Emergency Cash: Using Payday Loans to Cover High Medical Costs?
Part one of the five-part series "Emergency Cash," examining common uses for payday advances
If you are fortunate enough to have health insurance in America, count your blessings, however; if you have a major health emergency, even
though you have been paying your monthly insurance dues, you may still have to come up with the money upfront to meet your high deductibles
and/or coinsurance responsibility.
If you are ever admitted into an ER rest assure by law you will get help regardless of your income level. However, once you have been stabilized,
and you are NOT dismissed from the ER, and are admitted to the hospital, or need to have surgery, or a procedure that is not covered by routine
or emergency services coverage, you will need to meet your deductible and most likely pay your portion or split of the coinsurance upfront.
If you are currently facing this situation, it is always best to talk directly to the hospital's account services department, to see if you can
set-up an affordable payment plan to spread out your deductible or coinsurance payments that you are responsible for. And remember insurance
companies do negotiate fees with providers (hospitals, doctors, etc.) on a daily basis, so it is always best to try to negotiate all costs. It
never hurts to ask.
Most hospitals are happy to work out payments plans, however, if you are not currently in this situation and are trying to plan for the future, it
is good idea to attain additional insurance or non-traditional supplemental insurance products, that are set up to help people pay deductible and
coinsurance costs. Another option to consider is opening a health savings account (HAS) or flex spending account through your employer. Flex
spending accounts allow portions of your pre-taxed income to be deposited into an account that is reserved only for medical expenses.
However, if the hospital or medical facility is NOT helping and is constantly bothering with collection calls, and you have not been able to
save properly for a medical emergency, you may want to consider a traditional line of credit. BUT if you have bad credit and no access to
savings, taking out a payday loan may be your only solution.
In order to save you time and money, it is suggested to utilize a secure multiple lender website when applying for a short-term personal
loan online. Once approved, most multiple lender websites will then direct you to the lender's website where you can accept the loan immediately.
However, once you do get the emergency cash that you need, be sure to pay off your loan (including interest and fees) by the due date, in order
to avoid additional fees and interest. Typically fees for cash advances are approximately $15 to $30 on every $100 borrowed and most people will
not be approved for amounts over $500 their first time. Typical due dates for payday loans are approximately 8 to 25 days from the loan
acceptance date, or more plainly put, they are due by your next payday.
For more tips in finding the best payday loan click here