Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

I've been told that you can "bargain" to have your hospital bill lowered but I've never been in a position where I,had to do it. Has anyone successfully had a hospital bill lowered? What do you say when you call them?

Message edited 4/1/2016 12:37:55 PM.

Re: Lowering hospital bill

I did it twice and had two different outcomes.
When I had one of my DCs -- the hospital billed the insurance company too much. My co-insurance was 10% so I tried to get the total bill to be lowered from ~$30k. I was annoyed because I had a midwife birth, no drugs/epidural, stayed one night but I was still billed the 'negotiated, typical birth' cost of ~$30k. The insurance company wouldn't contest the negotiated rate so DH and I had to pay $3k.

Second time was when DH had hernia surgery. The hospital and surgeon billed us for an assistant surgeon whom I never met nor heard of and DH swears he never saw but the assistant was out of network so the cost was in the thousands and the coinsurance was 10% but the negotiated rate for the main surgeon was less than $500 so I questioned it with my insurance company and asked to show proof that an assistant surgeon was truly present. Did some more digging and found the appearance of some insurance fraud. but when I questioned the surgical office and the hospital plus contacted the insurance company to say we never saw nor spoke with an assistant surgeon but we met the main surgeon and anesthesiologist in both pre-op and post-op but never even heard them say that an assistant was present - until there was a bill for her services. The bill was "adjusted" and we were not responsible for any co-insurance other than the negotiated rate for main surgeon's fee. Whenever we asked about it with the surgical office or the hospital billing department, the quick reply was, 'the charge was removed."

That experience alone has made me question every medical bill we receive and I go through them very thoroughly to look for any discrepancy.

Re: Lowering hospital bill

Bump

Re: Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

I would ask to speak with the billing department, and ask if there is anything they can do to lower the balance. If not I would see if they offer any type of payment plan. GL!

Re: Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

Ask them if they'll discount the bill if you agree to pay it in full. The hospital near me will discount your bill by 20% if you pay in full. They don't advertise it though, you have to ask.

I've also contested a charge related to my DS1's birth. He was seen after the birth by an out-of-network provider and I was getting charged an outrageous amount. I called and wrote a letter and the bill was adjusted and I was billed as if the ped was in-network.

Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

We did a payment plan with our hospital when DH had a diskectomy in 2011 and just paid monthly. We didn't negotiate.

Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

Yes. After I had DS (and an ER visit related to pregnancy complications before I had him), I called to put us on a payment plan, and the guy on the phone mentioned they will go over income, rent/mortgage, and can adjust billing that way. Considering I was working P/T at the time and DH was underemployed, I was more than happy with that. It was still a decent amount, but less than the original.

Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

I did. After my mom died we owed the hospital about $1300. (The bill was $250k). I asked for a discount they said no. But they did offer a 20% discount for paying the whole thing off. It ended up being $950-ish.

Ask. You have nothing to loose.

Re: Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

ask if there are forms for financial assistance. when DH injured his eye 3 xmas's ago and we went to the ER, the bill was ridiculous for a 45 min ER visit. The tetanus shot alone was $800.

We had a high DED HSA plan so we were responsible for all of it b/c we hadnt hit our 3K ded at that point.

the hospital gave us forms to fill out asking about income, rent/mortgage, daycare and other expensese and lowered the bill to like $250 if we paid in full. that was down from like $1500 or so I believe.

It never hurts to ask.

Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

I had a bill for $1000 for an ER visit. They wouldn't lower the cost but they did work out a payment plan.

Re: Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

Re: Is it possible to get a hospital bill decreased?

I've questioned my bill when it said that I met a doctor who never saw me. I told my insurance company that I think the hospital fraudulently billed me because I did not meet this doctor. My insurance company helped me fight the hospital and the hospital agreed that the doctor did not see me. The bill was reduced a lot for other things after that too. My insurance company was very helpful with the matter and was in constant contact updating me both on the phone and with letters. They take issues like over billing and fraud really seriously.