{"id":1103506,"date":"2019-03-05T17:23:54","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T17:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyreckoning.com\/?p=106856"},"modified":"2019-03-05T17:23:54","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T17:23:54","slug":"5-ways-to-haggle-with-hospitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1103506","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Haggle with Hospitals"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post 5 Ways to Haggle with Hospitals<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I recently told you about my weekend hospital visit that totaled $30,124 from a surfing accident I had back in December. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, my insurance erased more than 90% of that bill and the total cost for the stay ended up being just a couple grand. But what if I didn\u2019t have insurance or what if my visit wasn\u2019t covered?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been thinking more about what people do when they\u2019re stuck with high hospital bills. What are your options? How much can you negotiate?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s estimated that hospitals in the U.S. overcharge their patients by about $10 billion total every year. Patients are paying markups of 100-1000% annually without even realizing it. This is a huge problem in our country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before you panic, know that most hospitals are willing to cut you a deal. As long as you know who to talk to and what to look for you can almost always slash a few decimals off your hospital bill. Here are some tips on how to do it.<\/p>\n

1.<\/b> Be Proactive<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you have a procedure that\u2019s not an emergency, ask for a discount ahead of time. Explain your circumstances upfront to your doctor if you\u2019re living on a fixed or low income. A lot of facilities have programs in place to help those who are financially strapped, but they don\u2019t necessarily advertise unless you ask.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And when you\u2019re negotiating, try to do it through email. It\u2019s best to have a paper trail if you successfully negotiate a discount in case you need to remind the billing department of your agreement. Another tip is keep notes during your hospital stay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Have a family member or friend help you out. You want to log all the procedures and services you receive so you can compare when your bill arrives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Pay in Cash\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n

Talk to your doctor or the billing manager and ask if they\u2019re willing to give you a discount if you pay in cash. Cash will save the office credit card fees and staff time processing paperwork.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure you point these out when you make the offer, and if you have the means offer to pay the full amount upfront if they lower the bill even more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0<\/span>Check for Billing Errors<\/b><\/h2>\n

Eighty percent of medical bills have at least one error. Always ask for an itemized bill so you can determine whether you\u2019ve been overcharged for a service. Medical bills are notoriously hard to decipher and it\u2019ll look like a bunch of numbers next to your costs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re unsure of what a code means, track it down online so you can see what you\u2019re being billed for and whether or not you actually received that treatment. Codes might be mismatched, which means they don’t line up with your diagnosis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If the codes don’t match, your insurer will most likely decline to pay any portion of this claim.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch out for duplicate billing and unbundling, when services that should have been billed under one umbrella diagnosis or code are broken out, sometimes adding up to additional costs. If you suspect your bill has an error, call your doctor, the hospital or your insurance provider to let them know and ask for a new, accurate bill.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0<\/span>Do Your Research on Insurance Rates<\/b><\/h2>\n

Look up the fair market price for the care you received. This is the amount providers regularly accept from insurance companies as payment in full, and it\u2019s the amount you should aim for in your negotiations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can find this information in the Healthcare Bluebook<\/a><\/strong>. After you know what you should be paying, contact the billing department and explain the situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask to lower your bill to be in-line with the market price. Be polite and keep your composure, no one likes helping someone rude.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0<\/span>Negotiate Payment Terms<\/b><\/h2>\n

Sometimes you\u2019ll run into service providers that won\u2019t budge on price \u2014 don\u2019t cave. Ask if there are any payment plans that could meet your needs instead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell the billing representative exactly how much you can pay and when. If they ask for larger payments \u2014 and they will \u2014 explain that you can\u2019t afford to do more. Make it crystal clear your ability to make payments. If you\u2019re really having a tough time, drop the word \u201cbankruptcy.\u201d Most providers would rather receive some payment than nothing at all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the time if you pay small amounts over an extended period of months, the provider won\u2019t turn you over to collections. They\u2019ll accept your money each month and send you a new bill the next month, unless you miss a payment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So don\u2019t commit to more than you can afford, because as soon as you\u2019re late on a payment, you lose all negotiating power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6.\u00a0<\/span>Hire a Billing Advocate\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n

If all else fails, consider hiring a medical billing advocate. The downside is most billing advocates cost money, though you typically don\u2019t pay unless they\u2019re successful negotiating you a lower bill.<\/p>\n

Lastly, whatever you negotiate, make sure you follow through on your end of the deal. If you said you\u2019d send in regular monthly payments, make sure they\u2019re being sent on time every month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Failing to keep up your end of the bargain could lead to the provider rescinding any discount you negotiated and land you in the collections department.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope you don\u2019t find yourself in a situation where you need to use any of these tips. But if you do, know there are ways to reduce the costs.<\/p>\n

To a richer life,<\/p>\n

\"Nilus<\/p>\n

\u2014 Nilus Mattive
\nEditor, The Rich Life Roadmap<\/i><\/p>\n

The post 5 Ways to Haggle with Hospitals<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post 5 Ways to Haggle with Hospitals<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It’s estimated that hospitals in the U.S. overcharge their patients by about $10 billion total every year. Patients are paying markups of 100-1000% annually without even realizing it. Before you panic, know that most hospitals are willing to cut you a deal. As long as you know who to talk to and what to look for.<\/p>\n

The post 5 Ways to Haggle with Hospitals<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1833,366,1834,1835,1836,1651,923],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103506"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1103506"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1103507,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103506\/revisions\/1103507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1103506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1103506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1103506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}