Medical bills can be unavoidable and have a big impact on your overall quality of life. This doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything about them, and here are five tips you can use to cut costs while dealing with medical bills.
1. Ask for an Itemized Bill
Rather than have your bill delivered in one lump sum, request to get it in an itemized manner. This will make it easier for you to spot any possible discrepancies that may be there. If there are mistakes in it, you will be able to request a revision, which may leave you with a considerably lower amount to pay. Things like incorrect insurance, provider, or patient information and incorrect codes for the procedures you underwent and duplicate billing can inflate your bill. With the American Cancer Society placing the number of new cases that occur in America each year at 3,000, it’s important to ensure that you pay the correct amount for the services you receive.
2. Look for Ways to Subsidize the Payment
Before you start struggling to pay high hospital fees, first make sure that you’ve put to use all payment options that are available to you. From different insurance covers to government funding and more, collect all available payment options so you pay the least possible amount out of pocket. This can help you make an otherwise insurmountable bill a bit more manageable.
3. Negotiate
Health care providers are human at the end of the day, and they understand that people go through different situations. For this reason, you can negotiate with your doctor to see if it’s possible for them to charge you a lower price for the treatments you need. Also, find out if they would be willing to lower your price in exchange for honest reviews online, which will be beneficial to their practice. Ensure that you’re comfortable with the price you pay for the services you receive so you don’t leave with any regrets. This is based on the fact that roughly 40% of buyers ended up regretting a purchase they didn’t think that they would.
4. Request to Get a Realistic Payment Plan
Payment plans make it possible for many people to seek and get quality healthcare as they present the option to divide the payment into manageable amounts spaced out over a period of time. Ask your healthcare provider if they’re willing to accept payments from you in a payment plan, and if they agree, work on one that won’t strain you too much. Make sure it’s reasonable and fair for both parties and you will have an easy time recovering without the stress of thinking about payment for your treatment.
5. Keep Your Home in Good Shape
Finally, your home is connected to your overall wellbeing, so ensure that it’s in a good state at all times. When you live in a home that you enjoy being in and one in which you’re not likely to experience an injury or that can have an effect on your health, you will need to spend less in the recovery process. Your home’s roof, for instance, should be inspected once or twice yearly under normal circumstances. When you keep the entire home in good shape, you will find that you can save on finances as you will generally stay healthy and recover faster after treatment.
Follow these five tips and you will enjoy more manageable costs while you deal with medical bills, making the whole process a bit more bearable for you.
