Help Me Clark!
From HLN's Money Expert Clark Howard

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Jerry:
I recently received a medical bill from a doctor I used in 2007. His office said an audit turned up a lab bill that was not filed and they want me to pay it.

My insurance company says it's beyond their time limit for doctors filing claims. One person at the insurance company said not to pay it if the doctor says I'm responsible. However, I worry about my credit score if I do not pay it. Any suggestions?

Clark:
You are so right to worry about your credit score and in this case what is a reasonable amount for you to pay the doctor is what your insurance would have left as your co-pay portion.

If the doctor failed to do a timely claim it is not reasonable to hold you liable for the full amount of the lab bill when it was the doctor's office that didn't do their part. So normally with lab work there would be a portion of it that would come out of your pocket; offer them that amount of money.

If they don't want to play you send them a letter by certified mail that their failure to bill you in a timely fashion has caused you harm because it is no longer within the window that you can file with insurance and that you have made an offer to them and that if they at any time attempt to put this on your credit report, that you are prepared to sue them under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Are the best days of this country behind it? By the looks of the projected budget deficit numbers, your government is spending like crazy to make sure that is not the case. The White House projects a budget deficit totaling more than $9 trillion dollars (that's 12 zeros) over the next ten years.

The math is pretty simple. Government spending is skyrocketing and government tax revenue is plummeting. That equals red ink. The calculus here is that investments and spending in the economy today will nurture an economic recovery that will grow tax receipts in the future.

Fiscal conservatives fear mountains of debt on our children, an unhealthy reliance of foreign governments to buy our debt and finance our spending, a growing portion of the nation's wealth going toward interest payments rather than investment, a weak dollar and hyperinflation down the road.

The president's supporters say a whole series of crises was foisted on him, and he has no choice but to spend big to make sure American living standards grow in the future. (Think energy, health care, banking regulation, consumer protection...) In his announcement of his re-appointment of Fed Chief Ben Bernanke, he hailed a strategy of "bold, persistent, experimentation." It's a phrase first used by FDR in 1932, when he promised to try, and abandon, and try again, whatever it took to rescue the American economy. It shows how high the stakes remain today.

At what price? You can see for yourself on a telling chart provided on homepage of the Congressional Budget Office. A chart there shows the size of the budget deficit in relation to the overall economy. (It's approaching 12 percent of GDP, the largest since World War II.)

The CBO says the deficits reflect all the measures to rescue the economy, including bailouts of banks and lenders and automakers. So where's YOUR bailout? Cash For Clunkers is over, so no more free money for you there. (And, might I add, you had to take on a new car payment and probably extra insurance, so it's not so free after all.)

Plans are under way for a sort of Cash for Appliances stimulus program. You might not have noticed, but there is a tax break in your paycheck, if you don't already make too much money. And if you didn't have a clunker to junk, you can still write off the state, local and excise taxes for a new car (up to $49,500) on your 2009 tax return. and don't forget the piece de la resistance - the $8,000 credit for first-time homebuyers (under a certain income limit, of course) is good until the end of the year.

Which brings me back to the original question: Are the best days of this country behind it? I want to hear your thoughts, and answer your questions about America's great financial experiment. Do you think American living standards will continue to rise? Why or why not? In what ways are you benefiting from all the bailouts and stimulus?

Tell us what you think. Email me at CNNRadio@CNN.com. Then call in on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET at 877-266-4189. I'll answer your questions on health care when I fill in for Ali Velshi this week and next week on the Ali Velshi show on CNN Radio and CNN.com.

From HLN's Money Expert Clark Howard

There's something you and I have done again and again, and that is slamming too many calories in our mouths. As Americans, we spend a bigger percentage of our nation's wealth on health care than any other country.

We've had health care debates going on most of the year and we're asking, "What's Washington going to do?" Nobody's talking about what you and I need to do for ourselves, which is to manage our own health and wellness.

I remember five years ago where everybody was beating up McDonald's about what their food was doing to people, and McDonald's realized they were never going to win that battle so they changed their Happy Meals (offered for children).

Now if you go into McDonald's, you have a variety of healthy snacks to choose from for your kids. You can still get the toy but you also have healthier options.

Well, I have seen only a few parents select a healthy snack for his or her child. The point I'm trying to make is that we have choices.

Today, nearly 20 percent of kids in elementary school are overweight. And if you look at the teenage crowd, it's virtually the same number.

A report from the San Francisco Chronicle says obesity cost us $147 billion last year and killed more than 100,000 Americans. Because of obesity, the U.S. life expectancy is shortening for the first time since the bloodletting of the Civil War in 1861-1865.

We can debate all day long about health care, but with your own life, set a direction for your health. When was the last time you worked out? When did you get your kids out walking?

It's the combination of how we eat, how much we eat and how much or little we exercise that has such an impact on our health.

I don't care where you fit politically. I don't care what your position is on health care. But what I want you to think about is what you're going to do about your health and your family's health.

Tune in to Clark Howard Saturdays and Sundays at noon and 4 p.m. ET on HLN

Forget the town hall shouting and screaming, how about some answers to clear up the confusion over the direction of your health care in America?

For almost two weeks now, the noise around health care reform has been dominated by, well, noise. And Americans are more confused than ever about what all this means for them. We need clear language and no flip-flopping from Washington about what's in the legislation and what will it mean for Americans.

The challenge is for the president and his team to clear up some significant questions and take back the debate. Somehow health care town halls became a place to show support for gun-ownership rights.

Here's what Americans want to know: Where does the president stand on the public option for health insurance? Does he support the government-run plan, or a non-profit cooperative and what would that look like? What are the differences between what President Obama actually wants, and what he thinks he can get through Congress?

Some days, it looks like the debate been dominated by the "no" crowd, who are opposed to any change whatsoever. Democrats and the president seem to be losing the public relations battle on health care. There's not much time for them to take it back, if reform is what they really want. For those opposed, let’s have a full discussion of their proposed alternatives. What are they? How will they help? And how will it affect you?

It all sounds like a lot of politics, but it matters to you: whether you have company-sponsored insurance, no insurance at all, or you fall under one of the current government health care plans. For more almost two weeks, information about health care reform has been replaced by opinion, rumor and fear. We need to get back to information. Solutions. Strategies. Now.

I want to hear your questions. Have you read the bill HR 3200? Tell us what you think. Email me at CNNRadio@CNN.com. Then call in on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET at 877-266-4189. I’ll answer your questions on health care when I fill-in for Ali Velshi this week and next week on the Ali Velshi show on CNN Radio and CNN.com.