medical bills

Far too many Americans haven't got enough liquid assets set aside to get them through a temporary job loss or other fiscal crisis. If you're among them, we'd like to hear from you: How has an underfunded emergency savings cushion affected you and your family.

If you're very sick and not very wealthy in America, your best move may be to flee the country -- because you'd be better off in any other first world nation. Otherwise, expect to pay through the nose and possibly wind up deep in debt, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund.

Elderly Americans struggling under the weight of credit card debt and medical bills are increasingly resorting to bankruptcy in retirement. A slew of recent data highlights the problem:

Everyone knows there are identity thieves who want to drain your bank accounts and siphon off your credit. But did you know there are scam artists out to steal your health benefits? So far, 1.5 million Americans have suffered from medical identity theft, at a cost of $29 billion.

Imagine you are a seriously ill patient caught in a whirlwind of hospitalizations. Can you imagine the number of bills, claims and statements that could pile up on your desk while you are too sick to deal with them? This inattention could cost you tens of thousands of dollars, often due to simple...

Bert Martinez found out five years ago that his chronically ill daughter's medical bills would top $50,000 a year -- an amount the father of five children could not afford.* So Martinez quickly learned the art of negotiation. Soon he was haggling and bartering with doctors, hospitals and other...

Not long ago, we shared the experiences of several Americans who had climbed their way out of deep debts. Their tales touched a nerve with readers who shared their own harrowing stories of their experiences with debt collectors. Some of these agents treated their debtors professionally; others,...

This post is really targeted to the self-employed and non-insured among you. (You lucky still-employed workers with health benefits, you're excused for now.) I just want to offer this interesting op-ed piece by Chicago-based health care writer J. Duncan Moore, Jr. as food for thought, because he...

Of all the bills that arrive in the mail, one of the worst has to be a medical bill. Whether from your insurance company or medical provider, the expensive bills are difficult to understand and patients don't know if they're getting ripped off. Add in the fact that by a conservative definition,...

Health Savings accounts are a great tool for preparing for medical expenses, both planned and unplanned. After a knee surgery last year tapped out our HSA, we bumped up our monthly contributions to try quickly build up to a useful amount. After putting the increase in place we promptly forgot about...