Couple discussing how they can Cover Unexpected Medical Bills

Installment Loans For Unexpected Medical Bills

Written by: Rachael P.

Published on: April 13, 2022

Updated on: June 18, 2025

Medical bills in the United States can hit like a wrecking ball — even when you have insurance. One accident or diagnosis, and you could be facing tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. In a country where a hospital stay averages over $5,000 per day, it’s no wonder many Americans find themselves in medical debt.

If you are faced with unexpected medical expenses, then you may wish to consider installment loans. Many others have used this type of borrowing to cover unexpected expenses in their life. Before you learn about how installment loans can assist, it may be worth knowing what will happen if you fail to cover your medical bills.

How Expensive Can Medical Bills Be?

Americans spend over $ 4 trillion each year on medical bills. The average cost of a stay in the hospital is $5,220 per day. This is before you even factor in the cost of expensive surgery or even your medication. Common injuries can lead to prices such as:

Broken bones requiring surgery: $17,000 to $35,000
Heart bypass: $125,000
Hip replacement: $40,000
Angioplasty: $28,000
Cancer treatment: $150,000

The costs of these can be brought down ever so slightly if you are insured, but unless you have a fantastic health insurance policy, you are going to be left paying for certain things out of pocket. This means that you are going to be dealing with medical expenses. Serious medical expenses. Even the most minor of injuries can greatly impact your financial life going forward.

What Can Happen If You Do Not Pay Off Medical Bills

If you don’t pay your medical bills, the consequences escalate over time:

Grace period. Most hospitals will work with you at first. You may be offered a payment plan or a discounted settlement.
Debt collection. If you don’t respond or pay, your debt could be handed to collectors.
Credit score impact. Unpaid medical debt can hurt your credit, limiting your ability to borrow, rent, or even get certain jobs.
Legal action. In severe cases, collectors can sue you, garnish your wages, or push you toward bankruptcy.

Avoiding the bill won’t make it disappear — but addressing it early can prevent long-term damage.

You Will Have an Opportunity To Pay

The medical establishment normally gives you a certain amount of time to pay your debt. They would rather that you pay them rather than the debt goes to a debt collector.

Many hospitals won't even expect you to pay the full amount for your bills. Many will work with you to come up with an installment plan, and some may even negotiate a lower price with you. After all, they would rather get something than nothing.

Of course, if you don't communicate with them or stretch the repayment on for too long, they will have no choice but to use other methods to receive the cash they are rightfully owed. This means that your debt is going to be handed over to debt collectors.

The Debt Will Eventually Be Handed Over to Debt Collectors

Debt collectors are not pleasant to deal with. After all, their main goal is to receive the money that the companies that they represent are owed. If they cannot recover this cash, they don't pay.

Debt collectors will normally start by sending you a few letters to let you know that the debt has been handed off to them. They will ask you to get in touch with them, and you may even be given more options to repay the debt. Again, these people are concerned with being paid, not how you do it.

Eventually, you are going to start to feel the full force of not paying the medical bills, though.

For starters, you will start to see hits on your credit score. This can make it exceedingly tough to borrow in the future. It may make it difficult for you to get credit cards, bank accounts, and even some types of insurance. In rare cases, hits to your credit score may have an impact on whether you can get certain jobs.

If you let the problem progress, the debt collectors can take legal action against you. This means that they could seize your property to pay for the debt, they could garnish your salary, and they may even be able to force you through the bankruptcy process. Yes. Bankruptcy can discharge your medical debts, but being forced through bankruptcy is going to have a lasting impact on your financial life. It really is not something that you want to deal with.

Thankfully, it takes a lot of avoiding paying the medical bills to get you to the point where you are staring bankruptcy in the face. You will have plenty of options to cover your debt, and installment loans may give you the cash you need to prevent your financial life from spiraling out of control.

Bad Credit? You Still Have Options

Having bad credit doesn’t mean you're out of luck. There are still several ways to handle surprise medical expenses, even with a low credit score:

Secured Loans

If you own a car, have a savings account, or another asset, you may qualify for a secured loan. These loans use your assets as collateral, which can make lenders more willing to approve you, even with poor credit. However, if you miss payments, the lender can take your assets.

Credit Union Loans

Some credit unions offer “payday alternative” or small-dollar loans with more flexible credit requirements than traditional banks.

Payment Plans with the Hospital

Many hospitals offer zero-interest payment plans, and some may even forgive part of your bill if you qualify for assistance. Always ask about this before taking out a loan.

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) for Medical Expenses

Some providers and pharmacies offer BNPL plans through platforms like CareCredit, Affirm, or Afterpay. These may break down your bill into smaller payments, sometimes without a credit check.

Medical Loan Options Compared

Here’s how the most common ways to fund emergency medical expenses stack up:

Loan Type	Credit Needed	Speed	Risk	Best For
Installment Loan	Fair–Good	Fast (same day)	Medium	Unexpected expenses under $5,000
Secured Loan	Poor + Collateral	Moderate	High (asset loss)	People with a vehicle or savings
Credit Card	Good	Instant	High (APR, debt)	Small urgent bills
BNPL Plans	Varies	Fast	Low–Medium	Co-pays, pharmacy costs
Hospital Plan	None	Slow	Low	Working directly with providers

How You Can Use Installment Loans to Cover Medical Bills

While it is always suggested that you pay out of your pocket for medical bills wherever possible, not everybody has emergency funds or thousands of dollars in savings. This may mean that they need to turn to other options to cover their medical bills. One of the most popular would be an installment loan.

What Are Installment Loans?

Installment loans are very similar to a typical bank loan. When you take out an installment loan, you will borrow a fixed sum of cash. The amount that you can borrow will be dependent on your personal circumstances. The cash will then be paid back in fixed installments.

An online installment loan can assist in covering short-term medical expenses. This means being able to cover immediate medical needs or perhaps to help fund a trip to a specialist for diagnosis.

Many people see installment loans as an option to cover unexpected medical bills as they allow them to spread the cost of their bills over several months. It ensures that unexpected bills won't take up a huge chunk of your savings or perhaps a massive chunk of your salary.

How Do Installment Loans Work?

How an installment loan works for unexpected medical bills will be dependent on the lender. Your personal circumstances will be analyzed to determine how much cash is available, and an instant loan decision will be given.

Before signing the loan agreement, you will be informed of the repayment terms. This means the amount of cash that must be paid back each month.

The cash will then be sent to your bank account. This will allow you to cover your unexpected medical expenses right away. This means that you will be able to get your hands on things such as needed medication within just a few short hours.

How an Installment Loan Can Be Used

Installment loans tend to be used by those that need to cover emergency expenses e.g., unexpected medical bills.

Pharmaceutical Expenses

One of the main reasons why people opt for an installment loan is to cover the cost of their medication. As you may well know, the cost of medication is expensive at the best of times. If you haven't budgeted for it, then it can be financially draining. Each year, the average American spends over $1,000 on medication. Suffering from a serious condition or infection? You will likely be spending a lot more than that.

An installment loan can allow you to get your hands on medication that you may not have otherwise been able to afford. This can help to speed up your recovery, and it will also help to ensure that you will always have the best medication available to you.

Small Medical Expenses

Having a check-up with your doctor or a trip to the emergency room can be fairly expensive. This may also not be the type of thing that you want to charge to your insurance. This is because the cost is going to be relatively small. In this case, many people will consider an installment loan as a way to spread the cost out a little bit.

An installment loan may also help cover any premium/excess on your insurance, i.e. the amount you need to fund your own treatment before the insurance plan kicks in. A lot of the cheaper insurance plans will have this feature on. Until you pay it, you are effectively uninsured.

Bookings with Specialists

Bookings with specialists can be expensive. However, in most cases, they are going to be a vital expense. It can help you to be diagnosed a whole lot quicker. This can put you on the path to recovery faster.

Installment loans can help to cover these unexpected trips to a specialist. In the United States, the average cost of a consultation with a specialist is around $250. This may not seem like a whole lot, but you will probably need more than one consultation.

To Prevent a Medical Debt from Being Sent to Debt Collectors

In some cases, the debt isn't unexpected. You have been sitting on it for a while, and the hospital threatens to send it over to the debt collectors.

In this case, the cash that you receive from an installment loan can help prevent the medical debt from reaching this point. It may help cover any cash you owe the hospital in the short term. This means that you do not have to deal with the negative consequences of the medical debt being sent to debt collectors e.g., no hits to your credit score, no risk of bankruptcy, and your wages aren't going to be garnished.

Of course, make sure you budget yourself to ensure you have the funds to cover the installment loan. After all, you don't want to move the problem from one place to another. You will only be making the problem worse for yourself.

Need Money Fast?

Simple Fast Loans offers quick installment loans that work with a variety of credit backgrounds, even bad credit. You could get the funds you need to pay for medication or settle a hospital bill before it damages your credit.