 TITLE: Can I Get a Loan to Pay Off Medical Debt? CONTENT: Is It a Good Idea to Pay Off Medical Bills With a Loan?\n-------------------------------------------------------\nWhen you're worried about a hefty medical bill, getting a personal loan, home equity line of credit or second mortgage to wipe out the debt may seem like the perfect solution. However, paying off debt by taking on more debt is rarely a good idea. Once you add up the interest and fees that lenders charge, using a loan to pay off medical debt will cost you more in the long run.\nAlways try to avoid these actions when faced with medical debt:\n*   **Ignore the debt and let it go to collections**: If you don't pay the medical bill when it's due, you'll receive a notice from the provider that your bill is overdue. The provider will continue to warn you that your bill is overdue and in danger of becoming delinquent. If you still don't respond to the notices or pay the bills, the provider will either have their internal collection department contact you or sell the debt to a third-party collection agency that will begin contacting you. Don't stick your head in the sand and ignore a medical bill hoping it will go away. Once an account goes to collections, it has an extremely negative effect on your credit score. FICO® and VantageScore® credit scoring formulas weigh medical collection accounts less heavily than other types of collection accounts, but even so, the medical collection account will remain on your credit history for seven years from the date the medical bill first became delinquent.\n*   **Put the debt on an existing credit card**: Using a credit card to pay off medical debt is likely to dig you even deeper into a financial hole than using a loan. That's because credit cards generally have much higher interest rates than personal or home loans. Unless you can afford to pay off the entire credit card balance in a month or two by tapping into savings or borrowing from a family member, this can be a very costly way to reduce your medical debt. Plus, credit card debt appears on your credit report immediately, and if you have trouble paying off the credit card balance, your credit score could suffer. END