how to haggle with hospitals
- Thread starter Rÿcher
- Start date
Rÿcher
Fleet Captain
as a pothead with a lighter, I know there are burn victims within said hospital as well as lots of cannabinoids, enthogens, opiates, and babies.
Go back in time, move to NZ and get free health care.
Of course, you better be white or you can forget about immigration...
Pay them some money. Then you won't owe them as much.
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
Walk into the hospital, pour some water on the floor and pretend to slip on it and injure your back. Then you threaten to sue, but you'd be willing to let them off with it if they reduce your Hospital bill instead.
AFAIK, you approach the situation about like you do credit card companies when you're in default. You save up some cash and offer to settle for a lesser lump sum amount with the understanding that that's all you have, and if they don't want it they go to the bottom of the list. No need to mention how long that list is, of course. If it's just them, then let them stew 6-8 months and try again. Eventually they'll take it. Some say offering to settle close to the end of financial quarters helps. Can't hurt to try.
If you settle be sure to get a signed letter stating that the debt was settled FIRST, then send the lump sum. Keep that letter for the rest of your life because there will be some collection agency database somewhere that has your name in it that will not get removed so you'll get collection letters/calls periodically and you'll need the letter to show that the debt was settled.
No "three installments of ..." stuff. No verbal agreements because that person you made the agreement with suddenly doesn't exist when it suits them. Absolutely no access to any bank account, they will clean it out no matter what they say they're going to do.
If you settle be sure to get a signed letter stating that the debt was settled FIRST, then send the lump sum. Keep that letter for the rest of your life because there will be some collection agency database somewhere that has your name in it that will not get removed so you'll get collection letters/calls periodically and you'll need the letter to show that the debt was settled.
No "three installments of ..." stuff. No verbal agreements because that person you made the agreement with suddenly doesn't exist when it suits them. Absolutely no access to any bank account, they will clean it out no matter what they say they're going to do.
Meet with an administrator, explain your situation, and ask for help.
This is a whole lot easier to do before you get the hospital services and bills rather than afterward, but that doesn't help you here, Rÿcher.
As with any negotiations, you have to find out why it is in the other party's best interests to settle for less. That may be because getting a smaller amount is better than none at all, as in a bankruptcy. Or maybe getting a larger sum now will be better for them than a little bit for long period of time (most hospitals will be glad to work out terms for you, getting a small payment each month for years). Both of these have been suggested up thread. In my case, the hospital was the cause of my needing further operations. They placed faulty hardware inside me that needed to be replaced. I knew it. They knew it. The word "malpractice" was never mentioned and I think it would have been a detriment if it had been. Instead, my hospital stepped up and covered all costs not picked up by my insurance company for well over a year as it took me that long to get better. I never saw a bill.
As with any negotiations, you have to find out why it is in the other party's best interests to settle for less. That may be because getting a smaller amount is better than none at all, as in a bankruptcy. Or maybe getting a larger sum now will be better for them than a little bit for long period of time (most hospitals will be glad to work out terms for you, getting a small payment each month for years). Both of these have been suggested up thread. In my case, the hospital was the cause of my needing further operations. They placed faulty hardware inside me that needed to be replaced. I knew it. They knew it. The word "malpractice" was never mentioned and I think it would have been a detriment if it had been. Instead, my hospital stepped up and covered all costs not picked up by my insurance company for well over a year as it took me that long to get better. I never saw a bill.
Not so easy anymore-- and they know it. You have to meet certain qualifications for Chapter 7 (13) and in both cases there is an attempt made by the courts to repay a portion of the debt-- even unsecured debt.In the US, threaten them with bankruptcy and usually they'll negotiate
