“If there’s a bill that you receive that doesn’t look quite right or that you can’t afford, pick up the phone and call the billing office,” said lead study author Erin Duffy, director of research training at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. “When people do, most get positive results.”
According to the survey’s results, about 1 in 5 people said they got a medical bill they disagreed with or couldn’t afford over the past year, 61.5% of whom said they contacted billing offices to address their concerns. Most people who didn’t call billing offices said they thought it wouldn’t make a difference, Duffy said.
“Most of the time, the bill was corrected,” she said. “And even people who just felt it was unfair, even if they could afford it, a lot of them were able to negotiate a lower price.”
According to the survey’s results, about 1 in 5 people said they got a medical bill they disagreed with or couldn’t afford over the past year, 61.5% of whom said they contacted billing offices to address their concerns. Most people who didn’t call billing offices said they thought it wouldn’t make a difference, Duffy said.
“Most of the time, the bill was corrected,” she said. “And even people who just felt it was unfair, even if they could afford it, a lot of them were able to negotiate a lower price.”
Yes, you should challenge that medical bill
When people reached out about a billing error, almost 75% had the mistake corrected.
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