European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 15, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday april 152007 stars and stripes Page 31 your Money payments wont help with dear Liz i am dealing with huge medi Cal Bills from the Hospital doctors labs and pharmacies because of a recent ill Ness i know it will take a very very Long tune to pay everyone off Ive heard that As Long As you Are paying some amount say on your debt your account is in Good stand ing is that True answer no Token payments wont necessarily keep your account from being turned Over to collections youll need to work out a payment plan with each pro Vider and get the terms in writing if you dont have insurance to help you pay these Bills consider the following see whether you qualify for any Charity programs Many hospitals and other providers waive or discount charges for Lowin come patients or you May be Eligi ble for government help Check your Bills for errors hospitals Are notorious for Billing errors to catch them youll have to ask for a copy of your medical Chart and your pharmacy Ledger and compare them with an itemized copy of your Bill ask for a discounted rate if s Shock ing but True uninsured patients often pay two to three times what patients covered by insurance Are charged ask for the rate that your provider gives medicaid medi care or its biggest insurance customer Money talk Liz Pulliam Weston dont borrow to pay the Bills your pro viders May suggest you take out a Home loan or charge your Bills to credit cards but youll typically get a better rate and terms if you work out a payment program directly with them dont agree to More than you can afford to pay some providers can get pretty aggressive about trying to collect but you  sacrifice More important payments like your Mort Gage car loan or utilities to pay medical Bills if worse comes to worse medi Cal Bills Are unsecured debt that can be discharged in bankruptcy dear Liz what can i do to Stop creditors phoning to collect debts from deadbeats who used to live at my address i moved into my Home five years ago and have been unsuccessful in getting the Calls to Stop if s recently gotten worse and pm receiving computerized Calls Early saturday and sunday mornings and two or three times a Day i used to explain that i was not the per son they were trying to reach occasionally the caller would be respectful and say i would be taken off the list other times he or she would be disrespectful and rude the phone company says theres Noth ing it can do except recommend an unlisted number which costs me More Money i took voice mail off my phone because most messages were Only creditors want ing the deadbeats to return their Calls in considering disconnecting my land line answer the collectors calling you Are violating the Federal fair debt collections practice act in two ways according to credit attorney John Ventura coauthor of managing debt for Dum Mies there harassing you by Call ing you repeatedly he said and there trying to collect debts you dont owe switching to cell or internet service is one option As is using an answering machine to screen your Calls but rather than hiding from this on Slaught you might consider fighting Back Send the collectors letters by certified mail return receipt requested saying that you dont owe the debts that you want them to Stop contacting you and that the Calls Are violating the Law keep a copy of the letter and the Green receipt card youll get Back in the mail As evidence if the Calls dont Stop Ventura said the collectors will be and knowingly violating the Law in which dont agree to More than you can afford to pay some providers can get pretty aggressive about trying to collect but you  sacrifice More important payments Case you have grounds for a lawsuit you can win from each collection Agency that violates the Law you also can find an attorney with experience in such cases by contacting the National association of consumer advocates at Wawn Canet dear Liz i usually get my refund directly from my tax preparer rather than wait for the government to mail it a Friend told me that was a bad idea is it answer ifs certainly a waste of your hard earned Money in getting re funds directly from your tax preparer you usually Are agreeing to so called refund anticipation Loans most often they come with High in Terest rates and there unnecessary if you agree to have your return filed electronically and your refund deposited directly into your Bank account youll get your Money within about 10 Days that not too Long to wait Liz Pulliam Weston is the author of the books your credit score and Deal with your debt both published by Prentice Hall questions May be sent to 3940 Laurel Canyon blvd no 238 studio City Ca 91604 or via the Contact Liz form at wow Liwe Stonom distributed by no More red inc fridays Market summary indexes 52 a High Low name last net chg Ltd chg chg 52wk chg 1068332 Dow Jones industrials 1261213 521142 413472 Dow Jones transportation 503500 1700 34 51570 38097 Dow Jones utilities 51022 98 19 947796 770811 nose composite 952286 221347 180065 amex Index 222442 253142 201278 Nash a composite 249194 146157 121929 145285 87089 71053 86811 83001 66858 Russell 2000 81938 1482876 1224990 do Wilshire 5000 1473644 amex ii Nash a most Active or More name last Active or name last Active More name Yokoo last chg Merck 438882 5021 Pfizer 437695 2667 Geneles 341072 35 38 forum 339960 802 07 so map 328987 4676 and 289191 1357 09 pm cup 280633 1460 Kraft 225377 3280 time am 209011 2121 sole trn 203685 315 753603 14532 ishr2knya 282455 8140 Semi her 119383 3447 17 spa Sci 116370 3570 spongy 113651 6305 on tech 108105 217 Prusha Rqn 104278 5145 21 Crystal log 69188 428 oils vat 61836 15408 nth tag 57779 366 877306 4465 Cisco 820643 2668 Sun mice 660802 580 10 dyad up 443456 537 Intel 435507 2046 04 Dell Nulf 398142 2536 a Lamarj 370542 1908 21 Sirius 360390 308 Microsoft 352392 2851 Char Tom 350459 337 key defense stocks key Mutual funds Armor invest Fidelity spartan computer funds a general Century inv general invest invest Harris invest Allied investments a const l3 communications Lockheed fms a Sec Para aim investments a cd Marta Raythelon advisor t Rockwell advisor t funds a Globe qty p Texas text Ron advisor t United funds a gig a Exchange rates military rates euro costs april Dollar buys april British Pound april japanese yen april South korean won april commercial rates Bahrain British Canada China Denmark Egypt Hong Kong Hungary Israel Japan Norway Philippines Poland saudi Arabia Riyal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey new military Exchange rates Are those available to customers at military Bank ing facilities in the country of issuance for Japan South Korea Germany the Netherlands and the United kingdom for non local currency Exchange rates in purchasing British pounds in Germa Check with your local military Bank ing facility commercial rates Are inter Bank rates provided for reference when buying currency All figures Are foreign currencies to one Dollar except for the British Pound which is represented in dollars Pound and the euro which is dollars euro new York merc close Gold Silver 514058 interest rates prime rate825 discount rate625 Federal funds Market rate 524 3month bill502 30year Bond 493 sources the associated press Bank of America and sensibility of Money tip of the Day travel insurance Pitfalls by Marshall Loeb Marke watch new York vacation sea son is coming up and if youre Lucky you have an exciting get away in the works but Many trav Elers have added travel insurance to their list of expenses for a trip in fact americans spend More than is billion on travel insurance products each year but you maybe better off Sav ing that Money for a hotel room upgrade or a few Nice dinners out says consumer reports most travel insurance actually just duplicates coverage that people already have according to Bob Hunter director of insurance for the consumer federa Tion of America sophisticated travellers dont buy travel insurance that s because youre probably already covered and you dont even know it before buying trip insurance baggage coverage medical assistance coverage or accidental death insurance Check your cur rent insurance policies and memberships homeowners and medical insurance will cover much of the problems youd encounter while travelling and credit cards and automobile clubs often offer travel Protection for accidental death lost baggage and rental cars but it May make sense to buy additional travel insurance if your health is an Issue and you Are travelling overseas if you do decide to Purchase travel insurance consumer reports recommends the following before you buy Check to avoid any overlapping coverage avoid purchasing policies through tour operators or cruise lines if they go bankrupt you could be out of Luck instead Pur Chase through a third party insurer such As  Bear in mind that not All credit cards offer Protection and that some Are better than others the american express Platinum card for example provides a hefty in accidental death and dismemberment insurance discover Why so Many people Are saying the  i command financial planning  financial rang inc Stix