jamie
Just as others have said, I was able to knock almost $1,000 off my knee surgery when I called the billing person after I was billed, but before the first due date - and I was covered under insurance at 80% and that was after insurance had their first go at the rates. So it never hurts to try. My wife has done the same with some of her medical bills over the past couple of years. Call the billing person, be nice and claim that is more than you expected/can pay at this time and is there anyway we can get the amount down. If they don't knock off $$, they will likely at least make a payment plan. Just don't wait until after the bill is due.
As for why people pay more than insurance companies ... that goes with everything ... those who complain/whine/negotiate often get what they want and those who say nothing ... pay full price. And volume counts even more, just basic economics there (10,000 of them vs 1 of you). Why not put a high sticker price on something and see if someone will pay full price, it works for cars, mattresses, heck I will haggle for almost anything over $100. I learned long ago that everything in life has room for gray areas ... and it does not hurt to ask.
That said, I hate our medical insurance practices and expect zero benefit from any pending changes.
Jamie
----- Original Message -----
From: eric aldinger
To: l j
Cc: obra@list.obra.org
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 12:30 PM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] self-bonding --> racing/riding without insurance(Was:CrossNats crash)
I have talked to people who negotiated lower rates prior to receiving treatment. I have a hard time seeing a facility redoing all of a patient's billing (item by item) to provide a better rate after treatment has been received.
On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 11:59 AM, l j wrote:
then can someone without insurance (ie. the recently crashed racers) negotiate to pay less?
Lonnie
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:03:13 -0800
From: markjginsberg@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] self-bonding --> racing/riding without insurance (Was:CrossNats crash)
To: eldiablo555556@hotmail.com; mike.murray@obra.org; obra@list.obra.org
it is that those with insurance have companies that have negotiated for them to pay less!
Mark J. Ginsberg
Berkshire Ginsberg, LLC
Attorneys At Law
1216 SE Belmont St.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 542-3000
Fax (503) 233-6874
markjginsberg@yahoo.com
www.bikesafetylaw.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: l j
To: mike.murray@obra.org; obra@list.obra.org
Sent: Thu, December 17, 2009 9:57:36 AM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] self-bonding --> racing/riding without insurance (Was:CrossNats crash)
So why is it that those without insurance have to pay more?
Lonnie Johnson
> To: obra@list.obra.org
> From: mike.murray@obra.org
> Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:39:40 +0000
> Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] self-bonding --> racing/riding without insurance (Was:CrossNats crash)
>
> Oregon has a program for insuring people who have been unable to obtain insurance commercially however the premiums are high compared to regular insurance.
>
> Liability is rarely an issue for cyclists since they rarely cause damage to others.
>
> People who do not have insurance are, by definition, self-insured... No bond required. Although many default on those accumulated medical bill, most do not. Generally they end up paying on them over a long period, get hounded by collection agencies, damage their credit rating, etc. Most importantly they get charged full price, not the discounted prices paid by insured people.
>
> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Meadors, Ivan C"
> Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:27:00
> To: b hamon; obra@list.obra.org
> Subject: [OBRA Chat] self-bonding --> racing/riding without insurance (Was:
> CrossNats crash)
>
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