Anybody ever hire a lawyer to help lower an insane E.R. bill?

[bamboo harvester]

I have got an appointment for Tuesday and I was wondering if it's a good idea.

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. It never hurts to talk with an attorney

With Healthcare costs spiraling out of control, Lord knows they will bill for anything they can. If you have grounds to challenge it, do so.

Having said that, I recently challenged an ER bill. Called my insurance company and told them I was challenging the charges (double billed for some items) as well as the diagnosis (challenged by my Primary care Doc). Rather than call an attorney, I started with the patient advocate office at the hospital and escalated through them, and it looks like I got (or am about to get) everything I asked for - corrected medical records and corrected billing.

Good luck.

[Warpy]

2. I put in an official consumer complaint to the state attorney general's office

and copied documentation to back it up. I sent a copy of the letter and the documentation to Medicare since a hospital that stonewalls someone who has found obvious fraud probably has a systemic policy of padding bills.

It only took one nasty letter from the office to make them crumple and this mess had been going on for a year, complete with their trying to unload the bill onto a collection agency and my cluing the collection agency in that the bill was in dispute.

There was a subsequent Medicare investigation that found a pattern of fraud. The place got sold just a couple of months later and the new owners have been more honest.

My records are flagged. I know that because I get great deals just going in the door.

A lawyer who specializes in medical claims will likely have a nurse/paralegal in the office who will be able to tell you whether or not the bill is fraudulent. If not, the hospital will set up a payment plan if you convince them that is the only way they'll see a dime.

ER bills always look outrageous. What you'd want to look for is upcoding, charging for more service than you required, unbundling labs and other tests, and charging for phantom services you never received. The place that made the mistake of pissing me off did all of that.

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. Good post. One thing to mention

Before I received a bill, I called the finance department to inquire as to what charges to expect (for budgeting). They offered to send me an itemized bill (like they send to the insurance company) and it was WAAAAAYYY more detailed than the final "bill" I received. I am glad they thought to offer - but even more that I now know to ask.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Sadly, we had no outpatient coverage when the local Er stuck us for a huge bill.

and complaining to hospital did not good.
On the other hand, the inpatient hospital portion of the bill was most reasonable, probably because INPATIENT was covered by our but Er is outpatient.
Now I realize that the hospital was more than aware we could complain to insurance about inpatient issues.

[hedgehog]

11. Because insurance companies all work out discounts with providers,

you end up paying way more any time you pay for something yourself. It's like catch -22 squared for those who can't afford insurance!

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Getting advice from a lawyer is not a bad idea, but

have you tried to work with the ER billing department first? Have you asked if there is any leeway on it? Sometimes, they will work with you. I am not sure if they will be less likely to do so if a lawyer is involved.

But if you have done this and hit a brick wall, a lawyer may be able to help, or at least can tell you if there is anything they can do. Is there anything illegal about the billing?

At least, if you bring a lawyer into this, you can possibly protect yourself against those pesky bill collectors who would sooner or later get the bill if you cannot pay it.

[Historic NY]

6. Start with the hospital challenge the billing........

I was hurt in 04 and the ER was told by myself, supervisor & boss it was a workman's comp case for billing purposes. They bill my own state insurance & comp. I caught them when I had a check sent to me. It wasn't pleasant as the bills were well over 10k. They tried a similar stunt with physical therapy, they even had a collection agency call me...when I explained it suddenly went away and the hospital called. They screw up all the time in billing.

[bamboo harvester]

7. Screwed up billing

I don't think they screwed up my billing. I just think they are overcharging me to an insane extent. I was only in E.R. for a few hours and they told me I had a kidney stone, then billed me for $11,000. I asked them to itemize it and they just sent me an itemized bill for 11 grand and didn't change a penny. They just recently told me they can't accept payments less then $1900.00 a month. I've paid 3 grand so far.

[SheilaT]

8. Start by trying to negotiate

the bill. I'm guessing that you have no insurance. The highest billing is always to patients without insurance. That billing is also highly negotiable. Start with trying to directly negotiate with the billing department, and only take on an attorney (who is going to need to be paid somehow) if you make absolutely no progress with the billing department.

[bamboo harvester]

9. negotiate

Yes, I have no insurance. The hospital has refused to lower the bill by more then 10% and says they will not accept payments less then $1900 per month. This was not highly negotiable.

[SheilaT]

10. Well, if you don't have

$1900 a month to pay them, they are just going to have to accept a lower amount. Unfortunately, they could start charging you some kind of unconscionable interest rate.

Perhaps an attorney can draft a letter for you that spells out exactly what you can afford to pay, also stating you will not pay any interest at all on the money, and send copies to your state's attorney general and anyone else that may be appropriate to send it to.