Haggle for Lower Prices
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Sickened by Doctor Bills? How to Haggle for a Lower Price
You may have negotiated a decent price on your new car or bargained for a great lamp at your neighbor's yard sale, but did you know that you can haggle with your doctor to lower your out-of-pocket expenses? According to The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), everything in health care is negotiable, even the bills from your doctor, pharmacist, and hospital. FTCR's patient guide states: "You're paying the bills, not only as a consumer, but also as a taxpayer who helps fund the medical system." So don't be cowed by your doctor's sparkling white lab coat or by your hospital's credentials. Establish the price you believe is reasonable and go for it. There's no harm in asking, says Larry Gelb, president and chief executive officer of Care Counsel, a provider of employer-sponsored health care assistance and advocacy services in San Rafael, Calif. "There's nothing new about people asking for discounts on medical treatments," says Gelb. "There's a long history of patients negotiating with their providers for lower prices on elective procedures, such as laser vision surgery or psychotherapy." Tips On How to Bargain Many consumers — who are either uninsured or left with hefty out-of-pocket medical expenses after their insurers have paid — can successfully talk their doctors and hospitals into lowering their bills. (Note: This does not apply to Medicare patients, or to patients' co-payments and deductibles.) Seventeen percent of consumers recently polled by Harris Interactive Health Care News say they have asked a pharmacist in the last year if they could pay a lower price. A smaller but growing number say they have done this with doctors (13 percent), dentists (12 percent), and hospitals (10 percent). According to Harris, approximately half of all those who have tried to negotiate a lower price say they did so successfully. This varies from 54 percent of those who spoke with their doctors to 48 percent who talked with their pharmacists, 47 percent of those who talked with their dentists, and 45 percent of those who talked with hospitals about their bills or prices. There's both an art and science to haggling for lower health care prices, according to Gelb. "Research indicates outspoken individuals have better health outcomes," he says. "But even I would think twice about creating bad feelings between me and my surgeon if I was about to have surgery." Gelb says the doctor/patient relationship is as delicately balanced as the employer/employee relationship. "You don't want to march up to your boss and demand a raise," he says. "You're probably much less likely to get the desired outcome by doing it that way than if you calmly explain the reasons why you need to make more money. Same thing goes for asking your doctor to lower his prices." While there are no hard and fast rules for successfully lowering your out-of-pocket health care expenses, there are a few good guidelines:
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