A doctor has revealed how those without medical insurance can save money on their hospital bills.
Taking to TikTok, Dr. Jenaya Calderilla gave her expert advice on how to reduce those hefty charges that can easily rack up to tens of thousands of dollars.
While it's impossible to avoid a financial exchange for treatment, Dr. Calderilla says there's an evident way to minimize that cost.
The licensed physician last month posted a three-part video in which she explains how Americans can save on medical bills - and it's safe to say her clips instantly became viral.
Dr. Calderilla has continued to provide helpful tips and advice to people ever since and is now offering up new information on minimizing costs.
In a video, the doctor explains that when a patient receives their medical bill, it does not break down what exactly you are paying for. To avoid that, Dr. Calderilla advises patients to "call the hospital of medical office and ask for an itemized bill".
This way, the breakdown of charges will allow room for assessment of whether you received such treatment. To get further help paying medical bills, the doctor recommended calling the hospital to discuss a payment plan.
Dr. Calderilla writes: "When the itemized bill comes in the mail, look at the charges and see if they are accurate. If there are mistakes, call back and ask them to correct the mistake."
What's more, the doctor adds: "Often time when you ask for an itemized bill, the total will be less than your original bill."
Once the bill is received and it does not have any mistakes, Dr. Calderilla suggests that you call the hospital anyway and ask "about what can be done about the remaining balance" if it's too expensive to pay for.
She then notes: "The following two scenarios will happen: A) The person on the phone offers helpful information and your bill gets resolved."
The other scenario is that the other the person on the other end of the phone may not be too helpful - but there is still a way to resolve the bill, should that happen. If there is difficulty sorting out a payment plan, Dr. Calderilla recommends using FairHealthConsumer.org.
By using a CPT code that's on a medical bill, people can find what the "reasonable" and "customary" price for their treatment should be through the site.
Dr. Calderilla added a final piece of advice when discussing your medical bill over the phone: "Be nice!!! Believe it or not, it makes a huge difference.
"Don't bother with the rude person who was unhelpful the first time. Ask for the supervisor or whoever is authorized to give discounts on medical bills."
This then enables patients to receive discounted bills compared to the initial ones they were asked to pay at first.
Speaking to Buzzfeed about the advice she's handed out to people on social media, Dr. Calderilla said:
"The best thing to do is be honest that you cannot afford the bill. There are discounts for cash-pay patients. You can always set up a payment plan to avoid being sent to collections and have it negatively reflected on your credit."
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