Health is wealth but medical debt can leave a serious dent in your finances. Unfortunately, medical debt has been one of the major causes of bankruptcies. This is why it is important to learn how to avoid paying medical debt and manage your existing one.

Staying away from medical bills is your first and most important line of defense. The second one is to arm yourself with sufficient knowledge and information. Below are a few ideas to avoid paying medical debt and help you get started:

When in Doubt, Ask

Before anything else, you should always be a discerning and active consumer to prevent unnecessary and high medical costs. Don’t forget to ask for the price of every service and if the provider is part of your network.

Contrary to popular belief, you can and should shop around to find the right one for your needs. You should also get written preapprovals before you receive care if possible. Refrain from getting tests that are not necessary at the moment or those that you have done not too long ago.

Choose a Decent Policy and Make Sure You Understand It

Try looking for a policy with robust coverage and reasonable deductible. Always read and go through the fine print. Pay extra attention to short-term policies, which, most of the time, are not enough.

Many people who found themselves deep in financial debt are those with short-term policies. Most of these policies don’t offer coverage for things that people presume they will. These include specific providers, ambulance rides, and in-network facilities.

Go Through Your Bills

See to it that you completely understand everything in your bill. Ask for an itemized bill and review it for accuracy. More often than not, you might be charged with extremely expensive items that are not even real. After you check every item, ensure that each of them matches the terms and conditions of your insurance policy.

 Stay Fit and Healthy

As the adage goes, prevention is always better than cure and this principle is even more applicable to medical debt.  If you don’t use the medical system, you will never get a bill in the first place. Many things that make you end up in the hospital should have been easily avoided through exercise and diet.

If ever you get sick, you can try to look for and use home tests instead for common ailments. You might also want to opt for urgent care and primary care centers rather than the emergency room.

How to Manage Your Medical Debt

There are several ways to manage your medical debt, and most of them are not even known to people. Here are a few tips for managing your medical debt:

• Take advantage of aid and charity programs.
• Negotiate timing and cost.
• Use medical credit cards.
• Raise money through crowdfunding.
• Tap into existing assets.

It takes perseverance and knowledge to tackle and avoid medical debt. But of course, the best thing you can do is to stay as healthy as possible to save yourself from these medical costs.