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I am pretty frugal by nature. I love shopping with my coupons and negotiating for bargains at appropriate moments. Never pay retail is my motto when it comes to shopping. And I tend to approach my health care with the same frugal manner.
This article is a discussion on how to reduce your medicals bill by negotiating before and after any major medical procedure. Negotiating a medical bill is especially important if you do not have adequate health insurance or are un-insured.
Does negotiating your medical bills mean that you will get sub-standard health care?
2/3 of the people filing for bankruptcy often listed medical bills as the top reason for their financial insolvency. Even with health insurance, it is no guarantee due to the rising cost of out-of-pocket expenses and inadequate health insurance protection.
We shop around for laser eye surgery and stomach stapling. It does not make any sense for us to go into a doctor’s office without any idea of how much a procedure is going to cost. And it especially makes no sense if you are uninsured and paying for the procedure directly out of your own pocket.
As for sub-standard health care, it never hurts to ask for a deal to reduce your medical bill. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
How do I comparison shop before a procedure to reduce my medical bill?
As notes in Getting Healthcare without Health Insurance, some doctors are willing to reduce your medical bill for prompt payment if you are uninsured. But only if you ask.
Hospitals have more than 20 different insurance contracts and just as many rates that are charge to them. And this does not include the inflated list price charge to patients without health insurance. Sometimes even doctors do not know what rates are charged for a medical procedure!
So how am I suppose to find the cost of medical procedures? You can try one of these four websites to get a ballpark price on your medical bills:
This website tells you what health insurance plans are paying in a given area code.
Change: Healthcare
You need to sign up in order to use their online tools for managing your healthcare. However, their search function seems open to everyone.
There is some advertising on this site, so be careful of where you click. But it gives a range for the cost of health procedures.
Pricing information in the 3rd column on the right. This website is not as fancy as the others.
When comparison shopping for medical procedures, remember that the cost of drugs, lab work, imaging, and anesthesia are often billed separately from the hospital or surgeon. If you used any of the previously listed services, you will receive a separate medical bill later (which you can also reduce by negotiating with their billing department).
How do I reduce my medical bills after I received a bill?
Before negotiating to reduce your medical bill, ask for an itemized statement. Double billing, especially in a hospital stay, is common. Look out for the following common double billing line items:
1. Check to make sure that you are not double billed for a hospital room and its standard amenities like a toothbrush or sheets.
2. Keep an eye out for “kits” or “trays” in your itemized medical bill. Check them against the individual charges for specific surgical instruments.
It is not unusual to get a 30% discount from just going through your itemized medical bill to make sure that you are billed properly for the items that you did use during your stay.
How to negotiate a reduction on your medical bill
However, hospitals generally do not want to go through your itemized medical bill by individual charges. Instead, they prefer to give a percentage discount off the medical bill. Cash paying patients can get up to a 40% reduction off the inflated medical bill simply by asking.
Are you armed with your itemized medical bill? Have you done your research to figure out what other patients are paying for similar medical services? Check out the websites I listed above to get this cost information. If you have no idea how much the medical procedures typically cost, how do you know what you are overpaying?
When negotiating to reduce your medical bill, be confident and follow this script:
1. Ask the billing department “Are you authorized to give me a discount for this medical bill?”
A. If the answer yes, follow up with “What kind of discount can you give me?”
B. Then ask “Who is authorized to give me a bigger discount?”
C. Follow by “Can I get a bigger discount for paying with cash?” If you do not have cash, you can charge it to your credit card. But don’t charge it if you cannot pay off the balance when your credit card bill is due. It would be stupid to pay finance charges that are larger than the amount you will be saving.
D. If you can afford to, ask “Is there a discount for paying my medical bill in full?” Most billing representatives assume that you will be paying installments on a medical bill. If you can afford to pay the entire bill in full, ask for a discount for prompt payment.
2. If the answer is no, then ask “Who is authorized to give me a discount?” Then ask to speak to that person. Follow with Questions A-D from above.
Sound firm and in control. If you hesitate the billing representative either will brush you off or give you the smallest discount. Don’t settle on a 10% discount. That is just breadcrumbs to get you to pay the huge inflated cost.
But I am the non-confrontational type!
If you cannot negotiate a reduction in your medical bills, then it is time to get someone else to do it for you. You can check out these two companies:
Typically companies will charge up to 30% of the savings to help you negotiate a reduction on your medical bills. This form of compensation gives these companies an incentive to get the maximum discount for you.
It is no surprise that doctors and hospitals do not like people who negotiate a reduction in their medical bills. As matter of fact, they prefer we pay what they ask. But with rising out-of-pocket expenses and deductibles, can you afford to pay medical bills without asking any questions?
Until next time and thanks for stopping by.
Photos by: jurek d.
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I like this post! I have often found ways to help patients pay less, or find funding where the bills were not in my control.
I recently had a surgical procedure, and I was very cost conscious with the whole system, and it cut my expenses dramatically!
This is so true. Here’s a little story for you. My son cut his chin when he fell. I was concerned so I took him to the doc. They looked at it and put a little bit of that glue to hold it together. Doctor’s time spent – 3 minutes. I go to pay (we have a big deductible) and she said, $313.53. I said, “For glue?” She told me to wait a minute, and went back and talked to the doctor. When she came back a few minutes later, the bill had miraclously reduced itself to $98.00. Curious isn’t it?
.-= Diane Fit to the Finish´s last blog ..Why Are You Saving Those Old Clothes? =-.
Diane – That is a huge reduction on your medical bill! Maybe enough people pay their medical bill without question for the doctor’s office to think that you will too.
This is great advice for consumers. Thanks for sharing these tips on how to reduce your medical bills.