Medical Bill Assistance

 

Connecticut Medical Bill Assistance

Connecticut residents have some of the highest health care costs in the nation. Your latest date with the hospital likely cost you far more than you felt reasonable.

Even with health insurance, you may still be on the hook for hundreds or thousands of dollars. If your plan requires coinsurance (80/20 plan), then you might owe even more.

There are a couple of primary solutions for gaining control of your medical debt. The first objective is to reduce what you owe.

You have the right to contest portions of your bill that exceed usual

and customary costs for the listed items. Examples could include $25 for a pair of gloves or $18 for a couple of aspirin. Individual procedures could also be overpriced. For example, open heart surgery carries two different price tags for the insured and the uninsured, and the difference is tens of thousands of dollars. Even if you have insurance, your share of the bill could be staggering.

You could hire a medical billing advocate to review your individual charges and negotiate discounts with the hospital and your physicians. Many work on a contingency basis so that you pay nothing out of pocket. They take a percentage of what they save you. Medical Bill Consultants, LLC is a medical billing advocate located in Wilton. Contact them at 203-834-5028 for more information on their fee structure.

Additionally, once you have negotiated a lower amount due, there are ways to deal with this debt. Consolidation loans are not one of these, since all that does is replace interest free debt with interest bearing debt, and that costs you more money in the long run. Instead, you might benefit from credit counseling. This is especially true when you already are struggling with credit cards and other unsecured debt, making your medical bills that much harder to afford.

CCCS Credit Advisors is a charity that maintains two offices in Connecticut. Call 1-866-346-2227 to set up an appointment. You may meet individually with a counselor at either their East Hartford office or in Milford.

Whatever you choose, make sure that you check the Better Business Bureau rating of any company or charity that you choose to consult with for help.