Any advice on a secured loan?

[aces67]

We have a four wheeler and a truck. Both are paid off and in condition.

Here's the deal. We are having a baby in April. We owe my OB $1100 for our portion of the deductible and coinsurance and it must be paid by January 31st.

We have an HSA account with $3600 in it the only problem? You CANT pay deposits for OB care with an HSA so I have to pay my OB upfront in cash and then my HSA will reimburse me after the baby is born.

Our credit union won't do a loan until we are 1 year past discharge date. I could pay the money with my income taxes but they won't be back until the middle or end of February and the office manager insists it must be paid by the end of January.

So where does that leave us? We have several credit cards but none with a 1000 limit.

Where can we go that would be BK friendly and offer a loan on collateral?

[frogger]

Buy a cd at your credit union and use it for collateral. That should work.

[dscurlock]

If you do not have the money, maybe talk to your OB to make payment arrangements, or go the ER so you can get your needs met, and make arrangements with the hospital to make payments to them...

you have to do what you have to do...

[RBisDebtFree]

We are developing tax preparation software so I hear about tax products such as RAL / PERC, etc. I believe they cost a whole bunch but if you only borrow a thousand or even the amount that you're lacking, then it could be a solution.

RAL stands for Refund Anticipated Loan (I hope that what it stands for )... You can get a loan with 1-2 days for your refund and then whenever the check is actually mailed by IRS, it goes to the bank, not you... However, doing a RAL for a portion of your refund could be a solution...

[aces67]

Since we hate to pay interest on anything now or have extra debts we've just decided that my OB will have to wait until mid February when our income tax refund comes in. He wants his money by Jan 31. I have an appointment the middle of January and another the middle of February. As long as our income taxes come by mid February I should be able to pay at that appointment and be okay.

I hope so! If not my other option is to have him send me to the hospital for monitoring. That will eat up my deductible and I can pay for that the same day with my HSA card. Plus no matter what happens I'll end up meeting my out of pocket max for the year so sending me to the hospital won't cost me any more money.

[RBisDebtFree]

Well, hopefully, your tax refund comes in time for your mid-February visit, that way you wouldn't have to change anything in your routine.

Btw, never got to say it, congratulations on the baby! We are also expecting our second child in mid-March...

[aces67]

Thanks! Congrats to you also!

[Stilltheone]

Holy cow, your OB is actually charging you UPFRONT for services not yet rendered? I have never heard of such a thing!

I finally got my son paid off about a year ago (he'll be 4 in Jan.) and I am currently due with another baby in Feb. I'm sure it will take me a few years to pay this next one off, but my OB lets her patients set up payment arrangements @ $25/mo.

Congrats on the baby!

[marie]

when my grandson was born, the hospital bill etc all had to be paid up a couple of months before the due date. that precious little bundle cost us 10 grand !

[StartingOver08]

Holy cow, your OB is actually charging you UPFRONT for services not yet rendered? I have never heard of such a thing!

I finally got my son paid off about a year ago (he'll be 4 in Jan.) and I am currently due with another baby in Feb. I'm sure it will take me a few years to pay this next one off, but my OB lets her patients set up payment arrangements @ $25/mo.

Congrats on the baby!

Wow....my "children" are 21 yrs old and 30 yrs old and we had to have the OB/GYN services AND the hospital paid up front, only the part that insurance didn't cover. I had to register for the hospital in advance and have the payments paid in full by x date, long before the due date. As you can see that was more than 30 yrs ago in our area. I can't believe they let you have the installment plan after delivery!

[Stilltheone]

Wow....my "children" are 21 yrs old and 30 yrs old and we had to have the OB/GYN services AND the hospital paid up front, only the part that insurance didn't cover. I had to register for the hospital in advance and have the payments paid in full by x date, long before the due date. As you can see that was more than 30 yrs ago in our area. I can't believe they let you have the installment plan after delivery!

I have honestly never ever heard of that in my life.

Why wouldn't they let me have an installment plan? What happens if they charge me for a vaginal delivery and I end up having a c-section, which costs more money? What happens if they charge me for an epidural and I end up going natural? You can't plan out a birth. There are too many variables in the situation.

Yep, I love my installment plan. $25/mo until it's paid off. We finally paid off my son and it's a great feeling to know he's ours!

[aces67]

All the OB's here do it. Even my oldest who is 9 years old had to be paid for up front.

[Never_Again]

It is pretty standard procedure for the OB to charge up front. Why would they not set you up on an installment plan? Because they are not a finance company. They need the money to pay their bills just like any other business. Most of them can't afford to nor do they want to float anyone at an amount as low as $25 per month.

12 years ago, my wife had a C-section instead of a vaginal birth. We had prepaid for the copay on the vaginal birth. You have to pay the difference. My son ended up having some serious health issues (born with cancer), and the hospital submitted the bill for my wife, and my son's surgeon submitted his bill before my OB got her bill in. The surgeon for my son got the copay taken out of his bill, as well as the hospital's bill for my wife had the copay taken out. When the bill from the OB got in, it was paid at 100% as the maximum out of pocket had been met. I ended up getting a check back from them.

In short, you settle up when you are done. An epidural is going to be charged by the anesthesiologist, so there is another bill altogether.

[Never_Again]

To the OP... I would tell the office manager about the reimbursement from the HSA, and see if there is some way that they can work with you to get that reimbursed. The money is there. An astute office manager should be able to get that done for you.