The Wisdom of Negotiating Your Medical Bills
In 2018 I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. Up until that point my experience with health care had been limited to routine checkups and involved little interaction with insurance.
After several months of working closely with my doctor, we found a treatment plan that worked and my life returned to normal, with my condition under control.
About a year later I received a hospital bill for $160,000. The hospital disagreed with the reimbursement amount from my insurance company and decided to bill me for the difference.
I contacted my insurance company and they assigned an outside firm to negotiate on my behalf. After nearly a year of back-and-forth between the negotiator and the hospital, an agreement was finally reached. My employer ultimately issued a check to cover the remaining balance.
Looking back, I am grateful I had the presence of mind to question that bill. Not everyone might have. This was not the only time I ran into discrepancies with my insurance, prescription plan, or health care provider. Through it all I learned to question everything and never give up when something does not feel right.
Navigating health insurance and health care has been anything but fun. The system is complicated and confusing, and often feels broken. It should not take this much effort to receive fair and appropriate care.
—Anonymous
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I’m a big fan of the Podcast An Arm and a Leg about the Healthcare system. If anyone ever finds themselves with a medical bill they can’t pay call the hospital or doctor’s office to see if you can work out a payment plan. A lot of times if you make a few payments they will let you negotiate out of having to pay the whole bill. Also if the hospital is a non profit they have to offer charity care which can also help pay bills. I personally haven’t had to do this, but I know the Podcast host has talked to many who have.