Owing money on medical bills can be stressful and can ruin your credit rating. In some cases, health care facilities even go to court to recover unpaid bills. Unfortunately, many patients who are covered under insurance may still end up owing hundreds or even thousands of dollars in uncovered medicine and treatments. If you owe money, there are several things you can do.

Check to see what is and what is not covered. Read the fine print on your medical insurance carefully and check with your employer to see whether you are covered for anything. Check your homeowner’s coverage and any other insurance you have to see whether your expenses may be defrayed in any way.

Talk to an expert. There are many charitable organizations across the country committed to providing reasonable care and coverage. Find such an association in your phone book and see whether any of your expenses might be covered through some other means. Also, contact your hospital to see whether there are any forgiveness programs. Some hospitals forgive part of some hospital bills, based on patient income.

Pay your medical bills monthly. Contact the billing department of your hospital or clinic and see whether you can develop a repayment plan that allows you to make affordable monthly payments until your debt is repaid. Many hospitals are willing to do this.

Take out a personal loan. If nothing else works, you may need to take out a loan to pay your medical bills and slowly repay the loan.