5 Ways to Reduce Your Medical Expenses
When you do not have insurance, or if you have maxed out your insurance or if you have had a procedure that your insurance provider does not cover, then you will be in big trouble when it comes to paying your medical bills. Medical bills can be crazy expensive and they are bound to give you a heart attack if you are not ready for it. However, you should know that hospitals and doctors sometimes accept a reduced fee. All you have to do is present your situation well and ask nicely. They are human too and sometimes they too understand your difficulty. They routinely give discounts to Medicare and other insurance companies and can be persuaded to give you one too. Here are a few strategies you can try to reduce your medical expenses.
1. Pay immediately
Pay your bills on the day you are leaving the hospital. This is purely psychological as hospitals would rather accept a discounted amount than come after you for a full rate which can take a long time. Pay by cash or credit card and ask for a discount. There are more chances this tactic would be successful in bringing down the medical bill.
2. Be open about how much you take home
You may feel shy about disclosing how much money you make, but in some places honesty helps. If you are presented with a bill for 50k and you earn lesser than that and support a family of four with that, the doctor would understand and make a substantial discount in your bill.
3. Be nice to the doctor and smother them with compliments
Doctors can be vain sometimes and very proud of their skills. Compliment them as much as possible and give them all the credit for your recovery. Tell them that you would suggest their name to your friends and colleagues and after a few minutes of this, as them slowly if you can get a discount of sorts for their services. It could work.
