It’s not uncommon for people to need a payday loan or cash advance to help pay down medical debt. Even those with medical insurance find themselves in a bind at times, due to insurance companies refusing to pay certain medical costs. Medical debt can be overwhelming, but there are certain things that consumers can do in order to maintain better control over this debt and even reduce it whenever possible.

Here are a few suggestions for managing medical debt:

Medical Debt Suggestion Number One – Track Services Rendered

When receiving treatment, keep track of various procedures, tests and medications used during your visit. It is not unusual for patients to be billed for things that were never a part of their examination or treatment. By writing down everything that took place during a medical visit, consumers are better equipped to dispute any false charges that may appear on a bill.

Medical Debt Suggestion Number Two – Decoding Your Bill

Do not be afraid to ask for help understanding your bill. Often, medical bills will contain special codes or jargon that the consumer is not familiar with. In order to properly understand your bill and to assure that you are not being overcharged, it is sometimes necessary to request that the hospital or medical provider provide a clearer explanation of each charge.

Medical Debt Suggestion Number Three – Request an Itemized Statement

Ask for an itemized statement. Even when the bill is not coded, some bills may group services together and lack a detailed explanation of charges. In order to avoid hidden costs or charges, consumers are advised to ask that their statements be itemized so that individual charges are clearly reflected.

Medical Debt Suggestion Number Four – Hold Your Insurance Company Accountable

Unfortunately, stressful medical debt occurs when insurance companies refuse to pay for services that their client was led to believe would be paid for. These bills can be the most stressful, because they are so surprising to the consumer who expected charges to be covered. When this happens, it is best to contact the hospital or medical provider who sent the bill and explain the insurance company’s refusal to pay. When doing so, it is important to also let the provider know that you will not be paying the cost yourself, but will take appropriate actions with your insurance company, instead. Most providers are used to dealing with this all too common issue and many even employ ombudsmen to assist you in this endeavor. At the very least, they are unlikely to add any penalties in terms of late charges to the bill and will more than likely extend the time for payment, thus giving you time to work the situation out with your insurance company.

Medical Debt Suggestion Number Five – Mistakes Happen

Always check your bill for possible mistakes and never agree to pay once an error is located. As estimated by the General Accounting Office, mistakes on hospital bills are common and average roughly $1,400 each time they occur. Considering that many bills contain codes foreign to the consumer or broad categories for charges, as detailed above, it is possible that much of the medical debt assessed is due to these mistakes and can be reversed.

Medical Debt Suggestion Number Six – Ask for Leniency

Even when you find that the medical bill received is accurate and that you are, in fact, responsible for paying the debt, it can be difficult to do so if you simply don’t have the cash to cover the cost. Besides considering a payday loan or cash advance, don’t be afraid to contact a billing representative directly and explain your situation. Many times, these agencies are more flexible in their repayment terms than lenders and credit companies. And, when consumers show an interest in paying but simply are unable to, they will often make arrangements involving a minimum payment and limit additional charges while a consumer makes installment payments on the balance. The real key here is communication. Keeping in touch with the billing agency and doing the best that you can to pay medical debt down often brings about leniency that just isn’t experienced with other debt companies.

While medical debt is often difficult to pay down, it is possible to do so and the suggestions detailed above can help. For emergency cash or a short-term installment loan, even with bad credit, a cash till payday scenario can help when there is nowhere else to turn. Emergencies happen and, when they do, we sometimes aren’t prepared for the cost, which is why advice like this should be embraced and utilized whenever possible.

Of all the companies the United States government has bailed out during this recession, few have drawn as intense a degree of the public’s ire as American International Group, the company that is commonly known as AIG. Their indiscriminate use of the credit default swap seemingly didn’t include any hedging at all, and thus they were unprepared when values dropped due to delinquency. The insurance monster found itself in a deep grave. It would need more than $100 billion to get out.

As you may know, the government ponied up the money – which means you and I paid to rescue the irresponsible, greedy AIG. Would the government (forget about us, cowboy) ever get its personal loans and cash advances back?

Apparently so

AIG stock could be on the way up soon, as outgoing CEO Edward Liddy believes the company has “an excellent chance” to repay the government, reports Bloomberg. The insurer has plans to pay down its massive Federal Reserve credit line of $25 billion by selling off two of its foreign life insurance interests.

They have to do something. AIG has received four bailouts so far, making their take so far $182.5 billion. Their gambles in the housing market prompted them to turn over majority stake to the government. In addition to a $60 billion credit line (are they worth it, or should they be nationalized?), there’s also $52.5 billion to buy mortgage assets and another investment of $70 billion. It’s truly staggering.

Sell, sell, sell

“We believe there is an excellent chance that we can repay the government,” Liddy said. “The government is not prepared to make any adjustments to the arrangement that turned over majority control to the U.S. My hope would be that as we make progress in the overall restructuring, that maybe those conversations will bear fruit.”

So far, AIG has put its money where its mouth is when it comes to selling off its interests. They’ve raised $6.7 billion by making deals in a variety of industries, including those with an American auto insurance company, an equipment guarantor, the title-holder for its New York headquarters and the owners of a Japanese office building. AIG is also working to sell off its airline-leasing and consumer-finance businesses, said Liddy.

“We have determined the destinies of nine of our major businesses spanning everything from life insurance in Taiwan to global real estate, and have specific plans for each of those nine,” he said. “We expect this process to advance steadily in the next six months, and may involve public offerings.”

Replacing Liddy, moving forward

Former AIG CEO Liddy no longer holds that position with the company. He has said that he will also step down from his position of board chair. He had come out of retirement to run the company after it was taken over by the United States government. His annual salary was $1. An executive search firm is currently working to find a replace for each position. Liddy urged the company to keep the two positions separate in the future.

Liddy’s departure, as well as a number of high-ranking members of the AIG board, has given investors something this doesn’t exactly resemble new hope, but it is looking upward.

“Goodbye and good riddance,” said Kenneth Steiner, who holds 10,000 AIG shares. “I hope our new directors will do a better job.”

One concerned person in attendance at a recent shareholders’ meeting was retired AIG employee Kathleen Mylott. Her reaction to her once great company and its need for bailouts seems to accurately gauge the temperature of the water: “It’s like watching your house burn down, The emotional toll has been worse than the financial toll, if you can believe that. It’s an American tragedy.”

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