Bargaining Down Medical Bills
Sept. 14, 2010— -- The economy continues to have a case of the flu, and if you have one too, you may be considering skipping a trip to the doctor. A recent poll by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions found that one out of every five Americans surveyed decided not to get medical treatment when they were ill or injured. In some cases that could be a tragic decision, so I'm here to tell you that there is another way: negotiate with your doctor or hospital for a lower fee.
Another poll, this one by Harris Interactive, found 61 percent of people who negotiated with a doctor were successful in getting a lower fee, but only 12 percent had ever tried! And many hospitals offer deep discounts too, as much as 10 to 50 percent off.
So, where to begin? Problem is, if you're negotiating for a toaster at a garage sale you know what you're willing to pay for it. And if you're negotiating for a new car, there are dozens of websites that will tell you how much it should cost. Well, turns out there are sites that tell you how much different medical procedures should cost too. Once you have a feel for a fair price for a service, it's much easier to approach the doctor or hospital.
That's where HealthcareBlueBook.com comes in. The site lists what it deems the "fair price" for a medical service, which you can look up by key word. That price is based on the "contracted rate" or "allowed amount" that insurance companies are willing to pay for the same service. As you probably know, most doctors agree to accept a discounted price when they join an insurance company's Preferred Provider Organization or PPO. It can be two to five times less than the doctor's regular rate.
"Most patients would never expect that a common test or procedure might cost $500 at one office and over $3000 at another," said Dr. Jeff Rice of HealthcareBluebook.com. "Most patients have had insurance that limited the amount they had to pay regardless of the total price. You can literally save $1000s by simply asking about prices and checking around."
