How can I negotiate a large medical debt?
Q. They wont budge on how much they want each month. Some bills are four years old.  In debt  A. Unfortunately, it is up to the creditor whether or not they want to negotiate a settlement. But generally, if the debt is in collections, you may have a better shot at settling the debt. You can make a variety of offers to the clinic, said Karra Kingston, a bankruptcy attorney in Union City. You could try to offer a large payment upfront followed by monthly payments, or just a large lump sum payment, she said. You can also try showing the creditor that you are going through a financial hardship and cant afford to pay back the full amount, Kingston said. Sometimes, this can be done by writing them a letter detailing your income and monthly expenses and showing them after your monthly expenses you have nothing left over.  If this doesnt work, you can always hire a debt settlement lawyer to see if they can help you negotiate, she said, but its important to know that lawyers cant guarantee a settlement. If all of those options fail, and you have a large amount of medical debt, you may want to consider bankruptcy as a tool to wipe out all of your medical debt, she said. Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com. Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter.