5 things you can do to lower your ER bill — or avoid one in the first place
Mar 8, 2024, 04:44 IST
- Plenty of people in the US have faced unaffordable ER bills.
- Fortunately, patients have leverage when negotiating with hospitals.
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Huge ER bills seem to be a defining feature of the US healthcare system. No one's immune.Even former US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, who's well aware of the high costs of the US healthcare system, was surprised by a nearly $5,000 ER bill earlier this year.These big bills contribute to the enormous amount of medical debt Americans shoulder. Nonprofit health policy organization KFF estimated that people in the US owed at least $220 billion in medical debt in 2021.The good news is there are things you can do to fight a big bill. Deb Gordon, co-director of the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates and cofounder of Umbra Health Advocacy, said patients have leverage when negotiating with a hospital since so many bills go uncollected."The hospital would rather have you pay something than nothing," she said.Business Insider spoke with Gordon and two additional experts who shared tips for how patients can lower a big medical bill — or avoid one altogether.