Help manage medical costs

Patients have several tools to help manage medical costs. Here are some additional tips recommended by debt reduction experts.

_ Talk to the doctor about whether all the recommended care is necessary.

_ Ask if a procedure can be done on an outpatient basis, to avoid a costly hospital stay.

_ Can you use less-expensive, generic versions of the medicine you need?

_ Avoid using your credit card. If you pay it all off with that, you lose leverage with the hospital and you may have to pay high interest.

_ Remember your manners. Billing office representatives know how the system works and may be helpful if you don't yell at them.
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_ Go beyond the billing office. People with higher levels of authority sometimes can approve larger discounts.

_ Talk to the doctor. A physician may show more sympathy than a billing clerk who hears customer complaints every day.

_ Check in-network coverage. Make sure your doctor, the anesthesiologist and everyone else caring for you is in your insurance network.

_ Document everything. Keep a record of phone conversations and all paperwork so you can show what you were told, by whom and when.