You can negotiate your medical bills

18 Jul 2023 · 1 min

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1:01

In this instructional YouTube monologue, Jerry Taylor explains how uninsured or underinsured patients can reduce their medical debt. He outlines a step‑by‑step process: first, request an itemized statement because bills often contain errors—up to 25% may be inaccurate. Second, explore alternative payment sources such as Medicaid eligibility or special hospital programs for uninsured patients. Third, contact the hospital billing department, be courteous, and ask for a reduction, even requesting that the bill be charged at the Medicare reimbursement rate, which is typically far lower than the original charge. Finally, he stresses the need for persistence and not accepting the first offer. The overall message is that hospitals regularly negotiate bills, and patients can successfully do the same by following these practical steps.

Chapters

You can negotiate your medical bills. If you have a medical bill that you can't pay because you're uninsured or underinsured, you can negotiate that bill. The hospital does that every day. Here's how you do that. Number one, ask for an itemized bill, a bill that sets out each and every charge individually. It is not uncommon to find significant errors on these bills. There are many companies that will do this for you, and they commonly find that up to 25% of the bill is not accurate. Next, look for other sources of payment. If you have no insurance, you may qualify for Medicaid. Also, ask your provider if they offer special programs for uninsured patients. Once you've exhausted all the options you have for payment, this is important, talk to the billing department and ask them to lower the bill. Be nice, ask them to cut the bill, and you could ask if they would let you pay the Medicare rate. The Medicare rate will be substantially below what they have billed you. You are going to have to be persistent and do not take their first offer or