If your husband or wife winds up with big medical bills, did you know that you could be liable for those debts? It's true.
With medical collection activity on the rise, it is definitely possible that a hospital, clinic or healthcare provider could come after you to pay off healthcare bills incurred by your spouse or even a former spouse.
In fact, in many states, healthcare providers use common law doctrines to force spouses of patients to pay outstanding medical debts. Even if you don't live in a common law state, many states consider a wife or husband responsible for a spouse's medical bills, provided the two were living together when the medical bills were generated. That's the case in New Jersey, for instance, where the Supreme Court has ruled that both spouses are liable for the "necessary" expenses incurred by the other while living together; and medical services are considered "necessaries."
Fortunately, there are some efforts underway to safeguard spouses (and ex-spouses) when a wife or husband has racked up big medical bills. For example, many consumer protection agencies advocate exempting spouses from medical debts altogether.
What Your Former Spouse Should Do
If you are divorced, in order to protect yourself, you should talk to your former spouse (if that's possible) and encourage him or her to set up a repayment plan for their medical debt. Suggest that he/she review their medical bills closely to make sure they weren't overcharged or double-billed for anything. And share with your ex the resources listed below. Ultimately, of course, what your ex-spouse does or does not do is out of your control. But here's what you can control.
How to Protect Yourself
First off, keep close tabs on your own credit files. Signing up for a good credit monitoring service is a way to do this. Unpaid medical bills don't usually appear in your credit reports. But if they go into collections, then those accounts will be listed in your Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit files. So be especially watchful for any collection accounts that may pop up in the future that you might have to dispute. The Federal Reserve reports that more than 50% of collection records and 20% of lawsuits that appear on credit reports are due to medical debts.
Aside from monitoring your credit, you should contact your health insurance company to inquire about any medical invoices that they didn't pay. Perhaps there was an oversight, a missing claims form, or simply some information that you can supply that would cause the insurer to cover some of the outstanding healthcare bills.
Know the Worst-Case Scenario
Also, examine any of the other party's healthcare bills you may have copies of - to see if there were clauses or fine print that obligated you or your spouse (or both of you) to pay whatever was not covered by insurance. Sometimes, healthcare providers will spell out what recourse they may pursue in the event of non-payment. Aside from damaging your credit with collections, judgments or lawsuits, healthcare providers may try to garnish wages, seize assets or put a lien against your home. These are extreme tactics, and will certainly not be used in every case. But you need to be aware of all possibilities. In the end, how aggressively a healthcare provider pursues a debt will largely depend on the laws in your state, the amount of debt owed, and the extent to which the provider thinks they can shake money out your or your spouse/ex spouse.
Resources for More Help
Lastly, if you do get socked with your spouse or former spouse's medical bills in the future, reach out to a variety of consumer organizations that can help you with this issue. Some groups that have fought wrongful medical billing practices include:
- Access Project
- Bill Advocates
- Consumers Union
- Hospital Debt Justice
- National Consumer Law Center
Medical debt is a growing problem in the United States. But by being proactive about healthcare bills, you can help limit the likelihood that medical-related debt generated by a spouse or an ex spouse will haunt you financially in the future.
How to Protect Yourself From the Medical Bills of Your Spouse Or Ex-SpouseApply Payday Loans Online
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