How To Negotiate Medical Bills

How To Negotiate Medical Bills: Six Ways To Save Yourself A Lot Of Money

The current cost of health care is beyond any reasonable bounds. Unfortunately, care is something everyone needs. Here are six ways to negotiate your medical bills into something you can live with.

Negotiate Medical Bills With A Lump Sum Offer

Based on the total figure for your medical bills, be prepared to make a lower cash offer which is more realistic for your financial situation. Many companies will accept such an offer, when the alternative is for you to default on the payment plan. The medical company may prefer this arrangement over forwarding your case to a collection agency or being forced to write off your account.

Ask For The Manager

During the process of figuring out how to negotiate medical bills, you will encounter many individuals. However, most of them are simply instructed to respond to you in a certain way, advising you to make your payments in a timely manner. The people who can authorize negotiations are managers and supervisors: Ask to speak to them once you have exhausted all other avenues of communications, thus, putting yourself in the position to be able to negotiate an alternative arrangement.

Speak Up In Advance For Medical Bill Negotiation

In anticipation of a staggering medical bill, ask where your procedures will take place, who will perform them and what options are available to you. Certain facilities will charge less than others, as will physicians. Even the time and date of your procedure can affect its costs. Be aware of all factors that influence your final bill in advance and strategically plan and negotiate them to save you the most money, without compromising the care you receive.

Verify Prices For Services

Your insurance company may be able to offer you an exact list of prices for services, or you may be able to find the information online. Verify that the numbers on your specific bill coordinate with others; mistakes can be made and you do have the right to dispute findings which are inconsistent. At the time your services are rendered, ask for a detailed receipt so that you know exactly what to look for. This information will give you more negotiating power.

Get Support

If needed, find an expert who knows how to negotiate medical bills and will guide you through the process. It’s quite a challenge taking the “big guys” on all by yourself; seek support from qualified professionals who know all too well about the sky-rocketing costs of medical care. There are many advocacy groups who, at the very least, can refer you to an agency that will help you organize your situation and present it to the best possible resources.

Be Patient And Polite When Negotiating Medical Bills

Just looking at the staggering figures on your medical bills is likely enough to send your blood pressure through the roof and your manners out the window. Take a few days to research the situation and collect your thoughts, because you’re probably going to have to initiate a lengthy process, during which you’ll be on hold for unspeakable times and be given more run-arounds than you can count. Being polite will pay off and being patient will help you as much as it will aid the process.

Since the cost of health care isn’t expected to go down anytime soon, your ability to negotiate and manage the bills must go up. Be clever, creative and adamant: ironically, financial hardship is a leading cause of stress, and stress is a leading cause of death and illness!

Get Help With The AmeriPlan Hospital Advocacy Program

Sure, all the great tips above can be useful for medical bill negotiation, but there is an easier way. With the AmeriPlan Med Plus discount medical program, the included Hospital Advocacy Program will assign an advocate to you (when anticipated medical bills are greater than $2,500) to get help with your medical bills.

Historically, the average discounts negotiated by our advocates have been greater than 80% of the hospital’s total charges!

And, you can get advocacy for help with prior medical bills! That’s right – if you sign up for AmeriPlan Med Plus, we can help you with old medical bills! If you’ve got a stack of old medical bills and you’re racked with worry – let us help you!

Remember – we have been negotiating an average of an 80% discount on all medical bills – old & new!

AmeriPlan discount health and dental plans are designed to save you money while providing the health and dental care you and your family needs. Get started now and you’ll be amazed at the level of medical and dental services and the low cost.