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“Healthcare Savings Advice & Tips On How To Save Money On All Your Medical & Healthcare Expenses”
HOSPITAL EXPENSES
HOSPITAL EXPENSES
Hospital stays are very expensive. While there is not a lot you can do to reduce costs, there are some actions you can take. Consider the following:
1. First of all, make sure you really need to be admitted to a hospital. Ask your doctor if the procedure can be done at their office, or on an outpatient basis.
2. Before you are admitted to the hospital, make sure you know how long the hospital stay is expected to be. When in the hospital, if you are progressing well, ask if you can go home early. Sometimes you can easily save an extra day’s hospital stay just by asking to be released. And make sure you know what time of the day to be released in order to avoid an extra day’s charges.
3. If you have a choice, compare the costs of different hospitals. Room rates
can vary considerably. Also inquire about saving money with a semi-
4. See if you can check into the hospital on the morning of the procedure, rather than the night before to try to save a day’s stay.
5. Check with your doctor and refuse any tests the hospital normally gives as part of their admittance procedure, if they are not necessary.
6. If you are having a baby, make sure you know if there is an extra charge for having the baby spend time in the nursery, versus staying in your room.
7. Make sure you understand your doctor’s policy for adding extra charges in addition to the procedure. Some doctors charge for visits to your room and admission and release visits. If other doctors visit you, understand why and whether there is a charge. Do not be bashful about questioning why a doctor is there. You may get charged for a service you really did not need. And if another doctor is providing you treatment at the hospital, make sure they are also covered under your healthcare plan. Just because your plan covers charges from the hospital you are in, does not mean that all the doctors working in that hospital will accept your insurance coverage.
8. Consider bringing whatever you can from home to save money. For instance,
hospital medications are very expensive. See if your doctor will let you bring in
both over-
9. Question if visits to rehabilitation are really necessary. Some hospitals will routinely send you to a therapy class to tell you the obvious, and charge you hundreds of dollars for the privilege.
10. Regarding your final hospital bill, insist on getting a detailed bill of every charge by day. The hospital may resist this but will eventually supply the details. Check to make sure all of the charges are accurate, and that you understand and agree with all charges. If you don’t understand, question the charges. Somehow, items that you never received seem to appear on hospital bills. Check for the following:
a. Were you charged for the right kind of room for the right number of days? If you left before checkout time, did they charge you for an extra day? Were you charged for any days your baby did not spend in the nursery?
b. Did you receive all tests and procedures listed on the bill?
c. Are the doctors’ visits recorded correctly?
d. Are any charges for extra treatment like therapy accurate?
e. Were there any charges for blood and, if so, were any donations that might offset the cost included as credits?
f. Were you charged for any equipment that you did not take home?
g. Were there charges for medications and disposable supplies that you did not use?
h. Are there any other charges that don’t make sense?
11. Don’t be shy about negotiating with the hospital. Hospitals generally charge about three times their actual cost, but give large discounts to both medicare and insurance plans. However, they generally do not give any discounts to individuals paying their own bill because they are either uninsured or underinsured. Individuals are expected to pay the full charge, which is often at least twice or more what medicare or insurance plans actually pay. However, most hospitals will give you a discount if you are persistent enough, even though they say they won’t. Try the following:
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