Saturday, December 5, 2009
How to negotiate discounts on medical bills
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Consider This:To maintain cash flow, "many doctors will knock 5 or 10 percent off if you pay up front," says health-care consultant Rocky Fredrickson. Uninsured patients can get even bigger discounts ("50 percent or more," says gastroenterologist Martin Bashir) for procedures that doctors and dentists usually bill to health plans, because medical practitioners are used to getting less than full price from insurance companies. "The discounted rate doctors give a patient is still far better than what an insurance company pays," Bashir says.
Try This: Find out what doctors and dentists typically bill for services and how much insurers pay at
www.vimo.com. Negotiate the bill before your procedure. Offer to pay up front in exchange for a discount.
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Related: saving money, negotiating, medical bills
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Posted by Nicole E Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:13pm PDT
i work in the medical billing field and i see this happen all the time. some good plans will pay our Drs the full contracted rate but then there are some that pay about %30 of what we bill. most cash pay rates are around %50 of the standard rate for the procedure.
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Posted by aaru Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:39pm PDT
but what about those who have insurance? how do I negotiate the co-insurance and the co-pays?
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Posted by Michelle Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:30pm PDT
All the doctors and dentists I have ever gone to, make me pay full price even though I pay cash. It's not fair for those of us that dont have insurance. We dont have anyone on our side!
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Posted by dragnflygrrl Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:00pm PDT
aaru: more than 46 million americans have NO insurance, be glad you have it.
and the co-pay is a waste if your don't go to the doctors more than once a month or even once a year depending on the practice. co-insurance you NEED. the higher your deductible the lower your premium.
i paid $45 for an x-ray and brief dental consult only to have him tell me he cant do anything and advise me to spend more and that i likely need my top teeth removed. $2000 i don't have.
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