Being injured when you don’t have insurance can be a scary prospect. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have options to help you pay for your medical care. Here are some of the steps that you’ll need to take in order to handle your injury without having to go into debt. Often Doctors and hospitals will give you a discount if they know you don’t have insurance. Actually, they usually end up giving insurance companies a discount as well. Even though they say the rate for a certain procedure is $10,000, the insurance company will often only pay them $2,000 or $3,000 and they write off the balance. So there is no reason why you can’t negotiate the same discount.
Get Medical Care
Getting medical treatment is important so that your injuries can be documented. This is the first step in you being able to make a claim following an injury. Do not avoid getting treatment because you think you can’t afford it—waiting will only make the treatment you require more expensive and harder to file a claim for. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may have a choice in where you receive care. Not all medical institutions are the same; they can vary widely in what they charge for treatment. Urgent care may be more cost-effective than a visit to your local emergency room, so if you are not in immediate danger consider heading to urgent care instead.
Negotiate Costs
Be upfront about the fact that you don’t have insurance. In some instances, you may qualify for free medical care if you reach a certain threshold for your income level. Many medical facilities even have lower rates for those that aren’t insured so that you can still receive care without being worried about the expense of them. Negotiate a payment plan with the accounting department in order to avoid the stress of your account being sent to collections.
Seek Legal Advice
Getting advice from a personal injury lawyer may be the next step so that you aren’t stuck paying for medical bills that were the result of an accident. If you were involved in a car accident, you may be able to file a claim with the other driver’s insurance. A workplace injury could result in you being able to file a workers’ compensation claim in order to seek some financial relief. Your lawyer will be able to advise you on the best course of action.
Consider Settlement Options
A settlement could be in your best interest. It will help you recoup some of your financial losses. Make sure to negotiate so that not only will your medical bills be covered, but also any time that you lost from not being able to work. All of these expenses can start to add up and could leave you in a bind if you don’t take steps in order to protect your financial future.
Not having insurance and being injured doesn’t need to a deal-breaker. Use these strategies so that you can afford your medical care even if you don’t have insurance to help with the costs.
You might also like:
- Recovering from the Unexpected: 4 Tips for Financially Dealing with a Medical Condition
- 4 Ways You Can Reduce Healthcare Expenses
- Financial Implications of Losing Your Mobility
- 5 Tips for Paying for Medical Bills on a Budget
