Health Care Stewardship: Making a few calls saved money

Three Samaritan Ministries members have proven that making a few phone calls can save thousands 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 due to being on her feet a lot as a hair stylist and mother.

“I have been going to a vein clinic for years, and they did all they could do for me,” she said. “Then they needed to send me to a specialist, to check in my pelvic region and, sure enough, I had 85 percent blockage in the left iliac vein and 70 percent in the right.

“Well, we got an estimate, saying we were cash-pay and that we would like them to go the lowest they could. 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, a general surgeon in Muskegon, Michigan, suggested she meet with the vascular surgeons at his clinic for a second opinion.

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

“I think every hospital should do cash-bundle options,” she said. “I encourage members to check out all their options, ask lots of questions, and get two opinions.”

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, They finally took my credit card number over the phone for the discounted price.

“Never pay the first bill!”

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 cash-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.

Amy found the following:

• a facility that discounted the cost to $1,048
• testing done for $50 per test
• fees for anesthesia and the doctor remained the same, but Amy’s persistence dropped the total bill to less than $12,000, a savings of more than 75%

What you can do

• 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 review a bill for any errors or questionable charges.