Cancer and Credit

AFTER A CANCER DIAGNOSIS, ​​patients focus on getting a clean bill of health. But paying the bills that come with treatment can present another challenge.

Not paying medical bills, or even paying bills late, can have negative consequences. It’s important for cancer patients and survivors to understand how medical bills can impact their credit scores.

Lenders and others use a credit score to determine whether to approve a person for a mortgage, credit card, apartment or financing for a car. The higher a credit score, the better the chance of getting approved for a loan. Your credit score can also impact the interest rate on a loan or credit card. Over time, a low credit score can cost you a lot of money, and negative information can remain on your credit report for seven years.

As a staff attorney at the Cancer Legal Resource Center, I respond to calls to our helpline about cancer-related legal issues. The following tips can help patients understand and improve their credit score.

Read more: https://www.cancertodaymag.org/Pages/cancer-talk/Cancer-and-Credit.aspx

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This article was written by Shelly Rosenfeld, CLRC staff attorney, and published by Cancer Today Magazine on November 22, 2019.