In the past several years, medical debt has become more burdensome for many families. So much so that medical bills have become a major cause of personal bankruptcy. It’s not that people have no health insurance. Many individuals who cite medical debt as the cause of their bankruptcy were actually covered under a health insurance plan at the time the medical expenses were incurred. The problem is that certain medical expenses are often uncovered. Debt settlement may be an alternative to bankruptcy for dealing with your medical expenses.

A new version of FICO’s credit score formula will raise the scores of people with medical debts, or who paid off other debts in collection but people with unpaid debts on their record that aren’t related to health care would see their scores fall, making it harder for them to get a personal loan or credit card, or raising the interest rates they’ll have to pay, FICO said.