Will medical providers such as hospitals continue to see me in the future if I file for bankruptcy? I often have this question from my clients. Clients are scared that if they file bankruptcy and list their medical debts, they will not be able to use their local hospital or physician the next time they need medical care. The practical answer of course is that hospitals and doctors will continue to see patients even if they owe money when they filed for bankruptcy especially if you have medical insurance the next time you go. Hospitals and medical providers love to see insured patients and will gladly accept any patient regardless pf whether or not they have previously filed for bankruptcy and listed them as a creditor. The other practical answer is that if hospitals or medical providers refuse to see patients who had discharged the hospitals prior medical debts, they would be missing out on a significant portion of the community’s population. There are a lot of people out there who have filed bankruptcy!
I do advise my clients that if they have a small doctor’s office that they receive continued care from and they are scared of the ramifications, either pay off the medical debt prior to filing or let the doctor know that they will continue to pay them even after filing. Nothing prevents you from paying debts that are discharged in bankruptcy. 🙂