My hubby (fiance, but we act married) is about $25,000 in debt :eek: , and about 90% of it is medical bills. He never had insurance and has run up an obscene amount of money, one of which is a $14,000 hospital bill when he has his appendix taken out 5 years ago. I need some input from people that have used debt consolidating or have filed bankruptcy. I am not sure which would be more benifical to him and to us (as I would like to buy a house one day!). Thanks all, any comments or personal experiences would be appreciated!

If they are hospital bills, a lot of hospital offer "charity care" and in fact, less than 2% of hospital bills are paid in full!!! I would try to contact the doctors and hospital and let them know that he cannot afford the entire bill, and usually they will assist you in finding ways to help you out. Try it, it cannot hurt!!
Suzanne

I have filed bankruptcy, but only recently. There are two types. One will be held against your credit for 7 years, I think the other is 10 years. if you withold your good credit...especially if there is at least one big good credit card... I am told that your credit can be rebuilt fairly quickly.

Regarding medical debt- if you were able to qualify for Ahcccs, then iany bill is very recent, they may pay for it. Usually within 30 days for sure, but maybe up to 3 months. If you are in the income bracket, they should offer you this while at the hospital.

They say that the hardest thing to purchase after a bankruptcy is a car. In the education class the house was easier to get than the car (esp in this market), though a BK is still a very negative mark and can even affect your ability to get certain jobs (i.e. gov't etc)

Otherwise I am not sure what to say- wish I knew more.

I think that Suzanne's idea should definitely be the first approach. Usually self-pay in cash is greatly discounted too. :0)

Have him first write to all the company's he owes money to. Either dispute it or make them a offer. He will be surprised at the outcome. My Hubbie did this his first time in prison and managed to get released with a 700 credit score. I would not file BR for medical bills, there are other ways around it. He has plenty of time to do this. You can get free credit reports once a year. Just go to annualcreditreport.com. There is no sense in paying somebody else to do the same work he can do. Good Luck.

Recently we took out a loan and PO was concerned about the medical stuff on his credit...the loan officer said they don't take medical debt into consideration when looking at loans.

Something else to look at on bills is there is a statute of limitations for collecting on old bills. Some creditors sell old bills to 3rd party collectors who will try on bills past the statute, and if you make a promise to pay what you can when you can it could change your statute date making the bills newer. These statutes can vary by the type of bill and the state so you want to look on your state web site for your credit rights as well as your right under the Federal Trade Commission.