final phase of life with all the finality that goes with it without dealing with medical bills, collections and possible judgements all tied to the a terminally ill patient. A person may have worked all their lives with purpose and grace only to be run over by terminal illness. If there are loved ones attached to this experience all the pain and suffering may really go beyond the funeral with trailing medical bills, collections and even judgements. With accelerating medical costs the tab can be run up fairly quickly. Any savings or even health insurance may not be even close enough to meet the burden. Home equities can be quickly squeezed and exhausted. The terminal patient (this could be someone severely over weight-family history of heart disease as well-etc.) never intended to leave loved ones holding the ultimate financial bag. It just happens. As thoughts of Ralph Edwards the former host of This Is Your Life play out in the brain the mind may race ahead to the final act leaving loved ones to deal with the financial aftermath of this life. The obituary might read He was a great guy/gal, but left his family and loved ones with a ton of unpaid debts. An alternative for a terminally ill patient (or could be medically challenged and not able to work) may be a Viatical. If there is a term life insurance policy or better, such as whole life, universal life, annuity etc., in place or even a paid up policy or one that has monthly payments being made this could quality for the Viatical vehicle.
This then is the ultimate and final use of a handicapper. When life policies are taken out actuaries make a bet when a person is going to die based on their medical history, age, weight, health levels, occupations, smoker, non-smoker, etc. Later on, if the need arises, another handicapper can enter the scene. It is by request only. Viaticals are based on handicapping the rest of a persons life based on the medical and such to determine by guessing when death might arrive. An investor will bid on a discounted basis on the face amount of the policy to give the insured and beneficiaries cash right now. A terminally ill patient may want to get their financial affairs cleaned up before dying so as not to stick love ones with a financial disaster. This comes home to anyone who in addition is dealing with the terminal illness but may be facing foreclosure from their home, cars repossessed, credit that has long since gone down the drain and a whole new layer of stress in the circle of concerned and effected loved ones. What to do, ride it out and let the chips fall where they may, OR make an effort to get it handled now and bring some peace to everyone by taking care of the financial affairs before death. Yes there will be a substantial reduction in the face value of the policy by taking a cash advance now, but it may save a lot of pain for immediate survivors. This is not for everyone. Obviously, if there is no life insurance policy in place for the terminally ill patient, this will not be an option.
How to Save Yourself From Drowning in Credit Card Debt
Credit card debt has been widely recognized as the primary reason why people are suffering from low credit scores in the country. The most likely reason why many people suffer from this vicious cycle of debt is that it is difficult to keep a track of all the points of expenditure through credit cards. This is especially true when a person is struck with some form of a medical or even non medical emergency. In such situations, it is impossible to think of the consequences of expenditure because expenses like medical bills cannot be avoided at the cost of life or fitness. Therefore, most people in a medical emergency end up getting trapped in debt. Fortunately, while it takes some doing, it is not very difficult to get rid of the problem. All it takes is a little bit of common sense and diligence. Consider the following steps through which you can get rid of your credit card debt, if you are stuck in one.
1. Find some good refinancers and pay each of them a visit
The first step of your strategy to get rid of credit card debt is to find and visit good refinancers in the region. The loan refinancing industry has grown significantly as the number of people getting trapped by different types of debts is increasing. Therefore, it would not be difficult for you to find some good refinancers in your region. You should shortlist the best ones and arrange an appointment with each one of them. During your meetings with these refinancing professionals, your job will be to try and get as much information about the kind of credit card debt settlement plan that they think would be good for you.
2. Analyze the credit card debt settlement plans that they have set out for you
After you have met with all the refinancing firms, you would have rough information on the credit card debt settlement plans that they had devised for you. If you are smart, you can get a lot of very useful information from a refinancing firm’s representative. You should analyze all the information that you have gathered in terms of different instruments, different schedules and, in a nutshell, the whole settlement plans’ structure.
3. Combine the positives of all the plans strategies and create your own
Finally, you should combine the good aspects of all these strategies that you think fit your specific situation and formulate your own customized settlement plan. Ideally, the best way to get rid of credit card debt would be to pay the debt. However, sometimes the debt is so large that it requires some manipulation through refinancing loans and other credit cards. Your own settlement plan would consist of this kind of information. Furthermore, since you took the positives and most suitable aspects from all the restructuring and refinancing plans offered to you, you would find that your customized plan would be better than all of them because it is designed to your specific needs by you.