Clients who choose to seek bankruptcy protection as the best means to eliminate debt have a fear losing their doctor if they file bankruptcy to discharge medical debt owed.

Doctor bills are unsecured debt. Unsecured debt may be wiped out in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. When a bankruptcy is filed,  and money is owed to a doctor, this debt and creditor is required to be listed in your bankruptcy petition.  Filing bankruptcy on your doctor doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to change physicians. Basically, even if you intend on paying the medical debt, it is unavoidable that it be documented on the bankruptcy paperwork. 

It is possible that your doctor will drop you as a patient if you discharge the money you owe in a bankruptcy, as long as you’re not needing emergency care..  A federal law requires a person seeking emergency medial treatment at an emergency department be treated and stabilized. 

On the other hand, a doctor may understand your financial situation, offer payment options, and continue treating you. It does depend on what kind of relationship you have with your physician and if you are able to pay back money owed to the doctor after your debt is discharged in bankruptcy. 

What Bankruptcy Cannot Do:

A bankruptcy will not ruin your credit forever. A bankruptcy will cause a drop initially in your credit score, but in many cases, this score can come back up fairly quickly. Taking the necessary steps after a bankruptcy discharge will ensure that your credit is repaired as quickly as possible. In fact, some cases have a higher credit score AFTER bankruptcy within one year. That is typically because pre-bankruptcy debt was already damaging the credit score. Every major credit bureau uses a different formula to determine a credit score, so it may vary.

You may consider bankruptcy if your current situation includes: 

• A creditor threatening foreclosure
• You are facing a repossession
• You are facing or experiencing a wage garnishment
• If your unpaid debt and missed monthly payments are causing irrevocable damage to your credit report
• If the total amount of unpaid bills is too great to consider ever repaying them
• A creditor is threatening a lawsuit against you
• Creditors are harassing you with phone calls and communication to collect a debt.

According to the bankruptcy law, your filing will show on your credit report for a period of 10 years. You can immediately start repairing your credit, however. Starting after your bankruptcy discharge, making payments on time on your car, mortgage, rent, and other bills will help your credit score. There are many cases where a person who has filed bankruptcy is able to purchase a car or even a home within a year after a bankruptcy.