4 ms·

> How does one do this? Where do you learn it? Is there a book you suggest? The fact that I'm even asking this feel weird (I'm insured). You can't do this if y

> How does one do this? Where do you learn it? Is there a book you suggest? The fact that I'm even asking this feel weird (I'm insured). You can't do this if you're insured, because then the terms of your insurance apply. You can still get bills reduced, but the reasons are different and it's a bit more involved. If you're uninsured, it's simple. You literally just tell them, "I have no insurance. I can't afford $45,000. It would take me years to pay that, and I'd probably default on the bill beforehand. However, if you reduce the billed amount to $500, I can pay that in full today, in cash.". Substitute appropriate values in as needed, but that's the general idea. It's actually not all that different from what private insurers do, except they do all this up-front in bulk, so their rates are set in long-term contracts.

ska 9y ago
I don't disagree with the general message that these things are negotiable, but I'd love to see a citation showing real research on the effective rate. 10% seems way too low from my limited experience. I've known people to successfully negotiate to 40-50% of original bill, usually with proof of (lack of) assets. Maybe if you really are basically broke, they'll write you off rather than carry it on their books until they sell the debt. On the other hand if your bill is 45,000 and you have even meager assets : say a couple of cars and equity in a house, I'm guessing their going to try hard to see a good chunk of that.
- uberduber 9y ago
  There are businesses that are medical bill negotiators and charge you a percentage of the bill. In general, they only negotiate hospital bills because they are the only bills large enough. I would say that the typical final negotiated rate they get from the hospital is about 3-20% of the billed amount. It depends on how high the original bill is, and it also depends on whether you need to make payments and how long the series of payments is. Hospitals will certainly claim that you need to send in the proof of assets, usually you have to refuse about 6 or 7 times and they will relent. However, things have changed in the last few years and professional medical bill negotiators have told me certain hospitals are completely unreasonable and refuse to negotiate. They advise these people to file bankruptcy.
pnutjam 9y ago
You claim a 90% reduction is possible, then your example is a 99% reduction? You're wrong either way. I've seen some bills my insurer pays around 2% of what is billed, but not most things. Hospitals will ofter sue, and they are aggressive about judgements. If you can pay something, they will take more.

ska 9y ago

I don't disagree with the general message that these things are negotiable, but I'd love to see a citation showing real research on the effective rate. 10% seems way too low from my limited experience. I've known people to successfully negotiate to 40-50% of original bill, usually with proof of (lack of) assets. Maybe if you really are basically broke, they'll write you off rather than carry it on their books until they sell the debt. On the other hand if your bill is 45,000 and you have even meager assets : say a couple of cars and equity in a house, I'm guessing their going to try hard to see a good chunk of that.

uberduber 9y ago
There are businesses that are medical bill negotiators and charge you a percentage of the bill. In general, they only negotiate hospital bills because they are the only bills large enough. I would say that the typical final negotiated rate they get from the hospital is about 3-20% of the billed amount. It depends on how high the original bill is, and it also depends on whether you need to make payments and how long the series of payments is. Hospitals will certainly claim that you need to send in the proof of assets, usually you have to refuse about 6 or 7 times and they will relent. However, things have changed in the last few years and professional medical bill negotiators have told me certain hospitals are completely unreasonable and refuse to negotiate. They advise these people to file bankruptcy.

pnutjam 9y ago

You claim a 90% reduction is possible, then your example is a 99% reduction? You're wrong either way. I've seen some bills my insurer pays around 2% of what is billed, but not most things. Hospitals will ofter sue, and they are aggressive about judgements. If you can pay something, they will take more.