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About Regan Shinski
Expertise
I can answer questions on collections, repossessions, bankruptcy, credit repair, credit counseling, FICO scores, credit planning, and the cause and effect of credit related decisions. I can also answer questions on collection settlements and preparing to sue your creditors for false debts and credit credit reporting.

Experience
Fifteen years ago I was financially devasted due to severe health issues. I filed bankruptcy, had a foreclosure, car repossession, tax lien, and ruined credit. I immersed myself in credit law. I settled dozens of accounts and had them removed to improve my credit. I personally sued four creditors and collection agencies and won cash settlements for their false reporting on my credit reports. Since then, I have completely recovered and have nearly $100,000 in revolving credit lines and perfect credit. I have owned a credit repair company for the past five years and have an additional three years of specific work in the collections and debt management industry. I am fully versed in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Acts (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and have used them successfully in collection settlements and lawsuits for myself and others. I am also familiar with and abide by the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). I have deleted or helped delete literally hundreds and hundreds of derogatory items from consumers' credit reports and helped negotiate many settlements with collection agencies and creditors. I have also advised people on bankruptcy at any stage. In the current credit market, I have successfully advised numerous people on how to obtain credit and how to negotiate for better terms.

Education/Credentials
BA University of Minnesota

You are here: Experts > Business > Corporate Law > Collections Law > Medical Debt Collections

Collections Law - Medical Debt Collections

Expert: Regan Shinski - 10/31/2009

Question
My wife and I live in West Virginia she has several medical bills that are adding up but the main one is a bill for $2900.00 plus from a surgery. She recently received a summons from our Magistrate Court regarding this sum from a collections agency. I tried to explain to her that she can not be arrested for medical bill debt but she refuses to believe me. I also tried to get her to contact a Lawyer to see about bankruptcy as we both work but our income is just barely able to get us from one week to the next. what with expenses and her medicines that she needs and since we don't have any real assets that we could sell to make the money up to pay the bill. What options should she look at we rent our home do not own it we have One vehicle and very little property other than our furniture and clothes nothing worth much. Her main worry is that shes going to end up arrested for this medical bill and then what should she consider as to handling the debt of this medical bill since we couldn't truly afford much more in payments than $50 a month without really getting into a financial bind.should she get all her medical bills including this one and file for either chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. As we tried to work with the hospital charity care but since we had Insurance they wouldn't work out a payment plan. thanks for your time

Answer
Hello Charles:

She cannot be arrested for not paying debts unless the debts are related to fraud, which is really not possible in this case. I'm talking about a case like if she stole a check, cashed it, and didn't pay it back. THAT she could be arrested for. She cannot be arrested for not paying for a medical procedure she had.

If you are sued, you can get a judgement against you. They could place lien on real estate, take some limited personal property (difficult), or attack bank accounts. Sounds like those may not be issues in your situation. However, the biggest risk is garnishing of wages. They can take up to 20% of your income above $290 per week. This cannot be done until the judgement is in place.

Have you tried to work out a payment arrangement? If you do, just make sure you get it in writing and that the court date is cancelled. It may be difficult to do, now that they have already filed, but you should try that before filing bankruptcy.

I am not a fan of bankruptcy in general but it is a personal decision. It is a ten-year credit hit. I would only consider if you have SIGNIFICANT debt. $2900 is a lot but not a huge amount in the scheme of things - you know what I'm saying? Taking a bankruptcy for several thousand dollars is silly because you will have to pay an attorney a couple thousand. It's not worth the credit problems for so little money. If you have other or larger debts, it becomes a personal decision. If you qualify for chapter 7, it can eliminate these specific medical bills.

Good luck.

Regan
mbscompany@aim.com

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