Anyone ever negotiated a medical bill?

[RandZB]

Long story short, my boutique litigation firm with amazing benefits was acquired by Big Law with terrible (to me) benefits. I went from an amazing health care plan to a high deductible plan ($2000 or $2500, I can't remember which) because the PPO was prohibitively expensive. Two days after I got my insurance card in the mail in June, I had to go to the ER. I got my bill this weekend and it's $1044. I don't have that right now to pay and I don't want to hit my savings account that much (we don't keep a lot in cash savings). I'm cool with setting up a payment plan, but the IRS has first dibs on any extra income right now so I may try to negotiate a lower amount for the medical bill. Has anyone ever successfully negotiated a medical bill to a lower amount? Any suggestions on what would be a reasonable offer? I won't be broken up over it if they say no, but I want to at least try.

[mainelyfoolish]

If you submitted it through your insurance, even though you have a high deductible, aren't you already getting the insurance negotiated discount rate?

[midnightmare81]

You may not be able to since that likely is already the much lower negotiated insurance rate, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.

They should be able to set up a payment plan. Even if it's $10 a month, as long as you pay the agreed amount each month they can't put you in collections since you are showing intent to pay. It may take a while to pay, but you should have options.

[rupertpenny]

I negotiated every bill related to my labor and delivery, and usually they offered me a 30% right off the bat for paying the bill in full.

I think it is possible that this might not work for a deductible (I feel like there was part of one bill we didn't get a discount on because $250 was my daughter's deductible for being admitted to the hospital) but that was with a PPO plan and possible a different type of deductible.

Anyway, it is worth a try. I couldn't believe how easy it was. Literally all I had to do was mention it.

[audry80]

Years ago I set up a payment plan that let me pay $5 a month, interest free. You may want to look into the payment options if unable to get them to lower the amount due.

[RandZB]

See, I don't even know how a high deductible plan works, apparently. This is the first time I've ever even gotten a bill aside from my copays or lab stuff so I need an adult. There is a discount on the bill. I guess I'll just pay half now and half when it accumulates in my dependent care account. I do remember now that the firm pays $1000 toward the HDHP in a FSA account, so there should be $250 in there for this quarter. Maybe I'll send the bill to Applebee's since they are the ones that gave me the food poisoning that sent me to the ER. Bastards.

[imojoebunny]

Uhm.. "I don't have that right now to pay and I don't want to hit my savings account ."

Welcome to adulthood. You pay what you owe, not what you want. My family has a lot of doctors, they are pretty nice about doing pro bono work, but not for lawyers with jobs and savings, who just don't want to "tap that".

The people who really need help are those with two income families making the average for the state household income (<$45k). They get no government help, have high childcare expenses, and the high deductible plans put them over what they can afford. Maybe that's you, but I doubt it, because unless it was your birthday, you wouldn't be eating at Applebee's.

[RandZB]

imojoebunny, I'm a legal assistant, not a lawyer. My parents took us out to lunch when they were visiting for Fathers Day. Paying the full amount would reduce my savings by a third, and leave me with less than one month of basic expenses should anything catastrophic happen. After dealing with DH's sudden job loss twice in the past four years and a months-long job search after he worked for a nonprofit for two years, I'm pretty well acquainted with adulthood and need to have a small amount of scratch in our savings account to be able to sleep at night.

[imojoebunny]

Jul 27, 2014 20:33:58 GMT -5 RandZB said:

imojoebunny, I'm a legal assistant, not a lawyer. My parents took us out to lunch when they were visiting for Fathers Day. Paying the full amount would reduce my savings by a third, and leave me with less than one month of basic expenses should anything catastrophic happen. After dealing with DH's sudden job loss twice in the past four years and a months-long job search after he worked for a nonprofit for two years, I'm pretty well acquainted with adulthood and need to have a small amount of scratch in our savings account to be able to sleep at night.

As I said, maybe that's you...  

[craftyone]

I would call the customer service number on the bill. They may give you a discount if you pay in full compared to a payment plan. Or use a credit card that might have 0%? Keep in mind medical bills can go to collections then you might not have the same options as payment plan and lower your credit score.

[RandZB]

Jul 27, 2014 22:04:46 GMT -5 craftyone said:

I would call the customer service number on the bill. They may give you a discount if you pay in full compared to a payment plan. Or use a credit card that might have 0%? Keep in mind medical bills can go to collections then you might not have the same options as payment plan and lower your credit score.

I'll do that tomorrow. I can manage half now half later if they're amenable to it. It just hit at a bad time with the mortgage and other big bills coming out this pay period.

[vanillacourage]

I would offer to pay half now and set up a payment plan for the balance, hoping they can do a discount for you. 

[mich1]

I've dealt with a lot of medical bills the last couple years. None of my creditors would have been happy with $5-10/mo. My surgeon's bill was over $700, and he wanted no less than $100/mo. They generally wanted the bill paid off in less than a year. They can/will charge interest or a finance charge as well.

My surgeon's office was willing to negotiate some, but I had very little success with hospital or lab bills. I paid out over $13k in medical bills (insurance covered about $750k) in 2 years on a disability income of $36k/year.

[alleinesein]

Jul 27, 2014 20:14:54 GMT -5 RandZB said:

See, I don't even know how a high deductible plan works, apparently. This is the first time I've ever even gotten a bill aside from my copays or lab stuff so I need an adult. There is a discount on the bill. I guess I'll just pay half now and half when it accumulates in my dependent care account. I do remember now that the firm pays $1000 toward the HDHP in a FSA account, so there should be $250 in there for this quarter. Maybe I'll send the bill to Applebee's since they are the ones that gave me the food poisoning that sent me to the ER. Bastards.

Did you actually contact the restaurant to inform them of the food poisoning?  If so you might be able to get them to pay for part of the ER visit.  If you didn't you are on your own.

Contact the billing department at the hospital.  I know that my medical group will work with patients and let you make payments until the balance is paid in full.  It doesn't hurt to ask them. 

[sjh722]

If you have a HDHP and were at an in-network provider, you should be billed the contacted insurance rate. (Recently for us, that was more like $650-$700 for an $1100 ER bill.)

Then, you can call and ask if they offer a discount for payment in full. Some places have done 25%, most will say they've already given your insurance co the discount so they can't.

Our hospital will let you do a 2-year 0 interest payment plan. We had a $5k deductible when DD was born, so I paid $1,000 off the top and am paying $150 a month.

[mollybrown]

Jul 27, 2014 20:33:58 GMT -5 RandZB said:

imojoebunny, I'm a legal assistant, not a lawyer. My parents took us out to lunch when they were visiting for Fathers Day. Paying the full amount would reduce my savings by a third, and leave me with less than one month of basic expenses should anything catastrophic happen. After dealing with DH's sudden job loss twice in the past four years and a months-long job search after he worked for a nonprofit for two years, I'm pretty well acquainted with adulthood and need to have a small amount of scratch in our savings account to be able to sleep at night.

A trip to the emergency room by definition is an emergency, and is a legit reason even to drain your savings. I'd just pay the bill and be thankful I had the savings to pay an unexpected medical bill. Definitely contact Applebee's and send a copy of the bill.

As others have said, if the hospital is willing to reduce the bill for payment in full, all you should have to do is ask. I would expect to be offered a payment plan in this situation.

[Deleted]

I don't usually post here, but I dealt with this last year. The best option I could get was a payment plan with 0% interest for 10 months. They considered the insurance rate a discount rate so they wouldn't give me anymore discount. The ER I used also started charging interest on the amount not paid in full after 10 months.

[lillaguma]

I had surgery last February, and when we went in to pay the hospital part of the bill I asked about setting up a payment plan with 0% interest. Their finance guy was helping me with it, but then he offered knocking some off the final amount if we just settled the account that day. They knocked it down from just under $1500 to $1000. I had no idea they could do that, but we jumped right on it. Then we went to pay off the other bill (I hate how many freaking bills you get from one medical procedure) and asked about doing something similar, and they knocked 15% off if we settled it that day.

[jessnpaul]

I would just ask. DS has had 4 surgeries so far and while most of the bills that weren't covered by insurance were written off (thankfully!!!), we have one still in process we think we can negotiate down to $5K from the original $12K!

We've also been very lucky in that various doctor's have written off very large amounts for us (almost $70,000 for one particular one!!!). But it might be different because it's for a kid who's had a lot of medical issues, not an adult.

[iheartbanjos]

I call and negotiate any hospital bill over $100. I have never gotten less than a 10% discount. You just have to ask and be willing to make a full payment on the spot.

[my4girls]

our hospital will let you make payments, no questions asked. I just called the billing department and said I can't afford this- can I set up a payment plan? they said how much can you pay a month? I told them and she said ok. easy as that. I also have a high deductible plan and for one crappy year the ER visits went to the deductible in full, and guess when the only time in my adult life I have been to the ER was? ^o) so $2500, I paid $100/ month until it was done.

[mrsfarmer]

Jul 27, 2014 20:14:54 GMT -5 RandZB said:

See, I don't even know how a high deductible plan works, apparently. This is the first time I've ever even gotten a bill aside from my copays or lab stuff so I need an adult. There is a discount on the bill. I guess I'll just pay half now and half when it accumulates in my dependent care account. I do remember now that the firm pays $1000 toward the HDHP in a FSA account, so there should be $250 in there for this quarter. Maybe I'll send the bill to Applebee's since they are the ones that gave me the food poisoning that sent me to the ER. Bastards.

You need to figure out what your benefits are.  Typically high deductible plans have HSA's, FSA's are limited.  You would not submit to a dependent care account; that is for daycare.  If it is an FSA, you can submit the full amount and get reimbursed now.  If it is an HSA, you need to wait until the money is in the account.

[RandZB]

Jul 28, 2014 11:28:44 GMT -5 mrsfarmer said:

Jul 27, 2014 20:14:54 GMT -5 RandZB said:

I misspoke, it is a HSA.  The small firm only offered a FSA, so that is the terminology I'm accustomed to using.  I didn't open a FSA because DH has one with his plan, so I just have the $1000 HSA provided by the firm for choosing the HDHP.  I'll only get $500 since I did not join the plan until June (I was on DH's plan but it doesn't cover spouses who are eligible for coverage through their own employer, unbeknownst to me, DH, and his company's benefits coordinator), but I can put the $250 received this quarter toward the bill.  Re: the dependent care account, I just meant that I would submit my childcare statement for reimbursement and use it to pay the hospital bill.  I try to leave that account alone so it is there for when things like this happen or we have a large household expense.