When a person undergoes medical treatment, he will often be billed after, not before the treatment. When this happens, the person is legally obligated to pay the money that the medical facility charges him. If the person fails to do so, the medical facility may attempt to collect the bill by force. As with any other debt, a medical debt can be collected by collection agencies through a number of different methods, including garnishment.
Medical Debts
When a person enters a hospital or medical facility for treatment, he may or may not agree to specific procedures or charges. Often, a person will be asked to sign a paper granting the facility the right to perform the procedures it deems necessary and to bill him later. Even if the person does not agree to these charges, he may still be billed anyway, depending on state law. In either case, he must legally pay the money he owes.
Collection Agencies
Many medical facilities do not attempt to collect delinquent bills themselves. Instead, they outsource the medical bills to collection agencies. These collections agencies are usually paid a commission -- a percentage of the medical debt they collect -- or are sold the debt outright. In either case, these collection agencies have the right to make use of all legal methods afforded people who are owed money on a delinquent debt.
Civil Judgments
One tactic that collection agencies can use is to take the debtor to court. This is done by filing a civil suit, usually a breach of contract suit, against the debtor. This suit will seek remuneration for the outstanding debt in the form of damages assessed against the defendant, the debtor. If the civil case is found in favor of the creditor, then the creditor can select from severe collection methods to force payment.
Garnishment
A collection agency may choose to petition the judge hearing the medical debt case to issue an order of garnishment. If the judge agrees, the garnishment order can be presented to the debtor's employer. According to federal law, an employer is legally obliged to fulfill the order, which will order him to set aside a portion of the employee's wages each pay period until the damages stemming from the medical bill are fully paid off.
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