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Feeling cheated with medical bills? Here are some ways to ease the pain

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Aneth Ng-Lim

<p>At 2 a.m. one weekend, we found ourselves in the emergency room waiting for treatment for an ear infection. The wait was long, and made more painful by sitting next to a patient who was using his mobile phone to watch a show, on speaker. </p><p>When we finally had our turn, the treatment was quick and I was so looking forward to getting out of there, until we were told there will be another wait, this time for the bill. This one took just as long as the wait for the treatment, so when I was presented the invoice, I admit I was already in a foul mood. The amount shocked me – over P7,000 for less than 3 minutes face time with the doctor, including the treatment – so I made sure to check every item in the billing.</p><p>To be honest, I did not know some of the entries, and was in no position to challenge if all those medicines and supplies were really used. I also could not argue why the doctor who saw us for such a brief time would make me pay almost P5,000 for his professional fees. But I zeroed in on one item that I was confident was an error – they were charging us for a full bag of gauze pads when I saw the doctor take a few from an already open one, and there was still a lot more left when our treatment was done.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/05/22/pinoys-shoulder-34-to-44-pct-of-their-hospital-expenses">Filipino patients shoulder 34 to 44 pct of their hospital expenses, says PhilHealth</a></li></ul><p>The nurse did not want to believe me, and was intent on ignoring me. So I told her to show me the trash can, and count how many gauze pads were in there. She tried to brush me off many times, and made me wait, I suspect purposely, until she realized I was not backing down. In the end, I had to pay the original bill but came home with a full bag of gauze pads. I held it like a personal trophy – a minor victory won from the big bad hospital emergency room that robbed me blind with that inflated bill.</p><p>Next time you find yourself in a hospital, with you or a family member or a friend as patient, here are some ways to ease the shock of medical bills.</p><div><strong>#1 Stay with the patient as much as you can</strong></div><p>Whether the patient is admitted to the hospital or receiving outpatient care, it helps to have a companion that can pay attention to the care being given and keep track. If you’re the patient, try to have a relative or friend stay with you. Or you can do the favor for loved ones who need medical care. This way, you can dispute any bills (we only used two bags of dextrose, not 3) or any lack in hospital care (where’s the blanket?) if the opportunity arises.</p><div><strong>#2 Ask questions, no matter how embarrassing </strong></div><p>Did you know that hospitals follow cut-off times when it comes to admitting patients? Say you were admitted and assigned to a room at 12:30 pm, you can be charged for a full day rate. But if you just waited 31 more minutes, you would be paying half the rate, which would also impact the fees your doctors will charge you. My leg was bleeding last time I had to go to a hospital, but remembered to ask the cut off time when the doctor informed me I had to be admitted. </p><div><strong>#3 Take inventory of used medical supplies</strong></div><p>For admitted patients, some supplies are usually left in the drawer by the bed. On discharge, report all the unused ones, and make sure these are removed from the bill. Some hospitals will tell you they’ll take them back, but there will be no bill adjustment. In which case, you decide if you will just take these with you. </p><p>A friend who spent time at the hospital during the pandemic almost fainted with the cost of surgical masks charged to her when she checked her progress billing. Turns out there is one fee every time a doctor or a nurse enters her room. So she bought her own box of individually packed masks, and placed it by the door and informed the nurses to use these instead. Thankfully the doctors and the nurses agreed to use her “cheaper” masks.</p><div><strong>#4 Haggle with doctors as early as you can </strong></div><p>Don’t wait for the bill and have a mini heart attack. Ask your doctor for his or her fee and be open about your situation, especially if you have no medical insurance. They are human too, and some are more understanding than others. I even know of those who waived their fees, as there were several attending doctors and they said they did little for the patient anyway. You won’t always get lucky, but never hurts to try.</p><div><strong>#5 Have your Philhealth information ready</strong></div><p>Before a patient can be officially discharged, the bill must be fully settled. Whether you have medical insurance or not, your Philhealth information will be handy so you can make a claim and have that debited from your total bill. It is tougher to make a claim after leaving the hospital, and in some cases, the amount of claim even becomes smaller. </p><p>* * *</p><p>And when your bill is all checked and ready, here’s my final tip: avoid paying with a credit card. Medical bills tend to be big amounts, which means most cardholders are unable to pay them in full when their statement comes around. The average interest rate on credit cards is 3% per month or 36% per year. That’s a steep rate to pay and an expensive debt to carry.</p><p>Unless your credit card offers a zero percent installment plan, consider dipping into your savings, or taking small and short loans from family and friends. If you must borrow, consider a personal loan with a set payment term and fixed interest rate, so you avoid the risk of ballooning balance.</p><p>Medical bills generally tend to be a burden for any consumer, and this is why having emergency savings is a good idea. If you don’t have one yet, start saving now and keep saving until you have 3 to 9 months’ worth of income. Then when the unexpected happens, you can focus on getting better, and not worrying about the bills that need to be paid.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/moneysense/09/21/09/10-ways-save-hospital-bills">10 ways to save on hospital bills</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JujC4qkyq6A?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div><br/> </div>

Next time you find yourself in a hospital, with you or a family member or a friend as patient, here are some ways to ease the shock of medical bills.