上位 200 件のコメント全て表示する 214

[–]mattmck90 313 ポイント314 ポイント  (72子コメント)

Said I couldn't afford Payment (I really couldn't) and they sent the bill back to negotiate. Went from roughly 4k to $150.

[–]Jesus_Harold_Christ 62 ポイント63 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Similar experience, had a $1500 bill reduced to $0. My insurance had already covered $4500. Just told them I couldn't pay

[–]foxdale 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (1子コメント)

care to elaborate?

just call and say you can't pay because?

[–]Jesus_Harold_Christ 20 ポイント21 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I just said I didn't have the money. I also pointed out that the $4500 was probably exorbitant for an x-ray and a finger splint.

[–]Kirpin 20 ポイント21 ポイント  (5子コメント)

Wish it would have gone this smoothly for me. I had a 6500 bill. They gave me the option to pay it outright or $550/month which I couldn't afford. I told them that and they said those are my only options. Called back a week later hoping to talk to someone else. Same thing.

[–]haileybop 11 ポイント12 ポイント  (4子コメント)

That's when you pay whatever you can, or nothing at all. Yeah, it'll hit your credit, but damn that's a lot of money to expect someone to pay monthly.

[–]GrillMarks0 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (3子コメント)

I've never had a bill collector come after me for medical debt and Im sure I have a lot of it! Maybe they are just waiting.

[–]Maysock 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (2子コメント)

it's probably sitting on your credit report, but medical debt is usually less impactful than revolving credit debt, auto collections, or other defaulted debt.

[–]GrillMarks0 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (1子コメント)

My credit report is clean-no negative marks and I've got a high credit score.

I've had MS for 17 years; I routinely get medical bills in the thousands. I pay what I can and leave the rest. I have to keep a roof over my head and food in my belly.

Maybe it's just luck.

[–]Maysock 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's excellent then, hope that luck keeps up. :)

[–]otterpopemo 94 ポイント95 ポイント  (57子コメント)

I had a $600 bill down to $200 because I was a college student on my dads insurance. Had to show a bunch of "proof of incomes" and stuff but in the end it was worth it. I intend to donate to the hospital when I have more money. =)

[–]___lalala___ 33 ポイント34 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I see others admonishing you for wanting to donate to the hospital, but they might have a foundation run by volunteers. My local hospital foundation does all kinds of low income community programs like free mammograms and other cancer screenings, safety fairs with free car seats, bike helmets, life jackets, and even assistance with paying bills (like utilities) for people out of work due to hospitalization.

[–]otterpopemo 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yup! Our local hospital does a lot of stuff like that. That's exactly what I'm intending to donate too.

[–]aeykie 111 ポイント112 ポイント  (0子コメント)

With what they charge no need to donate, maybe find a better org

[–]chrischm 112 ポイント113 ポイント  (51子コメント)

Never donate to a hospital that charges you money. What a stupid system America has. One of the richest countries in the world and they don't provide free health care. In Canada we have higher taxes on the vices; smokes, booze etc and it pays for our healthcare.

[–]Not_Steve 83 ポイント84 ポイント  (25子コメント)

Sigh Oh, Canada… how did our little brother get so responsible and why can't we be like you?

[–]chrischm 12 ポイント13 ポイント  (4子コメント)

Come on up our boarders are open!

[–]OnceARunner1 61 ポイント62 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I hope this is sarcasm. Canada has really strict immigration standards.

[–]MC_Mooch 8 ポイント9 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Only if you're not rich/chinese.

Source: am chinese://

[–]Dogeatswaffles 35 ポイント36 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Canadian immigration doesn't want Americans, lol.

[–]captain_chester -4 ポイント-3 ポイント  (15子コメント)

Because Canadian healthcare is far superior...

[–]AIO12 11 ポイント12 ポイント  (10子コメント)

Far cheaper.

[–]Cat_Marshal 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (8子コメント)

Far higher taxes and far longer wait times

[–]SimpleSimonPieMan 15 ポイント16 ポイント  (7子コメント)

Far longer life.

[–]captain_chester 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Is there actual data on this?

[–]Cat_Marshal 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (5子コメント)

I don't know, I remember running into a guy on the streets in Edmonton, he had this board tied to his hand because he was waiting for surgery, said it would be months before it got fixed. It didn't look very pleasant at all. I am all for the accessibility, but from what I see, the doctors have less motivation to do their best, because they get paid either way. If there was better competition, doctors getting paid per visitor so they were encouraged to do better than the next guy so more people would come to them, I think things would work better. Maybe it already works that way, but I didn't experience it.

[–]Not_Steve 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (3子コメント)

Wait, are you saying that doctors don't become doctors to try to help people, but that they do it for the money?

[–]kr0wb4r 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

No wonder Americans have the clusterfuck of a healthcare system they do if they employ retarded logic like this.

[–]captain_chester -2 ポイント-1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Cheaper doesn't always equate to better.

One other point: Canada has roughly 1/10th the population of the USA. Not only would scaling that cost be far greater, but we also operate in a free society (for the most part) where competition is king. Now can we do more things to drive costs down and make healthcare accessible? Absolutely, however, I'll never support the government taking more control over us as a people.

[–]Badpancakes 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (3子コメント)

I had to get 32 staples in my leg and waited 3 hours in the hospital waiting room.

[–]alysurr 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I was taken by ambulance to the hospital with a potential head trauma and still had to wait at least an hour for s room... literally anything else at the hospital and it's 3-4 hours in the US. There are four hospitals in my area.

[–]crbiker 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

richest

$20 trillion dollars in debt*

provide free health care

$20 trillion dollars in debt*

Nothing is provided, it's paid for with money that comes out of the pockets of citizens. That's how taxation works.

[–]drumstyx 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Funny thing is income taxes are lower in Canada too. Of course sales tax is much, much higher.

[–]weiss27md 15 ポイント16 ポイント  (20子コメント)

The USA's health care system sucks but yours isn't free.

[–]chrischm 44 ポイント45 ポイント  (19子コメント)

Never got a bill in the mail asking for $50,000 after minor surgery, or a day in the hospital.

[–]flirppitty-flirp 34 ポイント35 ポイント  (18子コメント)

Someone is paying it. Nothing is free.

[–]mrfrobinson 28 ポイント29 ポイント  (9子コメント)

Our taxes are higher. You may wait for elective surgery, hips and knees for example but will always get care in the event of an emergency.

[–]foople 17 ポイント18 ポイント  (1子コメント)

We pay more per capita just for Medicare than most other countries spend to provide universal care. We pay the taxes but don't get the benefit. Compared to Canada:

In 2004, government funding of healthcare in Canada was equivalent to $US1,893 per person. In the US, government spending per person was $2,728.

[–]HelperBot_ 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Non-Mobile link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_the_healthcare_systems_in_Canada_and_the_United_States


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[–]mkosmo 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (6子コメント)

Same is true in the US... They can't turn away emergent patients.

[–]Oof_too_Humid 20 ポイント21 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Yeah, they can't turn you away. But they will bill you. Big time.

[–]Pseudocrat 11 ポイント12 ポイント  (1子コメント)

And since a lot of people walk away from those debts - everyone else pays for it anyway.

[–]Drabbeynormalblues 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (2子コメント)

They can turn you away if it is a non emergency. They have to evaluate you but they don't have to treat you.

[–]mkosmo 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

The biggest problem I see: If it's a non emergency, why are you at an emergency room? People going to the emergency room for a runny nose (with no reason to suspect it's anything more) are what create many of the pain points folks complain about.

Or closer to the topic at hand, why should you get elective surgery (which by definition, is not necessary to sustain life) at no cost to yourself? You want a boob job for no reason other than you want one? Ok, fine. Earn it. I ain't giving it to you.

[–]rundemon5 36 ポイント37 ポイント  (3子コメント)

Taxes pay for it. I would much rather pay a little bit more in taxes to never see a hospital bill

[–]diab0lus 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (2子コメント)

I would much rather the people that have so much money that they will never worry about hospital bills pay higher taxes so the people who do have to worry about hospital bills won't.

[–]zodberg 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I would much rather everybody have mutant healing factors so we never need hospitals.

[–]RASion4191 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I would much rather just not get hurt PERIOD.

[–]MC_Mooch 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's right, it's not free. Canadians are however paying much less per person per year though.

[–]Wailfin 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Speaking as a Canadian living in Massachusetts- I get taxed more than in Canada, my cigarettes are taxed the same amount as they were in Canada - very similar prices compared to other states, and alcohol is also a similar price- assumably taxed the same.

[–]dotwav2mpfree 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Richest country in the world that's $20T in debt. Smh

[–]ThePwnSauce 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Don't donate to the hospital. The hospital is a business and they already have their money. The bill you didn't cover was likely written off as loss on the company's end. That decreases their profits and their taxes. Instead, donate to a local charity that provides free medical service (like a community clinic) or a charity that helps others afford the medical services they need.

[–]otterpopemo 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The hospital has a charity and clinic tied to it that does those things. That's what I would be donating too.

[–]AtOurGates 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's the key.

There are laws against hospitals and other providers just not collecting the patient balance. However, if the patient is in financial difficulty, they're allowed to make an exception.

So, assuming it's the truth, start by saying you are unable to pay, and go from there.

[–]Jimassho 17 ポイント18 ポイント  (3子コメント)

I received a bill for 21,000. Ignored it. Later received an amended bill for 18,000. Ignored it. Recieved a bill for 8000. Ignored it. Recieved a bill for 800. Ignored it. Received a bill for 400. Ignored it. Received a bill for 49 dollars. Paid it.

Kicking myself. Should have ignored it.

[–]foxdale 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (1子コメント)

even after insurance?

[–]Jimassho 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I didn't have insurance at the time and don't care about my credit score.

[–]titney[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Dang! How long did you ignore it?!

[–]supermutiny 100 ポイント101 ポイント  (5子コメント)

-> In a previous job I was IT support for a large medical facility. I worked closely with the financial departments. They would almost always work with people trying to pay their debt. Something to think about. When this facility was near the end of the fiscal year, they would always try to get as many debts off the books as possible. So the manager would come in and remind everyone that if any debt under $2500 offers to settle, try to get the most possible from the settlement and the make a deal with them to get this account off the books. So, I know they will deal with you, you may just have to pay monthly until you catch them in the right fiscal time of year.

[–]lecoueroublie 15 ポイント16 ポイント  (3子コメント)

This is good advice. Do you know if hospital fiscal years are roughly the same, or vary by hospital?

[–]supermutiny 8 ポイント9 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Ours was June to June each year if I recall correctly. Not sure if others are the same.

[–]OHIftw 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I wonder if that has to do with insurance contracts? I think a lot of them are June-June as well.

[–]imafungirl 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I believe it varies. Our follows the calendar year.

[–]titney[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

How interesting! I can definitely make payments until trying this out!

[–]hottoddy4me 131 ポイント132 ポイント  (6子コメント)

I mean, the payment plan is your best option.

You can try to negotiate with the hospital if you have a good chunk of money to offer. You can offer to pay (let's just use a number) $4000 right now if they lower your bill to that amount.

[–]Rdthealth 86 ポイント87 ポイント  (3子コメント)

I did this after a surgery and they took the lump sum payment I offered.

[–]LoganTheHuge00 43 ポイント44 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Did you speak to the billing department to accomplish this, or a different department?

[–]kemistreekat 18 ポイント19 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Call the billing department directly. I did the same thing and they were able to give me a lower cost with 4 installments total over 4 months.

[–]packet_wrangler 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (0子コメント)

What percentage discount did you offer?

[–]BananaHammock74 14 ポイント15 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I offered to pay like 80% of the bill and just be done with it. The lady just said um..no you need to set up a payment plan, like I was crazy.

[–]ii_misfit_o 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

yeah cos they can add interest to the PP

[–]PoppaDiesel 79 ポイント80 ポイント  (6子コメント)

Ask them if they can do a courtesy adjustment. I called like 4 times before I got a rep that would do it but she took 20% off.

[–]secretsquirrel17 13 ポイント14 ポイント  (4子コメント)

That's great! I've sadly had no luck. Payment plan it is.

[–]nkronck 17 ポイント18 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Keep calling, speak to a different department, a supervisor. It's annoying for you but be persistent.

[–]Oof_too_Humid 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yes, be persistent. Maybe do some ask some questions, do some research to see if you can talk to another department. Because, think about it - hospitals accept a wide range of negotiated payment rates from different insurance companies (all at a fraction of what the full bill they would charge an uninsured individual). So there's definitely plenty of wiggle room on what they ultimately charge.

[–]mdroke 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I had the same experience. I would ask for an adjustment and only pay a small about when they would not and not pay again for a couple months. I ended up getting 20% off after the 3rd loop.

[–]jaimacho 24 ポイント25 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I ask for help and adjustments on every hospital bill and have about a 50% success rate. Worst they can say is no and you pay the full amount.

[–]finalDraft_v012 51 ポイント52 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Have you spoken with your hospital's Financial Aid person? It took me some time to find out who this was when I had to do this. I mean, it literally took me weeks to figure out she even existed and where to find her. She had me fill out a form, after I told her how I can't afford this $8k+ (after insurance paid) bill they had sent me. A few weeks later, that $8k was forgiven. I don't know if I just got lucky, but it's worth a shot.

[–]andbeatrest 20 ポイント21 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Kind of the same thing happened with my bill. I had an after insurance bill of $6,800. They wanted about $200 a month, so I called to try and set up a lower monthly payment plan. They said I'd need to fill out a financial assistance form and turn in some documents. They froze the account while I turned all of that in and 60 days later I got a letter in the mail saying the account was forgiven and I had a balance of $0.

[–]titney[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Man. That sounds awesome.

[–]heavyvisuals 45 ポイント46 ポイント  (6子コメント)

My coworker had a giant bill after having his kid. He went down to the insurance dept and offered to pay in full right then and there if they gave him a discount. They cut off 40%

[–]dani_bar 16 ポイント17 ポイント  (4子コメント)

Do you know how much was owed?

[–]Twenty3isNumberOne 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I tried this after both my kids and they didn't f'n budge.

[–]Frugalista1 13 ポイント14 ポイント  (6子コメント)

Mine was a copay, I was in the hospital around 45 days last year, $295/day. I'm on SSDI, there's just no way.

I called and they basically forgave 90%, I'm paying the rest $100/mth.

Just call them. It can't hurt.

[–]UCgirl 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (5子コメント)

Was your out of pocket 295 per day? Were you on Medicare? I just recently went on Medicare for disability and I'm wondering what to expect from my recent hospitalization. I know about the assistance program at that hospital already though.

[–]Frugalista1 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (4子コメント)

It's the copay from my Medicare Advantage HMO plan. Far better than the 20% on original Medicare.

[–]UCgirl 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (3子コメント)

Wow. Ok. I guess I should prepare myself.

[–]Frugalista1 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Knowing my propensity to be hospitalized I picked the cheapest one. That particular copay has been skyrocketing these past 5 years or so.

[–]UCgirl 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I'm sorry. What a position to be in. Too sick to work but "hey, here's a health plan with crazy co-pays!"

[–]Frugalista1 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Haha! True enough. The dr copay aren't bad. $5 for GP, $35 for specialist. I've had an HMO my whole adult life bc I feel better knowing what my out of pocket is going to be.

[–]throwawaybutofcourse 15 ポイント16 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Definitely try to get financial assistance even if you don't think you qualify. My husband had an appendectomy last November and we had a $12,000 deductible. Although we do okay financially, we were able to get the bill down by 75 percent. The worst that can happen is they tell you no.

[–]ekitchen0 8 ポイント9 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I work as a patient financial advocate for a non profit community hospital. Part of our mission is to provide reduced and free health care to those that qualify, which mostly is just gathering paperwork on my end. I would suggest talking to the hospital billing department and seeing what programs they have in place. Every dept will do things differently, but in my area there is discount program that partners with three local hospitals and a few other providers, and most people don't know it's around.

[–]JRclarity123 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I got a $600 bill down to $150 once, but that wasn't the hospital, that was the anesthesiologist. The hospital just told me that my $50 a month would be just fine and said they weren't interested in a lump sum.

[–]quedra 8 ポイント9 ポイント  (0子コメント)

In September of 2012, I had to go to the ER.

About a month later, I got a statement. Not a bill, just a statement. $13000. Waited around and a month later, I got another statement. This one was for less money, I forget the amount. Still, no bill yet.

At first, I was concerned that these were separate statements, like the ambulance or doctor, something.

After 6 months, (mostly because I forgot about it because I never got an actual bill) I finally called the hospital and asked wtf.

They just said the amount was correct and not to worry until I got a bill.

But the amounts on the statements kept getting smaller.

Then I got the final statement and it said $0. I called the hospital and that's when they told me that an anonymous benefactor had paid my bill.

I was floored, to say the least. Not sure how this may help you, but maybe your hospital has some kind of similar program or whatever it was.

[–]Miller_teach 18 ポイント19 ポイント  (0子コメント)

A friend of mine, who is a nurse told me, that often there are people who donate funds to the hospital for those that have difficulty making payments. Long story short... my wife had an emergency gallbladder removal, and it was during a time when our insurance was far from great. I called the department of the hospital that deals with finances and payments, and basically just explained that we were having difficulty paying the cost. Truthfully we were, and I think I needed to provide a copy of my paycheck and some other things. I am a school teacher with 3 kids (just as some background), and they called a couple of weeks later to say our balance had been taken care of by a hospital donor. Hopefully the person seeking help is honest, because I would hate for anyone to take advantage of these types of services.

[–]andrew_Y 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (2子コメント)

We recently settled our hospital bill. It was more stress than it was worth. We refused to pay the bill because our deductible was x amount for the tier plan at the hospital. Turns out it was the wrong tier. Lesson learned to get something in writing about that.

Anyways the bill got sent to a collection agency. I made a deal with them the day before it was to be reported on our credit (they gave 30 days to pay). They gave 15% off the total. Good enough for me.

[–]happysunny 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Who would you get that in writing from, though?

[–]andrew_Y 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I still don't know. We asked the nurse at our OBGYN and thats who said it was the tier one. It may be on their website as well. It's one of those things that we didn't think about. Lesson learned: don't trust anyone.

[–]xGiaMariex 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

People are definitely giving good advice. If you can pay a lump sum (offer them $4500 instead of the $6800 if that's an option) chances are they'll like to get their hands on most of it at once rather than spend the time trying to track their money down. Another option is to prove financial hardship and ask for a discount for that. You can also ask the physician themselves to give a discount or wave part of the fee due to hardship, depending on your situation. Also--ask for a detailed bill and go through it with a FINE-TOOTH COMB. I guarantee you there is at least one charge on there that is either completely ridiculous or you've been billed for something that never happened. Billing mistakes happen really often and aren't caught.

[–]Matchboxx 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yep. When my fiancee had garbage insurance (Cigna) it was like $350 to see our PCP when she had bronchitis. At the time, we were pretty strapped, so not only did the doctor even agree to do some tests without even entering them into the computer to be billed, but when we called to say that we couldn't afford the $350 bill we received, they just said "okay, how about $175 and we'll just call it even?" They didn't even blink. There was no negotiation, really. It was just, we can't afford that, so they gave us 50% off and called it a day.

Note: This was with a major health services corporation that owns most of the hospitals and individual practices in my area, so they were indeed bathing in money and the other $175 was probably nothing to them.

[–]yourmomlurks 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Hospitals collect, on average, 40% of every dollar they bill. There's no way they won't accept a lower payment. Basically with what your insurance has covered, they are getting free money now.

What I did when I had my baby was I wrote a letter for some of the bills. I got easily a dozen different bills. For some of them, I just couldn't figure out what it was, or why my insurance didn't cover it. So I wrote a letter with my legit question.

I never heard back from those letters. The bills just stopped coming. I paid the other ones.

[–]Canoe_dog 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

We had a similar experience. After the birth we received a series of bills which we paid.

Some months later we received two bills totalling $2800 from the hospital which we didn't expect at all. They were for the anesthesiologist and one of the docs who checked in after the birth for all of three minutes, which was my understanding was supposed to be covered under the hospital bill/insurance since we had specifically chosen that hospital as they told us everything would be in network. I may be off on some of the details but that's my recollection.

My wife called the hospital and asked about them, was told to not pay them and to wait for an update from the hospital. We haven't heard anything further, haven't received any updated bills, haven't seen anything on our credit report since. It has been several months, but still possible that those bills are working their way through the system I guess.

Edit- that was our old insurance. We would always get random bills after the fact, never a single one. Our new insurance is much better, our out of pocket for the pregnancy would have been $75 total on the new plan according to their estimator tool.

[–]externality 16 ポイント17 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Maybe your husband should exercise some personal responsibility and not get appendicitis.

[–]sailhobie 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Exactly! He should have called around to the various hospitals and found out what one had the best price before getting his appendix removed

[–]crbiker 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Government doesn't allow that.

[–]Plaid1 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I had a friend let hers go into collections. Almost. They called many many times threatening it and she basically said what she would pay. First she had requested an itemized bill. $200 for Tylenol. That's b.s. So she ended up giving them 20 percent of her bill.

[–]stealth_queen 25 ポイント26 ポイント  (18子コメント)

Yikes. God bless the NHS.

[–]baconwiches 12 ポイント13 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Canada checking in, also glad to live where I do.

[–]pasky 11 ポイント12 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Every time I see these threads I count my blessings.

[–]unidentifiableblarg 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

And Medicare, the costs listed in this thread are insane

[–]jojewels92 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's pretty disturbing. Similar to the OP I had a 7 day hospital stay following an appendectomy and some complications. My bill was nearly $90k. Thankfully I have two insurances from my dad and stepdad so it voiced covered all but my $2k deductible.

[–]Xifji 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (8子コメント)

German checking in. NEGOTIATING YOUR HOSPITAL BILL seems like something that would happen in a dystopic sci-fi movie or in a country like Somalia to me.

[–]intredasted 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (7子コメント)

Seriously, the only thing that's missing is some kinda hairy but slimy animals to fight for the spoils from the operating table.

[–]Kyle5130 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (4子コメント)

Is the NHS that great? Admittedly I haven't researched it but people always say "if you need anything serious you'll be waiting for years"

[–]rikisha 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (1子コメント)

They've done studies of emergency room wait times, and in the UK, 93.4% of people in the ER were seen and released within four hours, compared to 95% within three hours in the US. So no, it's not a big difference. And as someone from the US, wait times can be insane here too, especially if you need to see a specialist.

[–]zycamzip 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Big city, big wait time. We were taken in, within 30 minutes where we live now, versus 6 hours in a major city.

[–]boomerangchampion 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

There are waiting lists, but it depends what you mean by serious. If your liver is failing you might not get a new one for months. If your liver explodes and you're bleeding internally you zoom right up the waiting list.

It's certainly not perfect.

[–]stealth_queen 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's not perfect but I am eternally grateful for it when I hear these stories from our friends over in the US. I had an emergency appendectomy and was taking in around 3am. A specialist saw me an hour or two later and I had the surgery around 8 or 9am. Not perfect but it was successful and the only thing we paid was a parking meter. I live in central London where as a result of the population levels, waiting will always be slightly longer.

[–]mndtrp 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I had a bunch of medical bills from various places over a couple of years. Every one of them I called the billing office and asked if there was any way to cut the bill down. Some were unwilling, while many others did if I paid the adjusted amount in full. I was not offered a discount as well as a payment plan, it was always one or the other.

[–]jwax33 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

You can negotiate hospital bills like anything else. You can try to get the balance reduced, get a payment plan on the reduced amount, etc. Ask if your hospital has a charity or financial aid program. Many hospitals do and depending on your income/expenses may cover all or part of your bill.

[–]danfirst 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I had zero luck with this and I'm a fairly decent negotiator. Had to deal with a family member accident / surgery last year. They hit the out of pocket max (4500). I called each person that billed them, hospital facilities, surgeon, anesthetic, etc. Not a single one would budge even for a 1 day in full payment. Each one told me they already discounted for the insurance company and they weren't allowed to lower it any more as long as it was still part of their copay / OOO max. I called each one a few times, tried different people, etc, no luck.

Only one of them mentioned a financial need plan but you'd have to already be registered with the county and getting county need based services and such. I ended up just paying it all in full.

[–]bureX 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (5子コメント)

Is there ANYONE on Reddit who is satisfied with the US healthcare system? As in... "I didn't have to pay thousands of dollars to get medical care"?

[–]Wailfin 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Well... kinda. I'm on MassHealth - low income funded health care, and it's okay. I honestly haven't had any issues and I've never been mailed a bill after going to the hospital.

I've been a couple of times- bronchitis over a year ago, work injury on my back, and an infection that was persistent.

[–]3000yrago 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Reddit is mostly young people who dont have their life and finances situated

[–]MarriedIntoTrashyFam 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I did recently with a doctors bill. They cut a $600 bill to $300.

[–]Mirmadook 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I haven't, I had two insurance companies and when I had my baby I still had a bill of $1500. The hospital refused to help out in any way saying if I could afford two insurance premiums then I can afford the bill. This was Hoag. They are assholes.

[–]HarlowMonroe 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Ask for a detailed breakdown of the costs. I had an emergency appendectomy, received terrible care, and was overcharged. Breakdown revealed that they charged me for a whole additional day (at $2k) even though I was supposed to be discharged at the 20 hour mark. Long story short, my doctor went MIA and didn't show until I'd been there for 26 hours. They also billed for medicine I declined. I read their billing department the riot act and it was reduced down to $2k out of pocket from $6k. Our medical system is a joke.

[–]trapped_in_a_box 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

If the hospital is in network with bcbs, they are contacted to bill you the full amount. If not, they might give you a 20% discount.

Source: 13 years of medical billing

[–]ChairmanMeow23 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

They took 30% off if I paid in full after calling to negotiate. Good luck!

[–]kemistreekat 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

If you call them you can sometimes get a discount if you do it in a single or couple lump sum installments.

I had $3500 bills due, but they were able to reduce it down to 4 payments of $500. When I called to ask them about it, I asked what it would cost if I could pay off the entire amount immediately. They're happy to get a big payment for less instead of 40 smaller payments. In the end they could give me a total 4 installments tho which wasn't so bad.

[–]GRZMNKY 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yes. I was in a major accident, years ago in another state. I was a passenger and the driver's insurance didn't cover everything.

I called in after finally getting a bill. ( I moved right after the accident). At first they offered a payment plan which would have essentially made me pay minimal payments for the rest of my life. After waiting a few days and calling back, they dropped my bill from $12000 to $450. And then let me know that the driver's insurance would cover it.

The worst part was the leg work to get the bad marks off my credit.

[–]pdxchris 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yes. Always negotiate. The worst thing they can say is no.

Typically it takes filling out a short form and a copy of your bank statement and last year's taxes.

[–]Adventure_Lover 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The way I see it, everything is negotiable. Just make sure you get them to make the first offer, and then offer then half that, and then try to meet in the middle. Here's the script I would use:

You: "I understand the bill is $6,800. I'm sure you understand we are tight on money right now. Is there anyway you can lower the bill?" Them: "Yes, we can. How about $4,000" [this might be lower then you are expecting, but still, negotiate it down further] You: "How about $3,000"? Them: "Let's split the difference to $3,500?" You: "Deal!"

I once had a $3,000 medical bill. I called them up, and expected to negotiate down to $1,500. I let them make the first offer, which was $250. I counter-offered them $50, and they asked if I can pay $100. I agreed. Everyone's happy.

What do you got to lose by negotiating? Nothing!

[–]dogdragon 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Originally from Australia. Had appendectomy in 2007. Spent almost a week in hospital. Cost absolutely nothing. At all. My mum bought the night nurses coffee, but no medical costs. Living in the US sucks with the healthcare

[–]KILLSBITCHES 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yes, it can be done. Typically they lower it anywhere from 10-50% if you offer to pay cash up front. If you can't afford it at all you can ask your hospital if they have a Financial Services department. I've helped extended family members get their bills down to 0% in some cases. In other cases they've dropped it from $500-$5,000 to $0-$300. And all they had to do was fill out a financial form and provide tax return forms and bank statements.

[–]ArtTakesTimeDammit 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I had a $1500 deductible in 2016 for an ER visit. When I got the bill I called the billing department and said "hey, all I can pay is $75/month" to which they fairly quickly said "ok, no problem". I could've paid it off all at once if I really had to, but I'd rather pay slowly on essentially a no-interest loan from my healthcare provider. I just have to remember to pay it off faithfully so any unpaid balance doesn't end up on my credit rating.

[–]zim3019 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

My Aunt offered a lump sum to the hospital after my uncle died of cancer. They took it. She ended up paying quiet a bit less.

[–]skartop 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I was able to negotiate my bill to about half of the cost.

I think that the explanation of the hardship and that you can probably scrape together an amount and pay it off or that it's going to take a long time of monthly payments. Most businesses are going to want as much money in the quickest time frame. So the prospect of a very slow repayment process usually helps drive the decision.

[–]pdxp2b 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

What the hell is your plan OOP maximum for the plan year?

[–]Easter_Passed 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

My neurologist has discounts for paying up front, in full, and in cash. I guess I'm not really negotiating but a 180 dollar bill goes down to $120.

[–]jgatcomb 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I accidentally got a 2% discount for paying in full the day I was in the ER.

As I was walking out I realized no one had attempted to collect my co-pay so I asked around until I found someone who knew how to take money. When I asked her why I wasn't charged the right amount she said - everyone gets 2% for paying in full without having to go through billing.

I recognize that 2% isn't going to help you out at all but the key to my story was finding the person that knew how to deal with the problem because everyone else was content to let billing handle it.

[–]userd 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Does your plan have max out of pocket? It must be very high.

[–]and_one_more_thing 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I sent a letter stating that they were illegally balance-billing me for an ER visit. They did not respond, and simply sent me to collections.

[–]MisterJimJim 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I had insurance and my copay for the ER was $500. I told them I couldn't pay it all at once, but that I could do payments. They said it was too low for payments so I asked them for a discount. They said yes and gave me a 20% discount. You can try asking them for a lump sum discount.

[–]Cliche_Bitch_Tits 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I just spent 11 months negotiating mine ($2100) down to zero. It was annoying, but getting the letter in the mail yesterday saying that we don't owe anything anymore was really awesome. It ended with us filing for Medical Financial Assistance through the hospital itself, look on their website or call them directly, every hospital should have it. It requires a lot of paperwork and what not, but in the end it was worth it! - Oh and accepting a payment plan does not negate this either, you'll be fine. Fight the good fight.

[–]relrobber 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's been my experience that if you just keep making your payments that the hospital around here will eventually just write off the balance. (I only paid for half of a CT scan when I didn't have ins.) My wife usually tells them we can only pay $20/mo, and they're fine with that. She has also been pretty successful at getting the hospital to write off the portion not paid by our insurance.

[–]justcurious02144 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I work for a personal injury attorney. Very often we try to get the co-pay bills reduced by saying things like "XYZ insurance has already paid $xyz, which is xyz% of the total bill. Kindly reduce Mr. Xyz's outstanding bill to (super low number). Please contact us to discuss this matter." The issue is that insurance companies never ever ever pay retail for things, so providers try to make up the balance by billing the patient. My biggest advice is to be polite but stern, take notes each time you call (time/date/name of person you spoke to), and stick up for yourself.

[–]2456 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I did my chemotherapy through Ochsner and had quite the bill afterwards even with insurance. (Especially with my insurance wanting to deny it at first.) And I still get 1-2K bills for the labs i take every 6 months. But they have financial assistance form you can fill out along with providing proof of your income. Then based on that they reduce it a percentage up to 100%.

So definitely check even if you have insurance!

[–]michjames1926 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I remembered reading this from another subreddit. Finally found it in my saved folder...

Hospitals and doctors office bills in the U.S. can be negotiated, and many will offer huge cash discounts if you pay at the time of service. But once the insurance gets billed, there is much less room for negotiation. If your bill gets applied to the insurance deductible, then the facility, by law, is supposed to collect the full amount that was applied to the deductible from you. Also, if there's a co-pay, the facility, by law, is supposed to collect that as well.

For the average person on a high deductible plan ($1000+), you'd have to get cancer, or be in a huge trauma for the insurance to kick in any meaningful payment.

Insider advice: when you make an appointment at a doctors office, ask if they have a "point of service" discount. Also, if you go to a hospital, don't let them know you have insurance until after they give you the bill. Do the negotiation first, then do the math and see if it's cheaper to pay out of pocket. If not, the facility has 6 months to bill your insurance after the date of service.

Edit: this whole thing doesn't work for providers that strictly see in-network patients, i.e. HMO's.

[–]littlemsmuffet 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It was a very minor bill we got after our daughter was born. They charged us $50 for the phone for two days. I fought it. We didn't use it and I dislike paying for something I don't use

[–]cloverlief 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The best answer is it depends on the hostpital.

If it is a non profit like Swedish and you have hardship related to the bill they may be able to work with you.

Depending on your income the may even cover part of it.

However if it is a standard for profit hostpital, then a payment plan may be the only option.

[–]bahzew 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yes. I have an admittedly sweet student health insurance plan, but am also living on a grad stipend. I have had two large (for me... around 2k each) post-op bills forgiven by submitting an application for financial assistance. I had to provide proof of pay stubs and my bank balance. Even if it hadn't been forgiven completely, this hospital (Northshore, in IL) has a sliding scale. I'd say it is totally worth applying for, on top of talking with the billing department to arrange payments (if you end up not qualifying for complete forgiveness).

[–]ql3 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (2子コメント)

In Colombia, I was hit by a taxi and suffered a broken hand. I went to the emergency room (San Ignacio in Bogota), got X-rays, was seen by a doctor who wasn't certain about my weird break so I saw an orthopedist, the orthopedist said my hand should be set a certain way, put a cast on, and then sent me for more X-rays which the orthopedist then reviewed. Total cost without insurance: $70. WTF is going on in the US?

[–]loconessmonster 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (1子コメント)

We have this huge sprawling healthcare system. There are middle men in everything even if the middle men are actually the same company... that doesn't even scratch the surface of the complexity. One example: HC providers bill much more than the "sticker price" because they're playing a game with insurance to get the most $$ possible. Also the prices insurance is willing to pay is based on a % of Medicare(or Medicaid I forget). So in a way the government is setting the price and the insurance companies pay %150 of that or 200% of that price .

The more you learn about it the more you just want it all to fall apart so that we can have something completely new (at least in my opinion)

[–]Kellianne 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

What you said about the charges being a % of what medicare will pay is exactly what a doctor told me when I was a self pay patient (pre-ACA and uninsured) He said charges are 2-3 times what medicare paid for that service last year so that by the time the insurance companies get their discounts the hospitals are still making money.

[–]suckittt 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yes. I agreed to a bunch of blood tests I didn't really need. I was younger and didn't think about what it might cost. Turns out, it was a ton. When I called and said I didn't have that kind of money, they knocked off a lot. Can't remember how much exactly, but it was a lifesaver.

[–]nishath5 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

/r/personalfinance may be able to help you with this.

[–]ccc_dsl 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yes I have gotten hospital bills lowered by 40%. That was after insurance

[–]rent24 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

My story doesn't have a high amount of debt like the rest but when I was 18 years old I got 14 stitches on my face (long story). I was a runaway kid and wasn't insured. I guess my bill was sent to my grandma because I used her address. 800 bucks is what I was billed. As a part time minimum wage worker living out of a car out the time, there was just no way I could pay that in the amount of time they gave me. I called the billing department and I was just honest with them. Told them about my financial situation and my grandma got another bill but with a zero on the bottom line. Had no idea that would work. You never know what they might tell you. Based on the above responses, sounds like most places will work it out with you. Like one post said, just be honest and the worse they can tell you is no.

[–]liquidhot 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I do this all the time. Ask for a discount for paying it all now or a cash discount. Then if they say no, ask for a payment plan, then call back after the first payment and ask if you can get a discount if you pay the remaining balance. Try a couple times if it is a big bill. It is hit or miss, but I've saved thousands of dollars this way. I've never not had the money to pay it all, but asking never hurts, so I do.

Also, be polite and just explain you're looking for a way to make this easier on your budget.

[–]doodledeedoo3 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I am having surgery soon and will be in the same boat - total cost is starting at $38,000 but depends on what exactly happens during surgery (we won't know fully until surgery) and I'll be responsible for $11,400 of that. I think I'm borderline on qualifying for low income assistance at the hospital - but I want to make sure the doctor is being paid adequately because he is very skilled at this type of surgery. Does anyone know if the doctors get paid less or is it just the hospital as a whole who takes the cut?

[–]emesbe 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The surgeon's bill is completely separate from the hospital's. The hospital takes the cut.

[–]Summer95 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I had an accident in 2011 and a hospital bill of about $145,000. The insurance company discounted it to about one-third of that. I only paid $2,000. The ambulance was out of network and subject to a separate deductible. The bill was $800. I waited until late in the year and negotiated it down to about $200. For whatever reason, they like to close all the bills before year end. Your best chance is to make an offer that you can pay right then. They usually don't want to go the monthly payment plan and would prefer to negotiate and close the books on it.

Had another accident in 2003 with a bill of about $18,000. I negotiated my part down to a small percentage.

[–]ilovetpb 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

My father in law, who is normally a very hands-off kind of person, got a bill from the hospital for his cancer treatment for $375,000, and that was after insurance paid their portion - the total had been over $650,000.

He spoke with the hospital, and over two weeks managed to get his portion whittled down to $60,000, which he is making payments on. That's still a ton of money, but it's less than 20% of what he'd initially owed.

[–]Kellianne 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Doesn't he have an out of pocket limit? I reached mine and my insurance started paying 100% of the charges. All that started over in January but I am in treatment for cancer too and will reach the threshold pretty quick. When you are very sick and racking up huge medical debt it gets to the point where you just have to stop worrying about it. I know we will end up bankrupt unless my debt dies when I do which I odn't think it does. Last year's charges (before insurance discounts) were over a million dollars. A million. That is a one, followed by six zeros. There is not much I can do about it.

[–]NotKeyboardCat 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yeah just don't pay it and wait for it to go to a 3rd party collections agency. I had a 5000$ hospital bill get dropped to about 200$ by just waiting a few months to pay. The collection agencies buy the debt for pennies on the dollar and will take most anything to get paid because they paid almost nothing to buy your debt to the hospital.

[–]ghostpantstoastdance 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yes!! I asked for an itemized receipt and was very patient but they never sent it even after politely asking twice months apart. Finally I called and told them I wanted someone to just go down the list with me on the phone and I wrote everything down. I did my research to find the average costs of the services and products they charged me for. They wouldn't budge on anything; however, they determined they double charged me $70 for my baby's heel stick. So out of a $500 bill, saving $70 is not shabby! Even if the hospital won't budge it's good to know what you're paying for.

Sometimes if you offer to pay it off all in one go for a lowered rate they will agree. You'll never know unless you try. Just be very polite and patient and people will help you :)

[–]-rev 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

You need to tell them you simply can't afford it. Be firm. They'll fight back but insist you can only pay a little. Cash helps. You might get a stubborn/rude representative. Hang up, try again. Send email mail. Send email. Keep trying until someone listens.

I didn't have a bill as high as yours, but I was balance billed last year and got 2 of my 3 medical bills wiped - but after about two months of fighting, letters, calls, etc of nobody giving a damn. Eventually through the hospitals websites contact form (of all things), someone contacted me who heard me out and took care of it. If you google it or look through some of the former Reddit threads on this, they all have roughly that same story - it's possible, but rarely easy.

When bills go to collections, hospitals make pennies on the dollar, so they don't want your bills to go to collections as much as you don't. You just got to fight the good fight.

[–]blonktime 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

November of last year I fractured my skull and racked up around $85,000 in medical bills. Luckily, insurance took most of the financial hit but I was stuck with a bill of around $6,000. That was about what I had in the bank account at that point so I told them that I couldn't afford the bill. The rep that helped me told me they have payment plans to stretch it out or we could settle for a lump sum around $3000. So I took that and my saved life.

Ninja edit: I should say the rep worked for the hospital's financial assistance division.

[–]Sugarbearzombie 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I don't know what state you live in but some prohibit balance billing (under certain situations). You might want to research that and see if it can be used to your advantage here.

More to the point, you can always negotiate. I've negotiated for clients in the past and typically ended up paying around 1/3. I've heard other lawyers claim much better reductions. I've negotiated my own bills down by 50% where I didn't have as good of an argument but just wanted to see what they'd be willing to do.

Suggestion: ask for itemized invoice and look up medical billing codes. See if there's anything that shouldn't be there. Ask for discount and politely explain why. Start low.

Disclaimer: I'm not your lawyer and I'm not giving you legal advice. I couldn't because I don't even know what jurisdiction you're in.

[–]Bipolarruledout 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

No. In that "no, I'm not giving you any money".

[–]Lexxus82 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

In 2004 after I had my first baby, I had about $4,000 left to pay for the bill after insurance. Since I was still on maternity leave and was not working, my mom gave me advice and told me to call the hospital and talk to someone because there was some form you could fill out with your financial information to hopefully get it reduced. I sent the form in and they sent back a bill for about $800 or something like that. Just call your hospital and ask for someone in billing/accounts receivable. Good luck. :)

[–]mordecai98 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Ask to apply to the charity assistance program. You'll fill out paperwork and give copies of your tax return. I got 70% taken off.

[–]Xechorizo 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

These guys hooked it up: http://fixmyclaim.com

[–]Emilina_ 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Find out if the hospital has a program where they will help. I went to the hospital when I had my first relapse with MS and the hospital covered 95%. All I had to pay was $200 and the doctors which was $1200.

[–]zycamzip 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Send them a check each month, whatever you can afford, even if its only 23 cents.

Never agree to send them a set amount monthly.

Eventually your bill will start to go down, and as long as you keep sending money monthly, it can't goto collections, nor negatively affect your credit score... just don't miss a payment.

[–]digital_darkness 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Why 5 days? I had one two weeks ago and was home within 12 hours

[–]roofuskit 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

You may be screwed now that you've accepted a payment plan.

[–]Fit_sin 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Last time I got a huge hospital bill that I couldn't afford, the back of the bill had a 'financial assistance' application on it. I filled it out & mailed it in. I was denied, so I sent in small monthly payments that I could afford (literally like $25 a month), and reapplied a few months later.

I was denied once more, which I found ridiculous because I actually work for this hospital & they were well aware that I couldn't afford to pay the bill on what I was making. I continued the small monthly payments & tried again a third time. I'm not sure if it's because I was attempting to pay it down the best I could, or if it was because it was the end of the year & it's easier for the hospital to 'write it off' when the year is coming to a close, but I was finally approved on the third try. They wrote off the rest of the 2K+ balance, & I'd only paid a few hundred dollars towards it over the course of that year.

Have you asked whether they have a financial assistance option? I'd say even if you're denied, keep reapplying. It never hurts to try! :)

Edited to add: This all happened with me having private insurance. The bill was the deductible that I hadn't met. I just didn't want you to assume you couldn't apply for assistance b/c you have insurance.

[–]Dimoxinil 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

They'll always negotiate. I suggest negotiating as much in your life as you can.