MILLIONS of uninsured Americans are scared to seek medical care or visit a hospital over fears for how much it may cost.
Hospital bills can be financially crippling, with some opting to go on never-ending payment plans to settle their debt or choosing to go without help altogether.
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Unlike debt from student loans or credit cards, debt from medical bills or hospitals can be hard to anticipate.
Concerns about medical costs have been rising in recent years, with 50% of Americans now fearing bankruptcy following a major health event.
Hospital billing can be incredibly opaque, with many patients unaware of the cost of care upfront.
But a leading medical billing expert has outlined some specific advice to help those with mounting debt.
Andy Schoonover is the founder and CEO of a health insurance alternative called CrowdHealth, which is an online platform aiming to provide an alternative to existing health insurance models.
The platform is set up to help those who are not covered by health insurance, and assists people with finding doctors, negotiating cheaper bills and funding costs through a peer to peer approach.
It claims to have helped people save over $29 million in medical costs.
Schoonover founded the company after he incurred a $20,000 medical bill for an IV drip that he bought on Amazon for $8.
He decided to ignore the bill, allowing it to be sent to collections and he says he has still not experienced a negative hit to his credit score.
With around 26 million Americans not covered by health insurance, Schoonover said patients often have a lot more power than they think.
Schoonover explained that patients actually had the ability to negotiate the final cost of the bill, which he branded as “absurd”.
“Patients have leverage to negotiate lower payments since hospitals are willing to accept lower payments over time to avoid a total loss,” he said.
Schoonover said all patients should make sure to check the billing code that is assigned to the procedure, as some treatments are often wrongly flagged as urgent immediately inflation the price.
With an estimated 46 million Americans having medical debt on their credit report in 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was working in recent years on new reforms to ease the burden of debt.
However, the Trump administration’s move to pause all work by the consumer watchdog means the reforms may be at risk or delayed.
NO TRANSPARENCY
Schoonover also hit out at the hospital system over a lack of transparency, warning the sector forces sick people to make life or death decisions with “no ability to negotiate or walk away”.
In a comparison to price gouging during a natural disaster, Schoonover said hospitals force people to pay for treatment with no transparency over the costs.
“Going to an emergency room and being charged an arbitrary amount is strikingly similar to price gouging during a natural disaster,” he said.
“The key similarity is coercion under duress. In both cases, people are not making free-market decisions; they are making life-or-death decisions with no ability to negotiate or walk away.”
‘ARBITRARY PRICING’
Schoonover also attacked at traditional insurers, warning they often leave individuals with unexpected out-of-pocket costs, high deductibles and soaring debt.
This debt, when reported to credit agencies, makes it even harder for individuals to recover financially.
“Hospitals justify their arbitrary pricing by citing administrative complexity, uncompensated care, and the burden of uninsured patients,” he said.
“But these are just excuses for a system that lacks transparency and accountability.
“Unlike a free market, where businesses compete for customers by offering fair prices and quality services, emergency healthcare operates as a monopoly.”
