babylon sherm

2y

(Full disclosure that I've only worked in general practice medical billing and not hospital billing, but many of the same rules apply to both sectors)

Regardless of whether it will end with an adjustment to the overall balance, you can always dispute a bill; and just about every major healthcare facility and doctor's office will offer at least some sort of discount to you through their financial assistance program if you can't afford to pay the balance in full. Doctors want to get paid because insurance stiffs healthcare providers at every level, so if you're willing to pay any amount of the bill in installments they will usually cut you a deal - it's typical to see an adjustment on your bill of up to 25%, which is a pretty sizable amount of money. Over the phone is the best way to handle all this stuff

Also, speak with their billing department to see if their Self-Pay rates are more or less than what you'd be paying compared to how your insurance carrier adjudicated the claim. Many healthcare facilities and offices will offer a Self-Pay price that is less than what you'd pay through insurance, and you may qualify for additional financial assistance discounts as a patient without insurance coverage. You can have a claim retracted from your insurance at any time if you choose to do so

But to see if you have a chance at disputing it; first, check out the Explanation of Benefits that your insurance sent you and check it against the bill that you're getting from the hospital; do they match up? If there is a discrepancy between what insurance says you owe and what the hospital says you owe, that's a start (obviously, don't do this if the EOB says you should owe more than the hospital is charging you). Also, check the EOB and bill against your discharge records to make sure that all the services you were billed for actually happened. Don't let anyone slip some weird surcharge in for care you didn't actually receive service lines put to PR mean that's the Patient Responsibility. CO = Contractual Obligation

Were you referred to the ER by a general practice healthcare provider, urgent care clinic, or other healthcare entity? Reach out to them and say "hey you guys told me to do this and now I have a bill I can't possibly afford to pay". If they are part of a Health Systems Partnership with that hospital, they have the power to have your bill discounted or waived

proper

2y

bro i was gonna tag you in this post and i just realized you who sherm responding too

@sbtrkshn

edit: nvm didn’t read the last part of your post in medical bill thread