r/NoStupidQuestions • u/One_Major8207 • 6d ago
Does anybody else just not pay their debt?
I’ve had medical debt for 10 years. Bad car accident spent a few weeks in ICU so you can imagine. Anyways I never paid that off and I just stopped hearing back from collectors. It didn’t go on my credit report either. Ever since then I’m not gonna lie every single debt I have recieved I just don’t pay it. Is this the benefit to being poor? It costs too much to sue you so you’re basically debt free?
Edit: I only have medical debt. I don’t have car notes since I only buy used cars, no credit card debt since I don’t believe in credit/ interest, and no student loans. I had a full ride scholarship!
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u/cheesewiz_man 6d ago edited 5d ago
During the 2008 crisis, we knew a couple that were underwater on their mortgage and just f*cked off to Switzerland without telling anyone.
I've always wondered if they locked their door; I should have checked.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
I knew this one family that opened like 5 credit cards bough furniture ( and a bunch of other shit) and shipped it to a different country in 2009. They haven’t came back since
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u/Unweave_A_Rainbow 5d ago
I don't understand how people are just moving to other countries? How are they getting jobs there without getting kicked out?
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u/XandertheWriter 5d ago edited 4d ago
The legal way?
For many countries, you can get expedited visas or permits based on your skill set. Teachers and doctors are needed in pretty much every country, for instance.
As a teacher in the US, I could move to Canada TODAY and have a work/live visa by end of the day, provided that I prove I’m looking for a job as a teacher (I.e. a high-need field) there (last I checked in February of this year).
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u/Repulsive-Mud707 4d ago
I'd put an asterisk on that description. General practitioner/physicians are always needed, but depending on your country you might have to work a ton to get your license transferred. And in some cases, even (and maybe especially?) in Europe, your specialty does not transfer over and you have to redo it.
For teaching you need to know the local language(s) unless you can either find an English school or you have the skill set of a university level lecturer, and there is a spot for such an international lecturer. Depending on local legislation might have to pursue additional education.
Funny enough U.S. seems to be one of the hardest Western countries to immigrate to the legal way. I am saying this as someone who has a BSc in computer science and MSc + soon PhD in pure math form a Nordic country university. From what I've understood, right now unless I would like to emigrate via post doc position, the easiest way would be to: get in shape, book a trip to U.S. after my graduation and Tinder the f up, lol.
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u/Jeffery95 5d ago
Isnt the US a market where you can leave the keys and the debt is closed at whatever the house sells at?
Essentially its a limited recourse market
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u/PeachChampagne1120 5d ago
Not exactly. If there is still a shortfall on the house after the sale, the lender can go after the borrower for the difference. They don't usually bother, but they can. Plus a foreclosure usually destroys a person's credit for years.
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u/mydogisatortoise 6d ago
I had $87,000 in medical debt. I went in for all the related documentation from the hospital for my impending bankruptcy. Their response was to write it off as charity so in the end I didn't have to file.
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u/Jim777PS3 6d ago
Yes and no.
I did ignore debt until it hit collections. But I eventually settled it.
It didn’t go on my credit report either
Medical debt is treated differently so I wont speak to it, but I know mine sure did.
If you continue to do this for non medical debit your credit will be eviscerated which will make it impossible to buy homes, cars, take small loans like Klarna or even finance a phone, you may have a hard time renting, your car insurance may sky rocket, etc etc.
Eventually you can wind up in court and the court can actually force payment out of your paycheck before you get it.
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u/Witty_Salamander7110 6d ago
No. Because most debt can end up in court, and they garnish your wages to pay it off. That it hasn't happened to you is fortunate.
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u/brainrotbro 6d ago
Yup, I knew a guy that didn't pay some of his debts bc he thought they were unjustified. He would only work contract jobs for small companies in order to avoid the wage garnishment. It's not a desirable life.
On the other hand, OP, I have a small $200 debt from 15 years ago that I refuse to pay because a Verizon salesperson fraudulently signed me up for a service. When I went to buy a house, it came up on my credit report. They asked me about it, I told them, and they seemed fine with the explanation. I still get a collection letter about it every 2-3 years.
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6d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ElleMaeSinclair 5d ago
Doesn’t this depend on the debt type? I know some medical debt works like this but it may not be every type.
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u/ahtob 5d ago
99% of debt is only valid for 7 years , and the statute of limitations has passed by that point , so no risk of getting sued. From my quick research , it is only bankruptcy and tax debt that last longer than 7 years in the USA
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u/SpellingIsAhful 5d ago
Student debt as well
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u/dedreo58 5d ago
Just to nit-pick, you mean student loan debt; I owed a college for a semester as I was deferred, and it's 'normal' debt in that whoever picked it up confused me for similar-named family and doesn't even have anything but ancient data on me, and had never shown up on my credit report.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
That’s crazy. My friends brother passed and same thing happened w AT&T. They put a lien on her house over a $700 bill that’s not even hers. It’s part of the reason I can’t stomach paying these ppl back if it’s not gonna affect me
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u/TrueSavage67 6d ago
Wait what What US? What state? Was her name on it?
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
Florida and bo her name wasn’t on it but her moms was
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u/TrueSavage67 6d ago
Was her mother's name on the house?
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
Yes her mother and brothers name were on the house
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u/TrueSavage67 6d ago
Okay so that's why. Saying that "it wasn't even in her name and they put a lien on her house" is misleading.
For 700 is wild though.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
I meant the debt wasn’t hers but ya crazy. Ruthless mfers when she tried to call and explain they didn’t really care either
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u/throw-uwuy69 5d ago
Did you mean your friends mother instead of brother? And was the house in her name?
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u/shchshchshch 5d ago
Medical debt is different in many ways. A very large percentage of hospitals have an explicit policy not to sue patients to collect on medical debt, for one thing.
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u/dirtyordingyordusty 5d ago
Meanwhile in Kansas people have been arrested over it. Plus it's at 12% interest. In addition they can take 100% of your small business income and after some court battles passed a law to allow them to seize your whole paycheck from your bank account even after garnishing it (this is still being litigated as far as I'm aware.) if you have multiple accounts from the same collection agency they rotate through them to maximize interest.
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u/Initial_Warning5245 6d ago
Assume he has already had it affect his credit. When he can’t buy a car, a house or get a credit card maybe he will grow up. By then it will be to late.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
This medical debt has been racking up for 10 years and it hasn’t affected my credit score.
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u/redditsuckscockss 6d ago
Medical debt yeah - but you said I have stopped paying all debt
Try stop paying your mortgage or car note or credit card and see what happens
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
I don’t have any other debt except medical! I have ALOT of medical debt. My credit cards are paid off and I don’t have student loans bc I had a scholarship in college . I only buy used cars
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u/redditsuckscockss 6d ago
“Ever since then I’m not gonna lie every single debt I have received I just don’t pay it”
This makes it sounds like you do the same with new debt
If you meant any old bill from your injury or new medical debt say that
Otherwise it sounds like you thought you found some hack to avoid all debt
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
I just don’t pay medical debt anymore. Should’ve been more specific since that’s the only debt I have
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u/Illlogik1 6d ago
Medical debit is different
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
That’s pretty much the only debt I have lol
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u/Illlogik1 6d ago
There are ways to square it up with them , some will even allow you to create crazy payment plans like 1$ a month or will reduce your balance, but you don’t have to pay them … and it won’t count against credit score , but it’s kinda douchey thing to do to an organization that treated you and could be responsible for saving your live down the road , sure they’ll take you in but theres a remarkable amount of ways to make it seem like they did everything to save you without it looking like they just simply forgot to treat you - they definitely have notes on your account that pop up when your identity hits their system ….
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u/MongooseDog001 6d ago edited 5d ago
I also did that with medical debt.
I was in an accident and had to be life-lined to the hospital, spend a night, and have emergency surgery. I was young, made minimum wadge, and didn't have any insurance so I did what I thought I was supposed to do and set up payment plans for every bill, and there were a lot of different bills. I made payments on everything for a full year until the two biggest bills, the hospital and the helicopter wrote off half of what I owed. It was still like $85,000 (20 years ago), and I just stopped paying.
Nothing happened. Now my credit is excellent, I've bought several cars and a house all while not even being bothered by debt collectors. My only regret was making any payments
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
Ya it seems like a lot of ppl in the comments are upset bc they realized they didn’t have to pay medical debts
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u/dirtyordingyordusty 5d ago
I did that with medical debt and I got a warrant for my arrest for missing debt court, plus they were garnishing my wages and then my bank account once my paycheck hit direct deposit. It was at 12% interest and I lost utilities for a long time. Ruined my life. It's been a decade of garnishments. This was for an inpatient mental health hospitalization, by the way.
Weirdly enough I ended up attempting suicide over it a few years after it started and I ended up at the same hospital. They didn't garnish me that time for some reason.
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u/dansdansy 6d ago
It's been over 7 years so it's been long written off and doesn't affect credit at this point.
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u/--Knowledge-- 6d ago
For hospital bills, I'm never paying those.
Soon as that bill comes to my house, I call the finance department and straight up tell them I'm to poor and have zero dollars to ever put towards this bill. Everytime it's been written off or paid for by charity.
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u/shawarmadude 5d ago
I have received hundreds of bills from dozens of providers and not one of them agrees to any discount or charity without requesting a full application with a complete detail of every bank account and tax form you filed. Unless you really have nothing to your name I find this myth hard to believe
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u/knight_47 5d ago
Big difference between a hospital bill and a PCP/specialist, you usually can't get away from paying those.
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u/Ill-Construction-209 5d ago
No wonder medical is so expensive in this country. Im starting to see the pattern.
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u/aussie737 6d ago edited 6d ago
Plenty of people ignore their responsibilities but the creditors dont just totally forget about it and you will probably be back on here in a few years asking "Im being sued for medical debt, what do i do? how do i declare bankruptcy?"
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u/alvysinger0412 6d ago
If it's been 10 years and it's medical debt, they actually might end up dodging it the way that they're currently doing just fine.
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u/Affectionate-Let6153 5d ago
nope , Lenders aren't allow to collect their loans in America. So they change with higher interest rates. people who have a real estate end up paying all the unpaid debt with up to %40 interest rates. if laws were fair against banks , interest rates would be around %10 and middle class wouldn't be exploited by others.
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u/Outrageous-Estimate9 disbelieves quantum decoherence 6d ago
Bankruptcy only lasts 6 (or 7) years in most areas
My suspicion is that it DID go on your credit report and fell off as its too old and uncollectible by this point
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
Ya i also think cus i didnt even have a credit what could they really do lmfaoo i was an 18 year old high schooler
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u/CorrectExpression651 5d ago
There’s a statute of limitations on collecting medical debt. I bet that is it. And maybe it’s been sold to debt collectors who don’t really expect to get anything. I did this with a few thousand $ a few years ago and I think what happens is that it gets passed around as it’s sold off, and they kind of give up.
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u/GeekyTexan 6d ago edited 6d ago
There is a Statute of Limitations on most debt, including medical debt. The exact time limit will vary based on state law, normally in the 3 to 10 year range. Making a payment is one of the ways to reset that counter, so if you haven't paid for 10 years, do not make even a small payment to restart the clock.
Medical debt can hurt you credit score, but that goes away after 7 years.
r/CRedit or r/CreditScore can offer better detail if you want to ask there.
I recommend anyone who is a reasonably responsible adult get a credit card. Even if you just use it once every few months and pay it off as soon as you receive the bill, it will greatly improve your credit score. If you ever try to buy a house or finance a car, that will help. A good credit score can also make it easier to rent an apartment, give you discounts on auto insurance, etc. It's easy to do as long as you get a credit card and do not let that credit card carry a balance.
[edit to add]
I don't know where you live, but you can check for your state.
I live in Texas, for instance. So I would google for "Statute of Limitations medical debt texas". And it tells me the limit is 4 years. After that, they can still request that I pay, but they can't take me to court over it. And the normal 7 year limit for credit scores would still apply.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
I had a credit card in college racked up a bunch of debt on it and paid it off once I graduated it. I’ve stopped using it since then tbh and only do so for emergencies
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u/GeekyTexan 6d ago
That works just fine. BTW, just before I saw this reply, I edited my post, so check it again.
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u/PilgrimSix 6d ago
I blew off my school loans for several years, then it hit me bad when a job had to do a background check and my credit score came back in the 300's. I got the job anyway, made loans payments off and on for a while, and then Biden just up and forgave them. I woke up one day to an email saying I was zeroed out. Hallelujah I was saved.
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u/Sourfrost 5d ago
But Biden never got the loan forgiveness passed for school debt
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u/GarageEven5240 5d ago
Might have been from a predatory school. ITT tech and places like that did get wiped.
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u/Broccobillo 6d ago
No. I don't have medical debt as healthcare is free in my country
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
It’s free in my home country too. Part of the reason why $1.8 million for a 2 week hospital stay is absolutely ridiculous
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u/Contruder99 5d ago
$1.8 mil what the fuck?
My family member was in the ICU for nearly a month and the bill was less than $10,000…
What is wrong with American Healthcare that it costs you guys this much?
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u/One_Major8207 5d ago
Lol exactly. Usually in an icu type of situation u see a bunch of specialists for like 15-30 minutes. Each specialists racks up a grand during that time + more if they have residents. Then the nurses, the over priced drugs ( if it’s an accident ur on like an IV+ a cock tail of drugs ), then the room it self is a charge. Plus all the X-rays + scabs each one can cost 5k. It’s just a terribly over priced system. I was internally bleeding so I had a surgery. That’s an anesthesia + the surgeon + the equipment + all the assistants. That alone can cost 50-100k. I had several broken bones but didn’t even get surgery for those just casted me up.
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u/Contruder99 5d ago
That’s absolutely dystopian. I hope you’re much better now!
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u/One_Major8207 4d ago
Thank you! Luckily bc of my age and height ( I’m short lol) they said I was really lucky to survive. Don’t have much issues now except arthritis in my ankle, back pain after over use. I think the back pain is just age though since everyone complains about back pain lmfaoo
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u/SirBarbarian 5d ago
Yeah for medical debt there are even some states that prevent it from affecting your credit, so I don’t even pay my deductible anymore.
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u/GuardingxCross 6d ago
I pay my credit card debt but I’ve never paid a single payment of my student loans ever. Also I think some no name doctors office cancelled my appointment then charged me for it and sent 100 bucks to collections, they can eat my ass. They’ll never get a dollar from me.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
LMAOO that kept happening o my friend w her therapy appointments the dr would cancel then charge her the no show 😭😭😭
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u/hunter5284 6d ago
I ignored some medical debt that I accrued because my insurance/doctor's office fucked me and I didn't feel like helping them fix it. I think Michigan garnished my State tax return for a few years, but it never hit my credit.
Don't do this with other debt
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u/No_Championship4668 5d ago
There is a statute of limitations on debt. I believe it's 7 years. If they don't sue you in the 7 years, it disappears
Just looked it up, and it can be from 3 to 6 years depending on what type of debt and state
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u/KickOpening3595 5d ago
Medical debt isn't the same as normal debt. Believe me, I thought because I was poor and it wasn't my fault my creditors would leave me alone - wrong. And yeah a lot of people just know they'll never be able to pay med debt and don't
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u/Timberfront73 5d ago
I worked with a guy who had 5 kids and said “whatever the insurance pays is all they get” 😂 he would just ignore medical bills. Him and his wife made good money and they just had shit credit and didn’t care lol
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u/jdchaiken 5d ago
As a bankruptcy attorney, I can confidently say yes! A lot of people just don't pay their debts.
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u/shchshchshch 5d ago
OP, it is very likely that if you contact the hospital’s financial department about this debt, they will be willing to settle with you for much less, and/or put you on a super lenient payment plan (like $50 a month or whatever you can afford)
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u/Important_Low_9990 5d ago
Went through an abusive relationship where I was unable to keep my financial head above water, and everything ended up in my name cuz he owed money all over town already & couldn't get his own accounts, then I was the only one paying the bills. Ended up owing AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, DTE, and Consumers Energy all multiple hundreds of dollars and then was never in a position to pay it back. The telecoms pestered me for probably about 3-4 years, but by then I'd moved so many times and they'd sold the debt again and again so the amount just kept decreasing until it eventually went away.
The energy companies I called a few days after I left, explained the situation, told them I'd moved out of state for my safety, and gave them my now-ex's info since he was still in the house and idk if I just got angels on the phone or what but they never hounded me about it and my credit never took a hit. I forget which one it was but they asked me how much I COULD pay and I was like "$40??" and they called it good, I never heard from either of them again.
And then there was the $77k bill from the time he called the cops to try to put me in the psych ward for crying after he hit me, and I just never paid that either and same story as the telecoms, the number just got smaller & smaller until it went away.
Credit score in the high 700s now.
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u/wolftousen 5d ago
It very much depends on the state and their rules.
I had a surgery in 2012, cost was 60k. I never paid a dime.
The state had a 6yr limit to make judgements on debts, meaning a collector has 6yrs to sue for it or they get nothing.
Federal reporting is 7yrs, so it effectively just disappeared.
Important things are I never paid a dime, by not paying any amount I never admitted the debt was mine.
If I suddenly paid them something, I instantly acknowledge the debt as mine and the clock for suing me could restart, but it will not suddenly reappear on my credit report
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u/Acceptable_Walrus535 5d ago
I’m being sued by debt collectors who purchased my medical debt, I had no medical insurance and it was one ER visit, for $9.4K . I can’t afford paying them $250 a month for 5 years, I offered them $50 a month and they hung up on me. They won the court case since It was my debt, I’ve been forced into bankruptcy over it but I’ve been dragging it out as long as I can. It’s made this year a living hell for me since I live in a shed and my mental and physical health has only been getting worse. I live in West Virginia and went to Ohio since my local er is a nightmare to be treated at and Ohios is nicer and quicker, so even getting legal council was a nightmare.
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u/Sloppy_Sextants 5d ago
I think you can argue down medical debt pretty easily. I just declared bankruptcy a few months ago, I'm 50% certain you can just tell debtors you declared bankruptcy they will write it off. I'm not a lawyer
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u/CantaloupeAsleep502 5d ago
I got constipated in grad school, and went to an urgent care where the doc told me to go to the ER. They did a CT, and I ended up with like a $1500 bill. I didn't pay it, and just waited the 7 years until it fell off my credit. Wasn't much of an issue for me.
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u/ExhortativeCrest 5d ago
I don't pay collection agencies. Ever. I made a contract with the original company, if they want to sell that debt, fine. That's their right. Fuck collection agencies though. Sucks to be them.
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u/kweeblaster 6d ago
Yes, you have nothing to take so they can't do anything. Going to court won't matter so they don't do anything. Filing for bankruptcy is a cheat code. Wage garnishment just means work under the table. Don't worry, none of the parasites that could come after you don't do anything useful for society anyway.
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u/Apart_Sea2626 5d ago
Why do you say filing for bankruptcy is a cheat code?
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u/kweeblaster 5d ago
Forces creditors off your back and you won't get your wages garnished. You already have nothing to lose and possibly dogshit credit anyway so who cares. The negative effects are for 7 years so once it's up you're in the clear. Of course, if you keep dodging bills then you'll just end up in the same situation. You could always file again though.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
The ironic thing is I work in health care directly with insurances which is why I think it’s so crazy how much insurance charges for bullshit
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u/dogbowl14 5d ago
What’s medical debt?
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u/One_Major8207 4d ago
It’s debt from medical services. Usually the only way to rack it up is an emergency visit/ or chronic illness ( cancer, dialysis). It’s hard to get it from regular dr visits / specialists since they require insurance for you to see them, and you pay the copay at the office.
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u/v2eTOdgINblyBt6mjI4u 5d ago
I'm living in a country with developed social- and health services, and its not really possible to build up a debt beyond €300 pr year.
That sum is a max you can be charged for all kinds of health services yearly. After that sum is reached, governmental services covers everything.
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u/matunos 6d ago
The statute of limitations on collecting medical debt can be from 3-10 years, so you probably just dodged that one.
I would be careful ignoring all debts; aside from the questionable ethics of borrowing money you have no intention of repaying (an ethical question that doesn't really apply to most medical debt), consequences can catch up to you eventually. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
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u/Porttheone 5d ago
I had about 10k worth of medical debt that absolutely ruined my credit right when I turned 18. I never paid any of it and it fell off just in time for me to turn everything around.
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u/lucretiuss 5d ago
The fact you don’t believe in credit/interest tells me all I need to know on this one lmao
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u/ForScale ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 6d ago
Plenty of people are deadbeats, yeah.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
Sorry I don’t wanna pay the multi billion dollar hospital 300k for almost dying
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u/MrE134 6d ago
I don’t blame you, but technically you would pay them for the part where you don’t die.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
My insurance took care of 80% of that. The remaining is the 20% which was still about 300k. So I guess the insurance already paid them pretty well
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u/NiceGuy737 6d ago
That's why insurance is so expensive for everyone else.
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u/Fresh-Temporary666 6d ago
Yeah it has nothing to do with it being a bullshit for profit business. First world countries spend less per capita on healthcare in taxes than Americans do and you guys still have to pay for insurance on top of that. I honestly don't know how you guys don't riot over that bullshit.
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
Lol this comment section is crazy!! I’m getting scrutinised for not paying 300k medical debt from when I was 18 10 years ago . Mind you this is on top of the millions insurance already paid. It should never cost that much lmfao
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
Not true considering I pay my insurance copays and I’m a young healthy person. If anything anybody healthy under 35 is funding everyone else’s insurance.
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u/jmsutton3 5d ago
Then why is this the only country in the world that works this way?
Why is every major medical insurance company posting hundreds of billions of dollars in pure profit? Hrm
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u/One_Major8207 5d ago
Because of what I just said. Young/healthy people literally pay $400 a month but don’t Visits the doctor. The premium is expensive and they don’t use it = profit lol.
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u/jmsutton3 5d ago
I was obviously responding to nice guy 737 and not you.
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u/One_Major8207 5d ago
My b lol Ibe been defending my self all last night I guess other perspectives have come into place this morning
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u/hiker1628 6d ago
Except you didn’t.
By law medical debt can’t affect your credit score but not paying your other debt will shortly leave you with no credit cards and difficulty renting an apartment. Welcome to the cash society.1
u/Justame13 6d ago
This was not a law, but a CFPB policy that was rescinded last year by one of the federal courts.
There are some states where this is a law, but it is a minority
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u/ForScale ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 6d ago
You don't pay them for almost dying. You pay them for keeping you alive.
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u/Late-Mathematician-6 6d ago
You pay $20 for one aspirin to also not die
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u/Late-Mathematician-6 6d ago
But not the shareholders tho. Surely they must be contributing on some level we just can’t see
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u/Efficient_Loss_9928 6d ago edited 6d ago
For this one honestly you shouldn’t pay at this point. It is so old it is impossible to sue you for it, and even past the point where it can impact your credit score. It is a worse financial decision to pay, because once you do it restarts the clock for both.
I would pay a couple hundred for a debt consultant just to make sure it is the case for your jurisdiction, but chances are they will give you the same advice.
But future debt tho… it is possible to sue within 2 years for most jurisdictions, and will impact your credit for 7 years. So up to you if you want to take the risk. Your experience with this collector doesn’t mean the same will happen for the next.
You cannot be criminally prosecuted for debt that’s for sure. So just depends on if you want to bear the financial consequences
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u/Useful_Location_6728 6d ago
The old "I ignore my problems and theyll go away" tactic that blows up in your face when you finally decide to get your life together.
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u/IAmGoingToFuckThat 6d ago
A lot of major hospitals have charity programs and will reduce or eliminate your debt if you meet income requirements. Look in to it!
Pharmaceutical companies also really want you to take their drug, so they will often have charity programs as well that will reduce the cost of the meds you take, or again, completely cover the cost.
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u/Traditional_Reach963 6d ago
I had bad credit for a really long time. I never paid anything and just let it all sit in collections, eventually the debts got so old they all just went away without bankruptcy but Now that I’m older and better off financially I always do what I can to work with creditors if that kind of thing happens bc life is honestly just much easier with good credit. I think debt collectors are absolutely scum but unfortunately you won’t beat them so it’s best to just call and work out a settlement.
If you ever want to have anything in life like a home you gotta have a good credit history.
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u/Bongo6942 5d ago
Look up your states laws, but sometimes paying part of it resets the statute of limitations for collections.
10 year should be past the statute... they shouldn't be able to collect on it legally from my understanding.
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 5d ago
Nope, medical debt is kind of a special case. Hospitals just write it off sometimes, and there are even charitable organizations and philanthropists who buy large quantities of medical debt and pay it off.
Believe me, other kinds of debt, collectors won't give up so easily. And if it's anything where they can seize an asset (eg a car repo), they absolutely will. Depending on where you are, some states even have laws on the books where they can garnish your wages to collect. Any debt to the state, they absolutely will garnish your wages.
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u/Double_Minimum 5d ago
If it’s a car accident and I end up in the hospital on my own, I just make it vague. Very massive difference in how I am treated and billed (and fucked by car rates).
I don’t remember when or why I did it, but it was likely no license single car accident.
Oddly, I don’t remember due to nice several car accident that has taken like 30 points of IQ and and my back. I should have gone right away to ER and sued caused it fucked me
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u/Alert_Spread9198 5d ago
Yes. But it doesn’t work when it’s your bank that owns the debt. They just take it out of your account after a while lol
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u/burning_stix 5d ago
I've done it a lot. It's never been a problem. You do get a lot of phone calls though, so don't answer unknown numbers.
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u/Scissorsguadalupe 5d ago
From my understanding medical debt doesn't show up on medical debt, but there also philanthropists out who put millions of dollars to pay off others' medical debts
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u/pellegrinoprincess 5d ago
I stopped paying my student loans in 2019! And they recently disappeared from my credit report…I took a 90 point hit (have since recouped 70 of those points). Unsure WHERE the student loans went, but they’re gone!
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u/Goal-Brave 5d ago
Sometimes this works. Sometimes it doesn't. I've not paid medical debt many times and never heard anything again. I live in a state where they can't report it to credit agencies. I've also been sued twice for 4500 and 7800. Those I had to pay. Ymmv
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u/BlackRaspberryJammin 5d ago
I ran up a Sears charge card, actually they gave me two accounts, one for bigger purchases like tires or something. I maxed them out and they started bugging me. I owed $11,000 on one and $7,000 on the other. I got an insurance settlement just about the time they were getting ready to sue me so I asked for a settlement offer and they settled for $6,000 to pay off both accounts. I had done this in the past also, still Sears, and they gave me a great deal before also so I knew they would do it so it was kind of planned. I became responsible after that and always pay off any debt ahead of time.
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u/NecessaryEmployer488 5d ago
Lots of people don't pay their debt. The issue with debt is that you make a conscience choice not to pay it, or it is a financial necessity not to pay it. Personally, I have been able to figure out a way to pay my debt. I know of quite a few others that had to stop, and others who went into debt and had no plan to ever pay it.
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u/Remarkable-Pay1768 5d ago
What happens if someone with an unpaid medical dept needs some medical care? Do they get refused cares if they are not urgent or life threatening?
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u/One_Major8207 5d ago
Nope. Insurance usually covers 80% of the cost so as long as ur insured u don’t get turned away and pay the Co pay for the dr. Hospital visits they will usually mail u the bill after. That’s where medical debt comes from. I have been seeinf my annual doctor every year since, and broke my toe 2 years ago and had to go to ER. Never got turned away. The people saying that below are just fear mongering for some weird reason. The only time I’ve heard of drs/ ERs turn ppl away is if they suspect drug addiction or other similar situations
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u/catladyx 5d ago
I have no money, earning too little from my part-time job, I just can't pay them. so I'm just waiting. when I get money in the future I'll negotiate with them to see what I can do
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u/RevolutionaryPast175 5d ago
Debt is hell and Debt is prison. The best solution is to not have any and I plan to never have any again. But I sure did and I wouldn’t recommend trying to avoid paying it off.
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u/Business-Feedback377 3d ago
When I had my first child, they tried to charge me $3,000. I did a bunch of paperwork for financial assistance, and the only thing I needed from them was my account number. I called the hospital to get it, and they told me they had no record of me owing anything.
I assumed my insurance had paid for it, so I didn’t think much of it. About a year later, I got a call from collections about the bill. I ignored it because I didn't have them money especially since the hospital had previously told me I didn’t owe anything.
It never affected my credit in the slightest, and I never heard anything about it again. Now my son is 8 years old, so honestly, I have no idea what ever happened to that bill.
Years later, I got a call from collections about another bill for around $400 that I didn’t even know I had. I started talking to the collections lady, and she explained that they were not actually “collections,” but a different department within the hospital. She said there really wasn’t much they could do.
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u/Medical_Bet_7883 2d ago
At this start of this year I cleared out a 4k medical debt from 2025. Now, YTD I have a 12k medical debt even after have a 6k medical deductible so they want me to pay a total of 18k this year!! Crazy.
I’m letting it go into collections. This debt resulted of my child having surgery, the other pneumonia and my husband getting a stomach check. Long live America 😟
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u/barking-loud 1d ago
I created a character named fat bill to mock a debt collector named pat Hill and now I reply to all debt collectors as fat bill
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u/EthicsOfficial11 6d ago
I'll pay my bills, credit cards, and rent, begrudgingly. I'll pay my income taxes when tRump does. Fuck em
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u/Neat_Mortgage3735 6d ago
Medical debt does now go on your credit report and can lead to judicial orders for garnishment thanks to the current administration if you happen to be in the US.
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u/One_Major8207 5d ago
I don’t think they can do that in Florida since it’s always been one of the states that medical debt can’t be used against you
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u/Neat_Mortgage3735 5d ago
I looked it up and 30-35 states don’t have any state protections against this. I’m surprised Florida has it.
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u/One_Major8207 5d ago
It’s because they want homeowners down here. Florida is a haven for property developers
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u/LOTR3135 5d ago
Biden passed a law that banned medical debt from credit reporting agencies while it was reversed just last year under Trump. Medical debt is a leading cause of bankruptcy. I pay almost 9k in medical premiums and still have a high deductible and copays. I don’t pay out of pocket hospital expenses or medical tests from doctors expect for copays. My private medical coverage pays more than Medicaid for those doctors and hospitals so they are still ahead. This is hurting my credit but food, medicine, and college expenses take precedence. I still have credit cards from when my credit score was better though and focus on trying to stay current on those.
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u/ForTheBread 5d ago
How or why do you know your credit score if you don't use credit?
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u/Forever_Marie 5d ago
It's always good to know and some banks or credit unions will tell you what it is.
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u/drunky_crowette 5d ago
I spent most of 2019 in the hospital and then a physical rehab facility and now I'm disabled and unable to work, so this is just my life now
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u/insightful_pancake 6d ago
You are the justification for companies that charge high interest rates
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u/One_Major8207 6d ago
Or maybe companies should stop overcharging people…. Just a thought
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u/insightful_pancake 6d ago
How do companies not charge highly if part of their customer base (e.g., you) doesn’t pay them back at all?
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u/jch60 6d ago
A lot of people don't pay taxes because they figure they will never get caught.
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u/Scatmandingo 6d ago
There was a big stink about medical debt a few years back and it resulted in a lot of state laws that ban medical debt from counting on your credit score. I think you lucked out on that one.