Health care stewardship: Make some calls, save some money

Three Samaritan Ministries members proved that making a few phone calls can save thousands of dollars on medical bills.

Get it bundled!

Susan in Michigan has venous insufficiency, which causes blood to pool in the limbs because it can’t return to the heart properly. She has battled it for years thanks to being on her feet a lot as a hair stylist and mother.

“We got an estimate, saying we were self-pay and that we would like them to go the lowest they could,” she said. “They never gave me an exact price, just saying it would be costly for two stents to be placed, around $30,000 to $35,000 before a self-pay discount, which might be $15,000.”

But Susan’s brother is a general surgeon in Muskegon, Michigan, and he suggested she meet with the vascular surgeons at his clinic for a second opinion.

“So, I did,” she said. “They put a cash-bundle package together for me for $7,899,” saving at least $7,000.

Keep looking!

Amy in Texas has a son who needed extensive testing for inflammation. Her pediatrician’s office recommended one facility that would have charged the family $54,150, including a facility fee of $28,000 and a pathology fee of $4,900 for five tests.

But, Amy said, she knows “how being self-pay works.”

“I began calling around to other facilities the doctor has privileges at and was able to find lower costs at a different location that was still top-rated,” she said.

What Amy found was:

A facility that discounted the cost to $1,048.

Testing done for $50 per test.

“This is a HUGE difference in cost, and allows so much more sharing to be done for other Needs,” Amy said.

Never pay the first bill!

Doug from New Mexico applied late author Marshall Allen’s advice to “never pay the first bill” (the name of Allen’s book) and saved thousands of dollars on a renal ultrasound.

A lab result had indicated kidney issues, Doug said, leading to the ultrasound.

“I went to get one and they asked for my insurance card,” he said. “I handed them a credit card and told them I’d be paying cash, so I expected the cash discount. They said I’d get a bill. They didn’t take my credit card.

“I got the bill, and it was way more than I expected. I called billing. They said they offer a 50 percent discount for same-day payment, and that my record said I have Medicare. I replied that I wasn’t sure why it said that as I never wrote that or uttered the word ‘Medicare.’

“They repeated the discount was only for same-day payment. I asked how that could happen when they wouldn’t take my credit card and told me I’d get a bill. They finally took my credit card number over the phone for the discounted price.

“Never pay the first bill!”

What you can do

• Always ask for self-pay discounts.
• Get second opinions from other providers and ask about cash-bundled offers.
• Call around to other facilities where your doctor may have privileges and see if their procedures are offered at a lower cost.
• Never pay the first bill you are sent.
• Always call to follow up on cash-pay discounts and review the bill for any errors or questionable charges.