Eight Ways To Cut Your Doctor’s Bill
Written by Unhealthy Hospitals
“Eric Remjeske, 38, was skiing… The result: broken bones in both feet and the prospect of big medical bills. Remjeske needed a night in the hospital plus an orthopedic surgeon to put two screws in each heel. His health insurance required him to meet a $6,000 deductible and pay a 20% share of any expense after that.”
“After the successful surgery, the bills arrived, totaling $16,000–more than what he’d expected. Remjeske fought back, objecting to specific hospital charges. The hospital agreed to strike a $500 charge for time in the recovery room, $200 for a leg-lifting device that Remjeske claims wasn’t used and $800 in other charges, including the cost of physical therapy sessions that never happened.“
“‘If you go in unknowing and come out unknowing, you could end up with an unbelievable bill,’ Remjeske says.”
“Haggle with your doctor and hospital? These days you’d be crazy not to.“
“The rise in health care costs, and especially in the share paid by the patient, is giving people a lot more incentive to gather their courage to try to bargain down prices. ”
“many doctors scoff at the notion of negotiating prices with patients. ‘There is no negotiating,’ writes one family physician. ‘You’d better come with your credit card or cash.’ Doctors don’t like it when they feel like they’re being taken advantage of. “
“Once you’ve gotten service, ask for the complete, itemized bill and look for mistakes. Double billing is common, says Candice Butcher, who runs Medical Billing Advocates of America in Salem, Va.”
“Other tactics include being aware of providers sending big bills and negotiating with the right person or people.”
“Not a negotiator? For those with bills more than $300, many companies will gladly handle that for you.”
“they can get anywhere from 10% to 40% knocked off any kind of medical bill by using proprietary data, making legal maneuvers or simply by having a good track record with a particular hospital or doctors office. ”
“These services require no retainer, but typically cost one-third or so of whatever savings are achieved. But you can also negotiate a lower fee with these companies–including Myinsnet.com and Billadvocates.com–which will charge as little as 10% of total savings if the bill is big enough.”
Full Article: http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/21/health-medical-bills-lifestyle-health-doctor-bills-debt.html
