How To Negotiate Hospital Bills
How To Negotiate Hospital Bills
This is a guest post from Trisha Wagner, a freelance writer for DepositAccounts.com, where you can compare rates from dozens of banks in one place. Trisha writes regularly on the topics of personal finance and saving money.
Provisions under the 2009 Economic Stimulus Package may make heath care more affordable for folks who have recently lost their job however it will not do much to help pay for medical expenses that have already been incurred. Sadly paying for health care is becoming increasing difficult for more and more families across America. For people who are either uninsured or under insured a hospital stay can be both physically traumatic as well as financially crippling. Understanding your bill and what your options are for payment can help you navigate hospital debt.
Understanding your hospital bill.
Become familiar with medical billing and your rights to ensure you survive (financially) the high cost of medical procedures.
- Higher prices- Did you know that it is a common practice to charge uninsured patients full price for medical services? Insurance companies are able to negotiate with health care providers for lower prices leaving the people who can least afford to holding the bag.
- Qualifying patients may be eligible for assistance- In many cases hospitals will not advertise the fact that they may have financial aid available for patients who can’t afford to pay their bill. To qualify your income must meet program requirements; do your research and ask questions to find out if you are eligible for financial assistance in paying your hospital debt.
- Check your bill for inaccuracies- Do not look at the total amount due and accept it as fact. You must carefully check your bill to ensure you are not being double charged or charged for services that you haven’t received.
Steps to negotiate your hospital bill.
How you handle your bill will make a huge difference in how much you are required to pay. The following steps provide help in navigating negotiations with your medical provider.
- Ignoring the problem will not make it go away- The first step to properly deal with hospital debt is the same as with any other debt; by acknowledging the bill Avoiding the situation or wishing it away will not solve the problem. In most cases ignoring the bill will be interpreted as an unwillingness to pay versus an inability to pay.
- Negotiate for lower prices- Contact the billing department and ask if they are willing to charge you the same price they charge their biggest insurance customer, Medicare or Medicaid. If the hospital is willing to negotiate be sure to get a copy of your agreement in writing to safeguard yourself in the event there is a “misunderstanding” in the future.
- Payment plan- Even after negotiating lower prices, some families simply do not have the resources to pay a lump sum payment. You can contact the hospital and explain your financial situation. In most cases you will be able to set up a payment plan that allows you to repay your debt and avoid having your account turned over to a collection agency.
- Do not borrow money to pay your bill- If you are being hounded by bill collectors you may be tempted to borrow money to pay off your debt. Most times you can avoid paying interest if you set up a payment plan, however even if you are being charged interest it is likely less then that of a high interest credit card. Do not pay off your medical bills with a home-equity loan. Doing so will only turn your unsecured debt (which could be discharged if you were forced to file for bankruptcy) into secured debt. Defaulting on your home equity loan could result in losing your home which is far worse than dealing with even the most aggressive collection calls.
December 9th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Fascinating article and info here, having multiple credit cards can also give you a quantity of negotiating power as soon as it comes to annual fees. As soon as these charges are charged, you can frequently have them waived by telling the credit card company that you would rather close the account than pay the fee. After all, if you have other credit cards obtainable, then you don’t really need theirs. Generally, they will waive the payment in order to keep the account active.