pnutjam's Journal: negotiating medical payments

Someone on a recent thread was parroting the idea that the uninsured can ask for and receive significant discounts on their medical bills. I mentioned that I still thought they would overpay because the rate the insurance company negotiates is much less then the rate regular people are billed. I know this because I receive notices from my insurance company showing the amount charged and the amount payed.

So, lets pretend you got a bill for four routine pregnancy related lab tests (the bill is vague about the type of test), the total is $340. How much of a discount do you ask for?



82% would be close to my discount, but still a bit high. The insurance allowable amount for these tests was only $64.24, meaning I was overbilled by $309.76. Who would ever imagine that without an in depth knowledge of the medical field?