Save Money on Medical Bills: How to Negotiate without Insurance?
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare has so many opponents because all Americans have to switch over under this new health care act by October 1, 2013. Many states had increased deadline up to 31st December for enrollment with new health care act. The main objective of this Act is that consumers will be having to take a more direct role in their healthcare.
Tip 1: Know Your Prices
Before negotiating with doctor about treatment cost, it is advisable to gather information. Check insurance information and consult health plan administrator to find out exact amount of insurance coverage. It will give a base idea of bargaining power.
Find out actual cost of treatment by using NerdWallet’s tool or Healthcare Blue Book. It calculates major treatment procedures.
Tip 2: Talk to Experts
If you have any friends with experience in medicine or medical field, run to them and they will better measure long hospital bills. Hospital bills are horribly complicated to understand and ignorance of understanding it, cost highly. If there are no friends or relatives in medical field, take help of professionals such as Palm’s company, CoPatient free of charge. They can even negotiate for you and in return, they collect about 30 percent of saving.
Tip 3: Ask About Flat Billing
Before going into the hospital, negotiate a pre- treatment price for procedure or treatment. This is especially true for services that insurance doesn’t cover such treatments are plastic surgery and uninsured child birth. Make sure that insurance plan includes all contracts, supplies other incidentals and diagnostics.
Tip 4: Making a Deal after Your Procedure:
Often times, hospital administration ready to negotiate for treatment bills. If this happen, then patient may be able to continue deal with provider. First, offer to pay only half of the bill at a time and half in one month. Sometimes, paying a lump sum amount is worth more in the short term for the hospital then billing for monthly payment.
Sometimes happen that a hospital do not get ready to negotiate. It may offer financial discounts or payment plans. If a patient agree with hospital’s plan, then refer its collection policy first. Ensure first with insurance policy provider that the same payment arrangement is set with the provider of policy. Also look that if is an interest charge with installment of payment policy of hospital bills.
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