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I am a paralegal who knows bankruptcy/collections law. This bill will, indeed, be an absolute nightmare for those with medical bills due to a serious or chronic illness, such as cancer, diabetes, or your own condition. Hospitals, clinics and doctors are extremely aggressive in collections now and have been for awhile, long before this bill. They are especially ruthless with the uninsured, but go after the insured as well. Payment plans no longer pacify them, they want it ALL NOW, even if you have nothing and no assets.
That's why this bill will really have horrendous consequences for those suffering financially due to medical bills; it will now be much harder to have debts discharged. Not only that, but, under the current law, creditors can only seize CURRENT assets, they can't touch future earnings or assets. This bill, however, turns 200 years worth of accepted legal philosophy and foundation for debtors law upside down and inside out. They will now be able to gain access to and seize FUTURE earnings and assets as well, which is an unbelievable change. So you can see how that will affect those with medical bills due to serious or chronic illnesses, even if they have insurance. It makes me sick just to think about, since the last thing you should be concerned about when you're fighting cancer is money. And more than half of all bankruptcies are filed due to overwhelming medical bills, and they're filed by middle-class families with insurance. These families will now be in perpetual servitude thanks to Congress's perfidy.
Basically, there really isn't all that much you can do right now. You're very smart not to have any credit card debt, definitely continue that. I've been advising people that if they're in financial trouble they need to file bankruptcy NOW before the new overhaul kicks in. But it doesn't sound like you're in that position. Unfortunately, you may very well be in that position in the future, after the new laws have taken affect. The only thing that might make a difference is the "means" test, which rates your income and debt ratio. But even there, and here's the really sickening part, the more you have, the more you get to keep, while the less you have the less you get to keep, now and in the future. Kinda shows where their priorities are, doesn't it? I'm sorry I can't be of more help.
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