Medical bills are an unsecured debt, just like credit cards or personal loans. If you don't pay them, or attempt to work out payment terms with the person or organization that you owe the money to, they will probably turn your account over to a debt collector. Debt collectors typically follow a process to give them the best chance to collect the debt, which may eventually end with frozen bank accounts.
In House Collections
The collections process with credit card and other debt starts with letters and phone calls from the collections department of the creditor. The process works much the same way with medical bills. You'll begin to get mailed statements and letters requesting payment of the bill. Phone calls will probably start about this time, as well. Most communication at this time is from the original doctor's office, and they are usually pretty civil in their communications.
Collections Agency Contact
If you don't pay during the in-house collections process, then the creditor can transfer, or sell your account to an outside collection service. Many times, these companies stand to make a considerable amount of money by collecting anything on the debt at all, so they can be very aggressive. Phone calls will usually become more frequent, and the collectors will become more aggressive and demanding on the phone and by mail.
Lawsuit
Medical bill collectors can file a lawsuit, just like any other creditor can. There's no definite time frame for a creditor to file a lawsuit, and you may never be sued, but it's an option. If you're sued, the sheriff will bring a summons to you and deliver it personally. This summons will have a court date listed. It's important that you attend court to answer the suit, and you might need to file a response in advance. The staff at the courthouse can help you with this process. If you miss your court date, you'll lose the lawsuit by default.
Judgement
If you legitimately owe the debt, you'll probably lose the lawsuit. The judge may encourage you and the creditor to work out a settlement. If you can't, the judge may issue a judgement against you. Once this judgement is in place, the creditor can enforce the judgement, and seek garnishment of your wages, if that's legal in your state. The creditor may be able to place a lien against your home, or other property that you own. You may have an attachment filed on your bank account, freezing it so that you can't access your money. None of this can happen until a creditor wins a lawsuit in court, and a judge orders this as part of the judgement.
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