by "Khalbali" (khalbali2)
Published 04/23/2017 at 01:33
by "Khalbali" (khalbali2)
Published 04/23/2017 at 01:33
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STARS: 0
If anybody recalls, my wife was in the ER a few weeks ago, nothing terribly serious just complications from anxiety and depression after being unmedicated for a while. Today I got the bill and it was over $4k, which is insane for a few hour visit with basically just an IV bag, a couple standard tests and some anti-nausea meds. Anybody have experience negotiating this sort of thing? How do I find a reasonable price to start? We’re gonna have to do payments or something anyways, we barely scrape by as it is so even a couple hundred a month is a huge stretch. I guess without knowing much I’d like to get it down to at least $2k but knowledge is power in a negotiation so I’d like to gather as much as I can first. Pictured below, what I hope to get her into next year when she has her Rio almost paid off.
"The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock" (jukesjukesjukes)
04/23/2017 at 01:42, STARS: 1
I have no experience with the medical part, but I’m excited for the Kia Soul Turbo. It’s another car for the Juke to beat.
"DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By" (ducst3-red-1liter-standing-by)
04/23/2017 at 01:43, STARS: 0
Jeez, best of luck. That does seem very high. I had my appendix out last summer and ended about 3k out of pocket after insurance. That included a surgery and 2 day recovery afterwards. I did go back about a month later for food poisoning, that was essentially just an IV bag, and it was around $800. All this in socal. Best of luck
"Khalbali" (khalbali2)
04/23/2017 at 02:00, STARS: 0
Yeah her insurance so far is refusing to cover a penny of it, so that’ll be the first step, figuring out why and if there’s anything we can do there.
"victor" (victor)
04/23/2017 at 02:02, STARS: 3
Get on a payment plan and speak with billing regarding any charity assistance due to financial situation. Speak to the payment department first and ask if they have assistance programs.
That said, the open market can never solve this because that’s what we effectively have. It’s a distorted market that is always tilted against the consumer with asymmetric information and a full understanding that demand is inelastic.
"Audistein" (Audistein)
04/23/2017 at 06:06, STARS: 1
Well you definitely shouldn’t be paying the full $4k, that’s for sure. http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/07/16/38190/what-you-need-to-know-about-crazy-hospital-prices/
You can actually talk to the billing department at the hospital directly and ask them for a discount. Maybe even say something initially like “If I pay 30% off the cost right now, will you write off the rest?” (Percentage is an example, maybe even say “10%”, do research). They may counter offer and you can bargain from there. If you don’t have that much in cash to pay right now, you can set up a payment plan but that will weaken your bargaining position.
There are also forms to fill out where you qualify for large discounts if you’re below certain income levels. Maybe something to look into if you think that might apply.
You can also do research into true costs and book values of the services you were provided. This may give you some information for bargaining. You should’ve been given something that resembles an itemized receipt which you can use for reference. Depending on your situation it may or may not be wise to debate with them item by item, but figuring out the standard prices certainly gives you more information when bargaining a total. Make sure terminology for treatments matches up precisely when comparing costs between what you received and prices you find..
Here are a few websites I quickly found. Don’t know anything about them specifically though:
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https://healthcarebluebook.com/page_ConsumerFront.aspx
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https://clearhealthcosts.com/useful-links/
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https://fairhealthconsumer.org
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https://www.newchoicehealth.com/Directory
- Your state may also publish healthcare costs here:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/transparency-and-disclosure-health-costs.aspx
There may be other websites with even better information. Those were just in the first few google results and some articles.
Even once you find the standard pricing for the services you received, when you start bargaining with the hospital, start well below what you calculated to be the standard pricing total.
There are also medical billing advocates and people like that who can help you. Some will help or at least consult for free while other charge a fee. If you need it you can reach out to some of those groups and see if you can get free help or if not that then pay for help from a reputable, established source.
I’ve never had to do this myself (very fortunate to have mostly had insurance though my parents and then through employer) but there are protocols for stuff like this.
"Ohio-gozaimasu" (ohio-gozaimasu)
04/23/2017 at 07:50, STARS: 1
I agree; try negotiation. It can be more flexible than you think. Hospitals often times are not expecting to recoup 100% of their billed costs. It’s a crazy system.
"DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By" (ducst3-red-1liter-standing-by)
04/23/2017 at 10:25, STARS: 0
Yeah, talk to insurance first, I don’t understand why they can deny an ER visit. And try to bargain with billing. I wish I had done that with my appendix, even if it only save you a couple hundred bucks, better than nothing
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/23/2017 at 13:00, STARS: 0
Often insurance refuses to cover something for stupid reasons like the hospital coded the bill wrong.
What are your deductible, coinsurance and out of pocket maximum?
Step 1: Make sure the hospital has all of your correct insurance info and inform them you’re sorting it out with your insurance.
Step 2: Talk with insurance is to find out exactly why they denied coverage then ask what you need to do to get it covered.
Step 3: Go back to the hospital and likely jump through multiple hoops to get them to re-bill your insurance in the way that insurance needs.
" The Compromiser" (charger)
04/23/2017 at 19:18, STARS: 0
Sorry, can’t help. Canadian.