"I finally got one call saying they were garnishing my wife's wages and taking away my home," he recalls.
Wilkerson said the hospital pressured him to settle the bill with a 13-thousand dollar line of credit on one of his credit cards. "Through a search of my credit, they found a closed, non-used, zero balance account that I didn't even know I had and forced me to use it on a cash-advance basis."
Andrea Rock, Consumer Reports, says "When patients use a credit card to pay for medical expenses, they lose their ability to negotiate lower payments or a longer payment schedule. And that puts people at a serious disadvantage."
Rock says hospitals aren't the only ones pushing patients to "charge it". "Capital One, JP Morgan Chase, and GE Money have all come out with "medical" credit cards or loans. They promote them to doctors, who in turn offer them to patients."
One card offers "attractive rates on cosmetic procedures." another touts this testimonial: "it helps us attract more patients and has increased our sales by 25%!"
"Interest rates on these cards can jump up very high. The fact is credit card companies make money, doctors and dentists get paid right away, but consumers can end up on the losing end."
James Wilkerson is one now struggling with mounting debt. Unable to continue making the minimum 260-dollar monthly payments, the interest rate on his credit card has jumped to 29-point-99 percent.
The hospital where Wilkerson was treated says it respectfully disagrees with his allegations. It says it reached a deeply discounted and mutually acceptable payment plan for his care. The hospital also noted it does help patients get charity care.
