It's not like you went out and bought a fur coat that you are trying to keep without paying for. Medical care is a necessity. You have a right to get medical care that you need, even when you cannot afford to pay for it.

Whoever provided you with the medical care (or their agents) have a right to try and collect from you. They have a right to sue you for the money you owe. However, if all you have is SSDI and you don't own valuable assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, then you are doing very good to pay even $15 per month. Even if they sue you, no judge will order a garnishment of your disability check. That money is untouchable by creditors. If that is all you have, then you can just stop worrying.

Yes, they will be aggressive and ask all kinds of foolish questions. They will suggest you sell your blood. They will suggest you go to your church and ask for money. They will suggest you take out a loan somewhere and pay them off with the proceeds. They are legally allowed to make all these suggestions. But you don't have to pay one bit of attention to any of that stuff.

Did you know that you are under no legal obligation to even talk to them on the phone? It is a good idea to talk to them because they will start calling your mother and pestering her, if they can't get a hold of you. They'll call any siblings you have also. I recommend talking with them on the phone to prevent that. But make yourself a broken record. Say, "All I can do is pay the $15 per month, and that is the best I can do." Tell them that you have no income other than SSDI, if that is the case. If you have no assets, tell them that too. This way they know you have nothing to be sued for.

If they call you back soon after you've explained your situation, just say, "I have explained my situation to you and nothing has changed since the last time we spoke, so I am going to have to say good bye now." Then hang up.

Will this ruin your credit? Well, it won't do it any good. But ask yourself if you really need to even have credit.

Every state has a statute of limitation on debt. That means that, after a certain amount of time (usually 3 to 6 years), they can't sue you for the debt. That will be on your credit record for a certain number of years, and then it will go away off your credit record. Technically, you still owe the money, and they can keep calling and asking for payment for the next 50 years. But they won't do that. It's not worth their while. That statute of limitation only applies to a debt that you have totally defaulted on. It does not apply so long as you are making any payments, even small ones. So these creditors are lucky to be getting the $15 from you. But they won't admit that to you. Go to this link and look up the statute of limitations for your state: Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection Sorted by State You'll have to pick what category of debt your medical bill is. That might depend on what paperwork you signed.

Here is another link with some good advice from the state of Georgia. Governor's Office of Consumer Protection

Start reading stuff on the rights of debtors. It is no crime to be poor and owe money that you don't have the means to pay. Unless, you committed some fraud when you went into debt, you didn't break any law. Also, the law of the land allows you to take care of the basic necessities of life before you have to go paying off debts. So don't sweat it.