Should you or should you not apply for a medical health loan may be a question that will haunt you when you have large amounts of bills to pay to the health care provider as well as other loans to deal with. This is not the one-off case that you face because medical debts literally are becoming a nightmare to the citizens of the United States. The primary reasons for it are:
- The rising cost of health care and at the same time
- The limitations on the health insurance coverage options.
Both of these factors have not left people with any other alternative but to apply for a medical health loan and increase their debt burden. One can avail such loans from multiple sources offering such health loans on easy terms and pretty fast such as Liberty Lending. It is for this reason that people find it more convenient to avoid the debt collection calls.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation it is found that:
- 20% of the working class citizens in America are incapable to pay their medical health bills and
- Most of them resort to medical loans to deal with such situations. .
It is true that the insurance plan that you have will cover a major portion of your medical health bills but even then there may be a few out of pocket expenses remaining to be paid and this expense can be a substantial amount, mind you.
In such situations, it is better for you to know the best ways in which you can secure a medical health loan and weigh the pros and cons of it.
Features and reasons
A medical health loan falls typically under the broad category of personal loans and is a special loan that you can only use to repay your medical bills, partly or fully. Usually, the lending institution will put on the personal loan rates on these loans that you will pay back as interest on your medical health loans.
- The primary reason that you should apply for such special type of personal loan to repay your medical bills is to avoid filing for bankruptcy. According to the report of the Patient Advocacy Foundation, most of the American residents typically file for bankruptcy simply due to the fact that they cannot foot out the huge medical bills.
- Another good reason to take out a medical loan is that it will help you to cut down a few of your medical expenses that may prove to be a major stepping stone in the long run.
Therefore, when you have large medical bill to foot out, do not fret about paying it all by yourself. Apply for a medical loan instead to smooth up the process and retain your health as well.
The benefits of it
There are lots of benefits of taking out a medical loan than to arrange for the money to pay it from your personal sources and savings. A few of these benefits are:
- Since these are unsecured loans you will not need to put anything as collateral and risk it being repossessed
- Sine these are personal loans you will be able to get these in lower rates of interest and with more favorable terms
- You may receive such financial assistance much faster as compared to any other alternative ways including your insurance cover that will typically keep you waiting till the investigation is completed and
- In most of the cases, taking out a medical loan may not affect your credit score and credit report and.
Therefore, such medical loans will provide you with a lot of freedom to sort out your medical issues.
When to apply
There are specific situations when you will see that applying for a medical health loan could be very beneficial for you. Usually, you can use such medical loan funds to cover a large variety of medical expenses that may not be covered by your insurance company or the insurance policy adequately.
The most common instances when such medical health loans can be beneficial are:
- Orthodontics
- Fertility medications
- Weight loss surgeries
- Cosmetic surgeries and
- Medical debt consolidation
The process of application is almost similar across all financial institutions. However, when you apply for such a loan it is crucial that you know that there may be a difference in the requirement of credit score one lending company to another.
Compare the medical loans
In order to make sure that you make the right choice from a variety of different types of medical loans, you must compare them.
- Start with the Annual Percentage Rate or APR. This is important because the rate of interest will determine your monthly bill which in turn will determine whether or not you will be able to repay the loan. The most affordable loans are those that fall within 5 to 6% interest.
- Consider the interest-free period, if any. If you can get a loan with an eighteen months grace period you can emerge as the winner.
- Origination cost of the loans is the next to check which a percentage of your loan value is ideally. You will incur this cost for processing your loan. This is a one-time charge and is usually of a very nominal amount, depending on the amount of your loan.
- Check the rates charged by the company and know between fixed and variable interest rates. In a variable interest rate loan the monthly amount will vary continuously as per the market condition but for fixed ones it will remain same for the entire life of your loan. It is advised to take out a loan at fixed rate.
Lastly, know the term of your loan. You may choose a short term or a long term loan. The term of loan will determine what will be your monthly bill amount, more the less. However, make sure that your choice suits your needs and affordability as you may end up paying more for a long term loan in interest depending on its rate.