I had a procedure done a couple months ago, was given a good faith estimate beforehand, and the actual bill is wildly higher. Like the estimate was one number and the bill is roughly four times that with a bunch of line items I don't recognize. Some of them seem to be facility fees I was never told about. I called the billing department and they basically said this is what insurance approved, pay it. Tried to get an itemized bill and they took two weeks to send a vague summary that didn't actually itemize anything. Is paying someone to call the billing department and negotiate the line items actually a thing that works here?
Hospital bill came in at 4x the estimate and the billing department won't budge, what now?
byu/Consistent_Car_5705 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Consistent_Car_5705
4 Comments
Contact your state’s insurance commission and get them involved as this really sounds like bait and switch.
I’d push again for a real itemized bill, not just a summary. Those vague breakdowns usually hide a lot of detail.
You can also ask specifically for a billing review or audit. Sometimes using that wording gets you further than just asking questions.
Those services that negotiate bills are basically doing the same thing, calling and pushing for itemization and adjustments. You can usually try it yourself first before paying someone.
What state are you in? Our state (Colorado) requires signing a specific ack about the facility fee. That said, you also have fees for every doctor that looked your general direction as well most likely. You do not need to pay someone to do this for you.
Did you use insurance? If not, and the bill is more than $400 higher than the GFE, you probably can dispute the bill using the procedure at [https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights/help/dispute-a-bill](https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights/help/dispute-a-bill)