Yes, You Can Dispute Expensive Medical Bills
The next time you get an unexpectedly high medical bill, don’t feel like you have to pay in full. We previously wrote about what to do if you get an unexpected medical bill and how to compare your bill to the explanation of benefits ; Now, Vox’s Sarah Cliff explains how you can challenge medical bills – and win.
[Patient Advocate Sue Null] says that when you dispute a medical bill, you need to find two things: the right information and the right person.
Find any documentation of how your doctor visit was coded and what services were provided. The first invoice that the hospital sends out often only has one large number. Null recommends keeping track of the itemized bill. (Beware, sometimes it is not easy to get these records in hospitals – and you may be transferred through multiple departments as you go.)
Once you receive a detailed invoice, you can analyze it for errors. You may see fees for something that never happened, duplicate fees, or items that are priced at exceptionally high prices.
Why is it so important to understand how your doctor visit was coded? Since different codes have different price tags, and if you can argue that your treatment should have been covered by a less expensive code, you can lower your bill.
Sam Metcalfe, 34, was coded as a Level 5 visit when he went to the Milwaukee emergency room for what he suspected was bronchitis. This code surprised him.
“Someone came, took a short exam, then prescribed me some pills and sent me on the road,” Metcalfe says. After receiving a bill for about $ 300, he turned to a patient advocacy firm, with which he entered into an agreement with his employer.
The firm negotiated with the hospital, arguing that the visit should be coded as level 1 rather than 5, and the hospital agreed, canceling Metcalfe’s unpaid bill.
Read the full Vox article to learn about other ways to cut your medical bill, including how to ask for a discount and when to hire a professional to help you cut costs – and if you’ve ever successfully negotiated a lower medical bill, give we know.