- Reduce debt by up to 40%
- Be debt free in as little as 12-30 months
- Lower your monthly payment
- Make one simple monthly payment
- Dont risk your home or other personal property if
you miss a payment
- Dont pay service fees unless our program saves you money
- Reduce your stress and get a New Deal
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Medical Debt Reduction
This is article 4 in a 4 part series about ways to reduce medical debt by keeping hospitals accountable for charges that were unnecessary. Medical costs are a leading reason for consumers needing debt relief. By ensuring that you are not overcharged by hospitals, it is possible that a debt reduction option wont even be necessary. Here are some more common ways that patients are billed for reasons they should not be liable.
More Common Hospital Billing Errors
12. Wasteful practices by the medical provider Sometimes in the interest of cleanliness hospitals will dispose of instruments and materials that are not reusable. Other times the sanitary practices are completely wasteful and unnecessary, which can result in a higher bill for the patient. Paying for materials that were reusable should be challenged.
13. Infections caused by the hospital Hospital-caused infections are those that were acquired during your stay and did not exist prior to then. An estimated 5 to 10 percent of all patients contract an infection during their hospital visit. Considering the fact that the average stay for hospital-caused infections is 4 days at $800 per day, your bill could be as much as $4000 more than what was necessary. The most common infection caused by a hospital visit is pneumonia, which can be caused by contaminated respiratory equipment or coughing in close proximity to a patient. Improper sanitation is another common cause of infections caused in hospital visits. If your stay was prolonged due to an infection that you acquired during your visit, then you can challenge those extra charges on your bill.
14. Profit-driven motives of non-profit entities Even non-profit hospitals will charge you more than what a service actually cost them. Sometimes you can argue for a rate reduction if the non-profit hospital turned a massive profit in the year you received the services. Since non-profit organizations are required to publicly disclose their profits and losses, this information is easy to find. One site to check out is the American Hospital Directory.
15. Paying more if you are uninsured Some hospitals charge more for the same exact service if you are uninsured. This has to do with the fact that many hospitals have agreements with insurance companies to keep their cost lowers. In the end, low income patients without the means to pay more are oftentimes shouldering a heavier pay load than everyone else. If you are charged more for the same service because you are uninsured, you can easily challenge the bill on the grounds that it is discriminatory.
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