Can I remove a medical dispute from my credit report?

Posts Tagged ‘Medical Debt’

Can I remove a medical dispute from my credit report?

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Q: My Credit Report Has Three Medical and Hospital Delinquencies that are Being Reported as of 2006 – 2011. However, These Alleged Charges for Which I Have Always Disputed Were From the Years 2002 and 2003. Can These Charges and Reporting Be Removed From My Current Credit Report?

A: In a word: yes, those old, alleged medical and hospital delinquencies can be removed from your credit report, but it will likely take some focused work on your part to get them eliminated. Sometimes, medical collection accounts show up on a credit report even after 7 years if a person has paid monthly payments on the debt or has somehow “reactivated” the account by giving lump sum payments, partial payments on settlement payments to get rid of creditors. In your case, you may not have done this, since you said you’ve always disputed the debts. Nevertheless, be aware that a medical bill alleged to be past due might take a year or so (could be more time; could be less) before it’s reported as a collection account. If you had a hospital bill they claimed you owed, from 2003, and it wasn’t reported to the credit bureaus until 2004, that information would remain on your credit report until at least 2011.

Here’s what to do: if the debts are, in fact, more than 7 years old, simply dispute them online at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. When you specify a reason for your disputes, state that the debts are outdated. If you get nowhere with the credit bureaus, write to the hospital or medical institutions in question directly. Let them know that they are violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by reporting a debt that is more than 7 years old, and issue a firmly-worded letter insisting that they cease and desist all such reporting to the credit bureaus.

Will Medical Bills Affect my Credit or Credit Score?

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Author: The Money Coach

Q: Will Medical Bills Affect my Credit or Credit Score?
A: Medical bills do not adversely impact your credit or your credit score, unless you have long overdue medical accounts that go into collections. In the latter case, a hospital or health care provider can turn over your medical bill delinquency to a debt collection agency or report an account in collections to the credit bureaus. Anything reported to the credit bureaus will hurt your credit rating. But just having a medical bills, even an account that’s 30 days old to 60, 90 days old or more, won’t automatically be reported to the credit agencies. Of course, you don’t want to tempt health care providers. Try to pay past due medical bills as soon as possible to avoid the potential threat of having an account go into collections.

Recommended Reading

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I am a Self-Employed Massage Therapist in Colorado. I Have Made Over $50,000 a Year, But This Year is Different. My Income is Down by Half, and I Owe $9,000 in Credit Card Debt. I Eat Only When I Have the Money to Eat. But I Spend Nothing More Than Gas and Dog Food as Extras Other Than Bills. What Should I Do Next?

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Author: The Money Coach

Anytime you have a substantially reduced income, or an outright elimination of income, it means you have to completely overhaul your budget. A few tweaks, changes and minor pullbacks here and there just won’t do. You’ve indicated that your income is off by 50%. As a result, you must drastically slash your current or previous spending, and also think about creative ways to raise cash. Otherwise, you risk falling deeper into debt.

How to Overhaul Your Budget

Before you look at “extras,” and any “luxuries” you may be spending money on, start by examining the very basics: like your phones, housing and car. Often, the things that we think are “necessities” have to be sacrificed just temporarily when there is a major shift in income. Since you are a self-employed as a massage therapist, it may be the case, for example, that you have multiple phones. Perhaps a cell phone, a business phone and a personal home phone. If so, consider which one – or maybe even two – of those phones you can live without on a temporary basis until you restore your income. This is the kind of thinking that will help you figure out how to get through this economic rough patch. This advice is also applicable to anyone who:

•   Has been laid off recently, for a long time, or expects to be unemployed soon
•   Has seen a big decline in self-employment income
•   Has had has their hours on the job cut
•   Has had their hourly salary or regular pay slashed
•   Has found a new job that is substantially less than the income previously earned

Lifestyle Choices

Overhauling your budget also means making tough choices about your lifestyle. An example of a major lifestyle change might be considering where you live. Do you rent or own? Can you find cheaper housing, a less expensive neighborhood, or is bringing in a roommate an option? Also, what about the car you mentioned? You said you drive only when you must. Can you sell the car and use public transportation? If you have car payments, is getting a friend or relative to take over those car payments at all feasible? I recognize that these are big shifts. But sometimes you have to dig deep when things are far more challenging than the norm. That’s why I usually recommend these strategies for people who are extremely deep in debt, or for those who have had major reductions in their income.

Negotiating and Bartering

As you consider your options, don’t forget about one of the best budget-saving strategies of all: negotiating. Whenever you are about to buy something, ask for a discount. Ask for a discount for paying for goods and services, like medical care, in cash instead of with credit. Ask for a discount if you’re at a store and you’re buying two or three of an item, instead of just one. You can even ask for, and negotiate, to receive products and services free of charge – if you’re willing to exchange your time, talents and services as well. For instance, you said you are a massage therapist. I imagine this is a stressful period for accountants. Instead of paying a CPA to do your business tax returns, maybe you can offer to provide a one-hour massage or treatment to your accountant. The idea is to think creatively about how you can both exchange value – without exchanging dollars. That’s a win-win situation for both parties and one that will help you to more quickly bounce back from your economic slump.

How did Lynnette Khalfani-Cox erase $100,000 in debt in 3 years? (askamoneyexpert.com)
How Debt Can Ruin Your Relationship (askthemoneycoach.com)
Best Careers 2011: Massage Therapist (money.usnews.com)

At 63 years old I am ready for retirement. What should I do?

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Author: The Money Coach

Q: I am Almost 63 Years of Age and Thinking of Retirement. What Should I Do at the Present Time to Make this a Reality in 2 or 3 Years? I am a Registered Nurse Working Full Time in a Hospital.

A: Retiring in two to three short years from now means you’ve got to ensure that your financial affairs are in good shape, and that you will have enough money on hand to last you another two or three decades. Many financial planners create plans for their clients on the assumption that the client will live until 90 or 100 years old. So you have to consider whether, if you retired at age 65 or 66, you would have enough money to last for potentially another 30 years.

Max Out that Retirement Plan at Work

Start by looking at what you’ve saved in your retirement plan at work. If you haven’t been aggressively saving in a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, by all means start doing so. Perhaps your employer offers a match to boost your retirement plan. Under federal law, most employees can put up to $16,500 into a qualified retirement plan in 2010. However, since you are over 50 years of age, you can also put into another $5,500 in “catch up” payments if you’ve been a late starter, in terms of saving. You can also sock money away into an IRA, or Individual Retirement Account. The 2010 limit for regular IRAs and Roth IRAs is $5,000, plus another $1,000 in allowable contributions for those 50 and above. Assess also any pension income or retirement benefits that will be provided directly by your employer. Then find out how much money you will be entitled to from Social Security. You can find out your expected Social Security payments by visiting the Social Security Administration’s website (http://www.ssa.gov).

Two Steps To Assessing Your Retirement Readiness

In summary, to make sure you are on track to retire when you want, you should follow these two steps:

Step 1: Calculate Your Retirement Needs
Think about what how much money you’ll need in retirement, on a monthly and annual basis. Take into account your projected monthly expenses, any debts you’ll have, along with the possibility of healthcare or medical costs, travel, as well as inflation. A good tool to use is the “Ballpark Estimate” retirement calculator from the American Savings Education Council at: http://www.icief.org/retirement/illustrations/ill_ballpark.html

Step 2: Estimate Future Benefits
After consulting your Human Resources Department or taking a look at any employer-provided pension income you may be expecting, go get an estimate of your Social Security benefits at http://www.ssa.gov./estimator.

If you don’t like what you see in the results, all is not lost. You have the option of working a bit longer, perhaps investing slightly more aggressively if you are comfortable doing so, or even using products like annuities that can offer you a steady income stream or make up for any financial shortfalls you may face.

Making the Most of Your Social Security Benefits (askamoneyexpert.com)

Ask The Money Coach

Posts Tagged ‘Medical Debt’