You’ll need to pay a $25 non-refundable administrative fee to file a dispute. In those cases, your provider must reduce your bill. When you dispute a bill, an independent third party will review your bill and determine an appropriate payment. Did your provider charge at least $400 more than your good faith estimate? This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

• You could have two, three, or possibly more types of insurance that could be applied to different aspects of your care.
• The current healthcare system is confusing enough as it is, never mind surprise bills and charges.
• Find any documentation about how your medical visit was coded and what services were provided.

Address out-of-network services and refuse to pay for inappropriate care:

Per the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule effective since January 2021, hospitals are required to provide consumers like you with a clear and accessible price list for all their services. Even without a discrepancy, you may want to make a habit of always requesting an itemized bill to help you understand your medical costs and to uncover errors. Understanding your insurance coverage before you get sick or need care puts you in a better position to deal with the cost of care. Also note the amount of your deductible and any co-pays (a set dollar fee you owe for various types of care) or coinsurance (the percentage of the bill you owe after you’ve met your deductible).

Consider switching plans.

“There can be billing errors, like you had a wellness check but were charged for a surgery. Or you brought your own medication to the hospital but you are being charged as Protecting against medical identity fraud if the hospital provided it to you,” Donovan explained. Mistakes include improper coding and charges for products and services that were never provided. “It’s a good starting point because often patients don’t know what they are getting billed for,” Fuse Brown said.

Healthcare price checking platforms such as Healthcare Bluebook and Clear Health Costs are also available to help patients find the best price. Look up what Medicare and commercial insurance companies pay for the service that you need. As the price of healthcare and health services continues to rise in the US, you can be a smart and informed consumer. Likewise, if you’re planning to travel somewhere, and whatever procedure or test you need isn’t too involved or require too much follow-up care, it may be worth inquiring about the cost. In another example, I have a friend who called the billing department at a hospital where she had emergency surgery and told them in her lifetime she’d never be able to pay the full bill they’d sent her. Don’t agree to balance billing with an out of network provider, especially if you weren’t provided an estimate 72 hours in advance; and always read the forms before signing.

For surgical procedures, you can also compare your charges with the transparent prices at The Surgery Center of Oklahoma and Texas Free Market Surgery. If you cannot confirm the price is correct, call or write your hospital and dispute the bill. Use our Hospital Price Files Finder to find the hospital’s pricing file and verify that you were charged correctly (See the Hospital Price FIles Finder tutorial ). With no written agreement, you have no legal obligation to pay.

And in some cases, attempts to lower a medical bill can backfire. At the end of the day, it’s really up to the hospital whether to say yes or no. It’s important that you have your billing documents and are willing to share those with the reporter. About one in five emergency room visits result in a surprise bill.