Here’s A Radical Approach To Big Hospital Bills: Set Your Own Price →

Via NPR:

Hospital prices have risen nearly three times as much as overall inflation since Ronald Reagan was president. … A small benefits consulting firm called ELAP Services is causing a commotion by suggesting an alternative: Refuse to pay. When hospitals send invoices with charges that seem to bear no relationship to their costs, the Pennsylvania firm tells its clients, generally medium-sized employers, to just say no.

Just because a healthcare provider has sent you a bill, that does not mean that is the price you must pay, unless you have agreed to it beforehand. Use Healthcare Bluebook to determine a fair price. If possible, agree to an amount before accepting the service. (Hopefully someday we’ll have places like the Surgery Center of Oklahoma everywhere.)

Lawyers and doctors are both costly. But at least legal billing is often detailed and known before the service is provided, with the service provider — the lawyer — involved in both the up-front explanation and the issuing of the invoices. On the other hand, medical billing is often indecipherable, with the amount not known until after the fact, summarily stated, and with no communication from the actual service provider, the doctor.

Medical billing is a strange world. You don’t necessarily have to play by their rules, though be kind and fair in interrupting the usual process.