I lived most of my life in survival mode. Finally got $ saved up to buy a house when I was 44. Started saving for retirement. Then BAM. Diagnosed with throat cancer at 46. Whatever I had saved is now replaced with crushing medical debt ensuring I'll never retire.
Edit to add: I beat the cancer. I am 4 years with no-active cancer. It's just all the scans and tests I need to do several times a year to keep tabs on it is expensive.
That sucks big time. I think I'm your position I'd likely hold it until the doctors/hospitals/medical companies either worked with me or allow the accounts to charge off and be bought by a collection agency that may settle for much less. I don't know the figures for medical debt specifically; but I know the average collection agencies pay for credit card debt, for example, is something like four or five cents for every dollar owed.
Saw this happen to a older man, he got cancer in his balls and had them cut off. Ended up working at Walmart full time after multiple treatments that didn't work. It sucked seeing him come in almost immediately after that surgery to work and being bullied by some of the other workers.
Alot sadly, they loved making jokes about him having no balls I lost it a few times and stood up for the guy but he was already defeated and broken so it just kept happening cause he was an easy target.
Ignoring medical debt doesn't work as well when you need continuous care. If you get hit by a bus and spend a 4 weeks in the icu it could work. But if you need to come back once a month for treatment they are going to stop giving it to you if you aren't paying.
Plus there is the debt they gained simply by being sick and losing out on potential income during that time.
The coffin is not nailed until we give up. There are ways forward, but they will require sacrifice -- even if it's just your time to start with. But giving up is what nails the coffin, giving up and losing the memory and will to fight.
I know everyone reading this has that capacity. You would not have made it through this long if you didn't.
I ran up credit cards when I was 19, because I figured I wouldn't own a home in the 7 years it'd take to fall off. Medical debt is even less severe, as it regularly gets bought out by good Samaritans after it hits collections.
Just curious, why did you think it was OK to borrow money that you did not intend to pay back? I'm not here to judge. And honestly, they take enough money from us through interest. Just genuinely curious. I'm trying to build a list of things to teach my future kids.
A word of caution before I tell you this: do NOT tell your kids about it.
Look up Quantitative Easing, Fiat Currency, Fractional Reserve Banking, and Prime Rate to see how the Federal Reserve and banking systems are used to, quite literally, bleed people dry.
And no, they have absolutely no intention of ever revaluing the currency they stole the value from in the first place.
We live in a full-blown kleptocracy, and I will tell you right now it is much, much better that your children don't know that, because if we had been taught that when we were younger, we would've refused to play.
Just added these to my Obsidian notes. I appreciate it. I love rabbit holes like this. It's good to know what's going on behind the scenes. I wonder if this is the same thing that's on the us debt calculator website . There was a PDF document showing how we were being robbed since the federal reserve came to fruition.
You must be new to politics or the world at large. I couldn't give less of a shit of what I did to JP Morgan by not paying, when they were actively protecting Epstein and helping him funnel millions and terrorize hundreds of minors.
I pay $10-50/mo for my medical debt with a cancer hospital. If you can, just keep accruing it with one facility. I’m fortunate they also don’t charge interest on the debt.
Some hospitals wipe debts after receiving donations and give relief to those on long timeline payment plans.
My extremely hot take (if you’re in the US), just don’t pay your medical debt.
Sure, your credit might end up looking bad (some creditors/banks ignore medical debt), but it’s not like you’re buying a new house or a new car if you’re spending all your retirement and savings into medical debt.
The debt will end up getting sold to an agency that will reduce it to a fraction of what it is and then if you still can’t pay that, then let them legally take it away from you.
But before it even gets there, almost every hospital in the US provides financial assistance or charity care (if you qualify). If you’re dipping into your retirement/savings and genuinely can’t afford it (and not spending frivolously on other crap or gambling) then you will get approved for it.
Some states don't even allow medical debt on your credit report at all. Hospitals in the U.S. don't go bankrupt unless they're poorly ran, i.e. don't meet the minimum requirements of care for Medicare, so they're making money even with all of the unpaid medical debt. There's a reason that medical insurance premiums still go up 10% or more every year even though insurance companies are capped at 20% gross profit (at least 80% of all insurance premiums must be spent on medical care by law, only the remainder can be used cover company expenses like IT, office space, and employee salaries).
I mean ... You're not wrong. But I pay the cost gladly, knowing I have the help when I needed, without having to worry about the cost.
If you factor in the amount a Dane (I'm Danish) pays for health care over tax, and what an American pays via health insurance, medical bills etc. Danes pay less - On average.
I have a family history of dementia in both sides. When I’m ready to retire I’m gonna mule for the cartel & play up the dementia angle at my inevitable trial. New American retirement plan! 🤷♂️😭
Wow….you and my husband: exact same circumstances. Except he is 42 with throat cancer. Been off work for over a year already. Still waiting for Social Security disability. Cashed in his 401K to survive in the meantime and pay medical costs! He’s looking at going back to work Spring/Summer 2028 and start all over again! What a shame, right? Hey that’s life though (at least we had what we did have saved to get us through this hardship!)
I had to cash out my 401k when I lost my job at 40, The kicker was having to pay tax on it. Sold my condo at a loss, too. And then I got sick, and then Covid hit before I could get another job. Now, years later, I'm renting a room and barely making enough to buy food, nevermind saving for retirement. Don't know wtf I'm going to do.
Yup. American. I pay $250 a month out of my paycheck for insurance. Then I’m responsible for $10k every year. Dental insurance is the worst. It’s the opposite of medical. At least medical caps out w my insurance. Dental does not. It’s easy as an American to have $20k-$50k for teeth
This is all by design. The entire system is intentionally designed this way. Whether it's to harm people on purpose or not is irrelevant, it's about extracting all the wealth out of us.
A dentist saw I had a lump. I thought it was an infected impacted wisdom tooth. Told me to go to the ENT. They knew it was cancer immediately. It was stage 2. I beat it since it was caught early.
I beat the cancer! It’s just you have to get so many tests and scans every 6 months to ensure it stays gone. That’s why the debt keeps adding to the pile.
That is great news! Congratulations friend! Enjoy every moment of your life, these kind of things remind us that we should not get stuck with unnecessary stuff that we face in our lives and most of the time we go with the flow, end up forgetting what actually matters. So please don’t forget that part if you face with any issues/struggles.
Would it be worth it to lower your earnings if necessary and move to a state where you’d qualify for Medicaid and not have to pay a dime out of pocket?
Beating the cancer is the absolute, & the very best!!!congratulations!
I realize the importance of owning your own house is a significant thing!! But, first, your health is everything !
Hopefully, in the near future, you’ll be both healthy,& be able to buy that home of yours !! Gif bless , & best of luck! 🙏☮️!
This is a complete misnomer. Thinking someone that has health insurance means everything is covered. No, it doesnt. Every plan has an out pocket limit and that can fluctuate depending which charge is in-network and out-of network. I do have health insurance. I still have to pay $10k + a portion of prescriptions out of pocket every year after my $250 a month out of my paycheck.
That's incredibly out of touch thinking everyone can afford to save in a HSA. That's still your money, you're just prepaying if you can afford it. I can't afford to save $10K a year to pay my yearly debt.
As a supplemental, easy on the system treatment, I'd look into Fenbendazole, Ivermectin, or Menbendazole. And probably alkalyzing the body. Just search X or Facebook, there's lots of groups.
Best of luck in your health journey. I've been there with medical debt. It sucks, but you've got to do what you have to do, and at the end of the day, it's just money.
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u/VineStGuy 5d ago edited 4d ago
I lived most of my life in survival mode. Finally got $ saved up to buy a house when I was 44. Started saving for retirement. Then BAM. Diagnosed with throat cancer at 46. Whatever I had saved is now replaced with crushing medical debt ensuring I'll never retire.
Edit to add: I beat the cancer. I am 4 years with no-active cancer. It's just all the scans and tests I need to do several times a year to keep tabs on it is expensive.