A medical debt hardship designation could be the difference between getting help and facing escalating collection efforts. Athima Tongloom/Getty Images

Medical bills don't always arrive at a convenient moment, if there even is such a thing. These types of expenses tend to show up in the middle of job changes, family challenges or long periods of recovery when money tends to be tightest. And, medical costs tend to be high overall , too, making it even tougher to fit them into the budget. Just a single emergency room visit or specialist appointment can send your finances into a tailspin, even when you have insurance, forcing tough financial choices to be made.

Those types of issues have led more Americans to look for medical debt relief as a way to stay afloat, especially in today'

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