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The hospital bill arrives in the mail, and you’re tempted to throw it away (again) without opening it. After all, you don’t have the money to pay for that trip you took to the emergency room.
Ignoring medical bills isn’t going to make them go away, and the longer you wait — much like the cough that turned into pneumonia — the worse it’s going to get. But there is some good news: You can negotiate medical bills so that you pay a fraction of the amount you were charged.
It’s probably of small comfort, but you’re not the only one facing steep medical costs. In 2019, a quarter of adults skipped medical care, such as a visit to a doctor or dentist, because they couldn’t afford it, according to a Federal Reserve 2020 report. And 18% of those respondents had unpaid medical debt of their own or from a family member.
Those expenses aren’t limited to the uninsured — with co-pays and deductibles reaching four-figureseven people with insurance can face medical bills they can’t afford.
Craig Antico and Robert Goff, authors of the book “End Medical Debt: Curing America’s $1 Trillion Unpayable Healthcare Debt,” spoke with The Penny Hoarder about how to negotiate medical bills you can’t afford and how to pay them off before they do more harm to your finances.
How to Negotiate Medical Bills That You Can’t Afford
As hard as it may be to believe, healthcare institutions aren’t out to intimidate you and take all your money. At least, not in the beginning. And almost all of them will accept less than the full amount owed.
“If you say something up front, you can generally work out an arrangement at a lower rate,” Goff said. “If you don’t, then the full maximum amount is pursued — and it’s pursued aggressively.”
As many as 80% of medical bills contain errorsso you should make correcting billing errors your first priority. Then follow these step-by-step strategies.
1. Stop Procrastinating
First of all, you need…
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