Medical bills are the worst. They can sneak up on you when you least expect it and then leave you in debt while giving you few alternatives to resolve the situation. When you’re short on resources, there are only two things you can do: allow hospital bills to get impacted and damage your credit history, or keep your credit score intact by paying medical bills.

Depending on where you sit, each choice offers an advantage and a disadvantage. Of course, the obvious benefit of defaulting is that you can keep your savings (that is, if you have any) and your assets. Since medical bills are unsecured debt, no hospital or doctor can run after your home or car to pay off your debts. The worst that can happen to you is a bad credit rating, which prohibits you from earning low interest every time you borrow for a period of seven years.

A misconception about low credit scores is that you cannot apply for credit, which is not true at all. In fact, credit managers are willing to overlook medical bills when assessing whether the applicant is creditworthy or not. Or, depending on the state you live in, you can resume loan applications in two years.

Paying medical bills will keep your credit score in good shape, but interestingly, families who live to meet their unpaid hospital bills don’t do so because they want to keep their credit scores, it’s more about keeping their word. It is as if they feel they owe a great debt of gratitude to the doctor or hospital responsible for their recovery or the treatment of their loved ones. In the same way, we really cannot deny that some families take advantage of the system to “outperform” hospitals even after they have received the health service they need.

By paying medical bills, you not only maintain your good credit reputation, but you also build a reputation as a person who keeps his word. This will keep you in good stead, especially if you have a family member with a persistent illness. Hospitals keep track of their patients and credit collection agencies share confidential information. You can cheat the system once, but twice it will be hard to sell.