In the past several years, medical debt has become more burdensome for many families. So much so that medical bills have become a major cause of personal bankruptcy. It’s not that people have no health insurance. Many individuals who cite medical debt as the cause of their bankruptcy were actually covered under a health insurance plan at the time the medical expenses were incurred. The problem is that certain medical expenses are often uncovered. Debt settlement may be an alternative to bankruptcy for dealing with your medical expenses.

Debt settlement, also known as debt arbitration, debt negotiation or credit settlement, is an approach to debt reduction in which the debtor and creditor agree on a reduced balance that will be regarded as payment in full.

There are two main types of bankruptcy for individual consumers. You may qualify for both of them or you may be limited to the type of bankruptcy that does not discharge your debt. Explore both options to decide which bankruptcy, if any, you could file.

Debt settlements are where the debt collection agency or creditor agrees to take a lesser amount than what is actually owed in order to eliminate the debt. It is very useful for paying off old debts for less money than what is owed and can save hundreds of dollars when it comes to paying off the debt.