Pesky medical bill? Most people don't take a key step to manage that debt, study finds

cnbc.com:

Consumers may feel their medical bills are unyielding, inflexible, set in stone. But that's not always true: A new study shows patients can often reap financial benefits by disputing charges that seem erroneous or by negotiating for financial relief.

Of consumers who don't reach out to question a medical bill, 86% said it's because they didn't think it would make a difference— but «the experiences of those who did reach out provide evidence to the contrary,» according to a new University of Southern California study.

About 26% of people who called because they disagreed with a charge or couldn't afford to pay it got their medical bill corrected after the outreach, according to the study, published in August. Roughly 15% got a price reduction, 8% got financial assistance and 7% saw their bills canceled outright.

«Of the people who did reach out, most of them got some recourse through self-advocacy,» said report-co-author Erin Duffy, a research scientist at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.

Researchers polled 1,135 U.S. adults from Aug. 14 to Oct. 14, 2023.

About 1 out of 5 respondents reported receiving a medical bill with which they disagreed or could not afford within the prior 12 months. About 62% of them contacted the billing office to address the concern.

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«If you can't afford to pay something, or [if a bill] doesn't seem right or match what your care experience was, you should call and ask questions about that,» Duffy said.

Savings can extend into the hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on