[RedElement]

What is hard about being on the hook for services consumed? Fill up the cart at the grocery, pay for them. Turn on the lights, pay the electric bill. Fill the car with gas, pay the station.

[fwdude]

Well, that’s what I mean. I’m heavily on the side of the medical providers. They already deeply discount these services, and insurance barely covers their costs with the contracted prices.

[Brian Griffin]

Laypeople rely on experts to determine service suitability.

The services failed apparently.

[Dr. Sivana]

Fill up the cart at the grocery, pay for them. Turn on the lights, pay the electric bill. Fill the car with gas, pay the station.

Medical expenses are so opaque. The gas station has a big sign out front with the price per gallon. The pump updates you as you fill it. Supermarkets are usually pretty good about posting the prices of their products as you fill your cart.

A few years ago, we had an exchange student from Colombia. She took out insurance for her visit. She was helping out with our church. She fell and hurt her ankle. Her mother in Colombia wanted her to go to the emergency room. It was a mild sprain, and they only taped it up. Her insurance paid over $3,000. She goes home, and WE get a bill as my wife was the one who brought her in to the emergency room. They still wanted $600 from us. I kept on providing the her insurance, and several bill collectors tried to make us pay $600 AFTER the hospital got thousands for treatment that was worth only a couple of hundred. I finally shook them.

This is NOT like going into the Whole Foods and paying a 30% premium on a grocery bill.

[lastchance]

Well for one you know how much each item is before you put it in the cart. It is also very unlikely that when you got home and looked at the receipt you would find numerous items that you did not ask for that had been tossed in your bags and added to your total. You don’t have to worry that you will be charged the price per pound for steak when you bought ground chuck. For the most part medical billing is not rooted in reality. Do not forget too that the grocery store is told what they can charge and how much they my bill customers for the same sack of grocery you pay full price for.

The debt was no doubt sold to the collection agency. First thing he should contact the insurance company and find out whether the bill should have been paid. Errors do happen. An example would be using an in network provider but the insurance company listing the provider as out of network Then research and find out what Medicare would allow for those services. This is to give him an idea of what would be a reasonable cash settlement to clear the debt. $3000.00 is peanuts in terms of medical debt. Then contact the collection agency and find out what they would take if the bill was paid within a certain number of days. Usually the sooner you can pay the higher the discount. If he really does not have the money he can take his chance in court. The collection agency may decide that the suit is not worth their time and sell the debt to another agency.