Within This Article, You Will See…

• A direct example of how over $84,000 was resolved to $1,300 without loans, credit cards, or bankruptcy.
• A step-by-step guide to handling medical debt, including negotiating with medical creditors.
• Valuable tips to protect your ASSets from creditors (among other liabilities).
• The difference between major medical plans vs supplemental plans, and which is best for you.

Introduction

When it comes to medical care, we all have varying opinions. However, one thing we can all agree on is that out of pocket medical expenses are astronomical for the average hard-working American. Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States, according to https://www.abi.org/feed-item/health-care-costs-number-one-cause-of-bankruptcy-for-american-families. We can not predict when accidents are going to happen. Little do we know, we are one small accident from tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medical debt!

My Story

I will make this as short and sweet for the sake of context. This is what created my situation. If you’d like to skip the story, continue to…How Did I Walk Away Debt Free?

In September 2024, a coworker, Michael, and I went off-road motorcycle riding in our local mountains. I had just bought a new Honda dual-sport two weeks prior. Around 10 miles into the ride, my front tire lost traction and I low-sided my bike in a washout section. I naturally stuck my foot down to brace myself. Unfortunately, my left foot caught the ground on the way down. The bike pinned my foot backwards and all 315 pounds of bike came smashing down on top of my my backwards ankle.

As soon as I could finally kick the bike off, I noticed my left boot was pointing at 90 degrees outward from the bend in my knee. The pain was instant, but tolerable. At least until I tried to bear any weight. I figured I had dislocated my ankle. Either way, I could not walk or ride back. After all, my bike’s bent shift lever mockingly resembled my twisted foot.

My buddy looked back at a cloud of dust and realized I had wiped out. I was going maybe 20 mph. 9/10 times, these low-speed dirt crashes are never anything serious. You just hop back on and ride it off. Not this time. We were several miles away from any phone service. Luckily for me, two side by sides that we had recently passed were not far behind us. Once the dust cloud settled and they knew what had happened, they gladly offered me a ride back to my truck.

The slow, off-road terrain felt like an eternity. I used my arms to prop under my knee so that my foot would not flop on the floor from each bump. This was extremely difficult with the awkward angle of my foot. There was no way to completely avoid the bigger impacts. As ridiculous as it sounds, the breathing techniques I had been practicing the last few years were paying off dividends.

Once at our vehicles, I now had to wait for Michael to hitch a ride in the side by side to go back and get my bike. I must have waited for at least an hour. The entire time I remained propping my foot off the ground since the weight of my leg against the ground was unbearable. When Michael arrived, I helped load the bikes as much as possible. He drove my pickup, which is a manual. I drove back his automatic Jeep, allowing me to rest my left foot. After 3.5 hours altogether since the accident occurred, I was finally on my way to the emergency room.

If it were not for Michael being with me, and the couple in the side by side, I don’t know how I would have gotten anywhere. I am deeply indebted to all who helped that day. They possibly saved my life if I had chosen to ride solo that day.

This was the outcome (soft tissue damage not shown in x-ray):

Diagnosis

• Torn deltoid ligament
• Torn anteroinferior tibiofibular ligament
• Torn syndesmosis ligament
• Closed displaced fracture of the second metatarsal bone
• Closed displaced fracture of the third metatarsal bone
• Fourth metatarsal dislocation
• Broken talus
• Closed fracture of fibular shaft

Result

Regardless of the outcome, the result could have always been much worse. I ended up needing reconstructive surgery to hold together the inside of my ankle.

Within a week, I was laid off by the State of Wyoming via text message. This came as a surprise, as this was 6 days before my health insurance was active! I spent two weeks waiting for the swelling to subside enough to operate. Then, another two and a half months post-surgery hobbling around on one foot before I could bear any weight at all. During six weeks of this, I had two 5.5-inch metal pins sticking out of my toes to realign my metatarsals. I spent the next few months re-learning how to walk again. This one split-second accident had cost me my job and my health insurance. Now I was facing over $84,000 of medical debt. The important thing is that everyone was alright.

Despite being $84,000 in the hole. I never panicked. I knew from the start that I was going to do whatever it took to get my leg/foot healed as much as possible. After all, my medical treatment was an investment in how well my leg would function for the future! This is exactly why you should not neglect medical treatments to avoid debt. It will cost you more in the long run. You can’t put a price on future quality of life. I would have happily gone $100k or more into debt if it meant better treatment and recovery.

In all seriousness, what are the debt collectors going to do? Push me to the ground and repossess my crutches? Try to collect your payment. I have no job, no income, no insurance; no way of paying until I am healed. With a job in physical labor, my ability to generate income was entirely based on the quality of my recovery.

How Did I Walk Away Debt-Free?

Any guesses? First thing’s first, I sucked up my pride and played the cards in my favor. Let me be the first to say that I am not one who normally asks for the charity of others. It is best to avoid having a victim mentality at all costs. I can not even stand the thought of it. Although when you’re staring $84,000 worth of debt in the face, you can’t walk, or even make your own breakfast. Asking for help is the obvious thing to do.

1. Lose the Pride and Ask For Help!

Is this blunt enough? Do not try to deal with this alone. Medical debt is extremely stressful and exhausting. You have your life and family to take care of as your number one priority. Be an active coordinator working toward a solution, but please, let the professionals do the heavy lifting. Chances are you are not an expert (surprise, neither am I). Professionals deal with these situations for a living and have priceless wisdom and years of experience.

Let’s be clear. Professionals are not your friends or father-in-law who have had a similar experience. This article is primarily dedicated to asking the correct professionals for help and what to do once you have them in your corner. Many of these professionals are free and are already readily available to you with no additional costs. These include financial navigators and case workers. Others, like CPA’s and attorneys, you may also already have and are not fully utilizing. Perhaps, it is worth considering hiring the right professionals depending on your specific situation. Regardless, two minds are better than one. Investing in the correct professionals can save you more than you’ll ever spend. Save yourself the time, energy, and trouble and do it the right way the first time.

2. Financial Assistance (& tips to qualify)

Pay attention if you do not have insurance. Even if you do have health insurance, you will want to first begin working with your hospital’s financial navigation team (assuming they have one). Most facilities will have some variation. No matter if it is your local hospital or a private practice, ALWAYS do this step as soon as possible. You will be surprised by how many providers offer this type of assistance. This is exactly what I did, and it helped significantly.

From my experience, financial navigators are the complete opposite of insurance companies. They are not paid based on how much money they save from claims. Their main duty is to find qualified individuals to whom to grant funding. These kind, social workers want to help eliminate as many medical expenses for you as possible. Oftentimes, they have been in a similar situation themselves. Therefore, relate to them in a way they understand. Play your sympathy card!

Time is of the essence! Speak to a navigator as soon as possible. Coverage is limited and may be based on available funding, and/or may have a time constraint for eligibility. Be honest about your situation. Do not lie to qualify. If you are caught lying, you may face disqualification, legal penalties, and/or fines. Navigators look at several factors that determine what level of assistance you may qualify for. These factors include:

• Income-– This is what is often referred to as the Sliding Fee Scale. The scale factors in household income with the federal poverty guidelines to determine eligibility. Be sure to mention that you are paying for your bills separately from others included in ‘household income’. Oftentimes, this can be easily mistaken. The income of others is completely irrelevant to your expenses. Unless, of course, if they are paying your expenses.

• Assets— Please read the lower section. It could save your ASSets! These are everything you own that contributes to your net worth (vehicles, property, retirement/brokerage accounts, collections/valuables, bank funds, cash, etc).

• Insurance— Most of the time, if you do not have insurance at the time of your visit(s) you will automatically qualify for some level of financial assistance.

• Employment-– This goes hand-in-hand with income. How much are you, or will you be making? Are you claiming unemployment? Do you stay at home while your spouse works? etc.

• 2. Negotiating With Medical Creditors

Just when you thought medical debt solutions could not get any better… I will let you in on a little secret that is not actually a secret at all. ALL MEDICAL DEBT IS 100% NEGOTIABLE. Any debt is negotiable in one way or another. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Chances are if you’re listening to someone who says something is non-negotiable, they themselves are unsuccessful negotiators whom you should reconsider taking advice from. ANYTHING is negotiable, even if it is only a small amount.

I will share how I negotiated roughly $7,000 of third-party charges down to $106.00. Anybody can do the same. These strategies are very straightforward. Some strategies require you to be much more assertive than others. Finally, I will share some extra tips to keep in mind.

How I Negotiated $7,000 to $106.00…

My $70,000 debt was strictly what I owed to the hospital and its related providers. We all know that when you go to the doctor you can expect several bills from a variety of third parties you never actually know exist until they’re knocking on your door expecting a payment. After my surgery, I received numerous bills from anesthesiologists, physician assistants, medical scan evaluations, and hell, even my damn crutches!

Several of these bills were for a few hundred dollars or less. Most were resolved simply by calling the companies, explaining my situation, and/or sending proof of my inability to pay. Half of the time or more, just by calling and mentioning that you want to pay your bill will open doors to early payment discounts. I did this for my X-rays and saved 30%. This was my only third-party bill I paid ($106.00). If they don’t mention discounts, ask! If you are struggling to pay anything, tell them! Offer what you can pay. You will be shocked at what some money, rather than no money at can get you. The worst they can say is no. But, hey, you’re just trying to do the right thing. Don’t ever forget that.

After I noticed an odd anesthesiology bill charging me a sum of $4,000 for the same “Professional Anesthesia Services,” I became curious. Get curious because this is when you will realize how much bullshit you are being overcharged for. I called this local company’s number, which ended up being a different third-party consultant group in Denver, CO. There was no actual number or physical location to see anyone. One quick Google search revealed this company was hardly legit and winning no popularity contests with their reviews.

Frustrated, I called the third-party number and requested an itemized list of my charges, which they refused to provide. Rather, they only agreed to send me the medical codes. I assume they thought most people give up at this point. DON’T! Once I received the medical codes, I did a fair amount of research studying multiple medical sources. My intent was to find the average cost per procedure listed on my statement. What I found was that this company was upcharging me 10-15 times the national average! One $2100 procedure charge (code 01480) was only $197.51 on average. I was livid.

My last hope was to dispute the charges. I wrote the company a letter explaining my concerns and the ridiculous upcharges. I included a direct copy of my online sources stating the national averages for proof. My bottom line was that I was not paying for services to a company who had no staff I could meet and discuss my concerns in person. Period!

When Disputing, Include…(The simpler you can explain your cause, the better)

• A formal, hand-written letter with the date and signature. Include your charges, your reason for dispute, and all other relevant information.
• Have a kind, gentle, but assertive tone/approach. Any malicious messages will come back to bite you. Remember, your words are quite literally worth their weight in gold.
• Proof of what you are claiming. This means copies of financial assistance care, tax returns, unemployment letters, medical documentation, etc.
• Include a copy of the statement you are disputing with highlighted areas of concern.
• MAKE A SPARE COPY OF EVERYTHING FOR YOUR OWN RECORDS!
• Consult with your CPA and/or attorney first if it will help your cause.

Stick to Your Guns!

Eventually, I got a call back from a consultant representing this Wyoming company in Michigan, of all places. She spoke English too! After expressing my concerns, she quickly negotiated my total amount to 1/10th of the original amount, to $418, within minutes! She also agreed to withhold the due date for two months before proceeding to collections. I could have stopped there and would have been pleased. Something told me to call her back and follow up.

3. Use Sympathy to Drive it Home and Win Them Over

I realize it may seem like the everyone is out to get to you and your hard earned money, but at the end of the day people are just trying to make their own living. Some are greedier than others, such as life. However, one thing I have learned in my human experience is that we all have such powerful and impacting emotions. Use them to influence others in a positive way! Why not utilize these emotions to positively impact the outcome in your favor?

If you can manage to suppress your anger and fine-tune your responses to match the emotions of others. Well, you have the world made in any situation, my friend. If you want to beat giant, bureaucratic health corporations at their own game, you need an entrance inside first. The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, right? So, why not share the meal with the gatekeepers?

All situations will be different. The key is to use your situation as leverage. In my case, I called back the Michigan consultant lady about a month later. I explained to her that I simply could not pay off my medical bills. I was under financial assistance, and this medical expense was not included. The severity of my injury has just begun to allow me to bear weight again. My old job laid me off because I could not walk. No labor-based employers want to hire somebody who is injured and cannot walk. However, that would be one hell of a paradox. Everything I mentioned to her was true and sincere.

Being genuinely honest about my situation worked. Needless to say, even the ones who seem cold and robotic still have a pulse. Every once in a while, they just need help finding it again. By being authentic, you can separate them from their job and remind them what it is like to be human again.

There was a brief pause on the phone before she responded, “You know what? Just call it paid for. Merry Christmas!” A few weeks later, I received a new statement with a $0.00 balance!!

Bonus Tips /Advice

Tips For Saving Your ASSets!

Boy, oh boy you’re in for a treat! When my accident happened, I was on the verge of losing all of my assets. My vehicles, retirement accounts, and banking funds. Or so I thought. Even with financial assistance, they must liquidate as many assets as possible to cover costs.

However, after carefully consulting guidance from my CPA and verifying his claims through my own research, all of my assets were completely protected because they belonged to my LLC. I did this a few years prior for my own protection while running my business. For those who do not know, an LLC acts as a separate entity, protecting you by separating what you own from what your LLC owns. This is a key strategy for protecting assets from lawsuits.

Once my CPA informed me of this, I relayed the information to my financial navigator. I brought them all the necessary records proving ownership of assets. Altogether, it was a very complex process that rarely happens. After speaking with the director of the financial assistance program. She threw her hands up, shrugged her shoulders 🤷‍♀️, and told us that all of those assets were off limits since they were owned by a separate entity. Therefore, I qualified for 100% eligibility and was able to keep everything I owned! Well, everything my business owned 😉.

So why does this work? Well, that answer is much more complex than I am qualified to answer. I am by no means a financial advisor or a professional businessman. In this circumstance, I do know there are several perks for business owners which serve as incentive them to keep being business owners. These vary by the business structure type, but the overarching purpose is the same. Businesses typically employ others and drive the economy to grow. This means they require more legal protection to protect their business and employees from unforeseen circumstances. Otherwise, nobody would risk being a business owner.

More Important Facts About LLC’s

Do not read this and think that you can go create an LLC, then transfer all of your assets and avoid penalties. It does not work that way at all. In fact, you can be heavily penalized, disqualified, and/or imprisoned. My reason for telling you this is so you can act now to protect yourself in the future. You will be thanking yourself years later from now if your LLC saves your family their home from someone seeking a quick liability payout.

There is so much more to what an LLC can do. To learn more about the advantages of LLC’s, and how to create your own, please see the following:

https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/benefits-forming-limited-liability-company

Depending on where you live, you can create an LLC for a few hundred dollars or less. Or, register it in a state that is much more business-friendly, like Wyoming. I can not express enough the importance of establishing a relationship with a professional CPA and/or financial attorney. They can save you when you need it most. From my experience, they have saved me boatloads compared to what they have cost me. Do not be frugal in this area! This is where spending can be your wisest investment.

Consider a Supplemental Health Insurance Policy

If you have not, or even if you have looked into a supplemental health policy, it may be worth consideration. I used to be a supplemental insurance agent. Now I have no ties to the industry. From my experience working with thousands of individuals, there are several pros and cons to a supplemental policy vs a comprehensive health insurance policy. There are several great supplemental insurance companies available.

A supplemental accident policy in my circumstance would have compensated thousands of dollars for all injuries, scans, procedures, and even physical therapy.

Pros of supplemental health insurance:

• Supplemental insurance ideally reinforces the weaker areas of major medical insurance, considering you already have primary coverage. (copay, medications, etc).
• Supplemental policies are much more affordable.
• Does not require you to have primary health insurance.
• They can be specific to your risk needs (accident/injury, cancer, heart attack & stroke, etc).
• It can make sense for healthier, younger individuals without chronic conditions.
• Some companies offer a return of premium minus claims paid and/or no lifetime limits to payouts.
• The policies follow you regardless of employer, employment status (as long as you pay the premiums).
• All claims are paid to you. You get to choose how the funds are spent.

Cons of supplemental health insurance:

• Supplemental policies have limited payout coverage. They will not cover the majority of extreme medical expenses. For example a $50,000 surgery may only pay out $1,500, whereas most primary medical plans would cover 70% or more of the costs once the max out-of-pocket is reached.
• They are often confused with covering major medical expenses.
• They can have misleading qualification standards, and/or be confusing.
• Payouts can be claimed by Medicaid and/or other assistance programs.

Conclusion

There is never a guarantee that one particular strategy will reduce your medical debt. Medical debt can happen to any of us at any time. Look into the professional resources you have available to you for help to avoid battling this alone. Use the power of emotion to positively energize the situation in your favor. Most importantly, NEVER GIVE UP! To successfully negotiate your debt, you will need to be assertive. “No” is simply another way of saying there is a better way to get what you want done. Get creative and you can save yourself thousands.

I hope this information will provide some useful guidance in your journey toward being medically debt-free. Also, please feel free to watch my free, in-depth videos (coming soon). I will walk through each step of my situation using my billing statements.

Any donations are kindly appreciated. All donations will be used to help grow and create more informational content.

Thank you!

If you are still hesitant about what your next steps should be. Or, you are looking for somebody to help guide you through the process with 1 on 1 coaching sessions. Please, reach out anytime for a free 30-minute consultation.

Special Acknowledgments

I would like to thank everyone who has helped throughout my process. Thank you to Michael and the couple with the side by side, (I apologize for forgetting your names) who rescued me at the time of the accident.

I would like to thank my mother and father, and my grandparents for staying with me at the hospital, taking me to appointments/surgery, feeding and caring for me throughout the entire time I could not take care of myself.

Thank you to all the friends I had reach out to see how I was doing.

Thank you, Suzette, my caring financial navigator, and all those who work beside you. Thanks for working so hard for me and others like me who need financial help for affordable medical treatment.

Thank you, Daryl, my friend and CPA, for years of helpful consultations and advice through a variety of situations.

Thank you to my amazing surgeon and hospital staff for your hard work.

Thank you to my physical therapists, Anton and Tom, who made it possible to run again.

Thank you to all who have helped in one way or another, and those who are reading this.