My father who has conjestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes recently underwent a quintuple heart bypass. His medical bills are staggering and he has no health insurance. Short of filing bankruptcy, what are his options in getting these amounts reduced?

UPDATED: Jul 19, 2023Fact Checked

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Jeffrey Johnson

Insurance Lawyer

Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

UPDATED: Jul 19, 2023

Advertiser Disclosure

It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

UPDATED: Jul 19, 2023Fact Checked

You could offer to pay immediately at the same discounted level those bills would have been paid by a health insurer (Blue Cross and HMO have agreements with the hospital and medical/surgical providers to substantially discount bills). That’s a very substantial discount from the full “list price”.

If that offer is not accepted, when he is sued, he might be more successful by saying the discounted price is the “reasonable and customary” price, rather than the list price they are seeking to collect. This approach is based on the fact that the discounted rates are what they receive on the majority of payments. He could do extensive pre-trial discovery to make them disclose their actual reimbursement rates (they would likely settle rather than disclose).

This whole process could be handled far better with the help of an attorney.

Case Studies: Exploring Options for Reducing Medical Bills Without Health Insurance

Case Study 1: Reducing Medical Bills Without Health Insurance

John’s father, who suffers from congestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes, recently underwent a quintuple heart bypass surgery. With no health insurance, the medical bills have become a significant financial burden. John wants to explore options to reduce these bills without resorting to bankruptcy.

Case Study 2: Negotiating Discounted Rates for Medical Bills

Sarah’s mother underwent an emergency procedure, resulting in substantial medical bills. Sarah wonders if she can offer to pay immediately at the same discounted level that health insurers typically pay. She hopes to leverage existing agreements between hospitals and insurers to significantly reduce the outstanding amount.

Case Study 3: Challenging the Reasonable and Customary Price

Michael faces a lawsuit due to unpaid medical bills resulting from his recent medical treatment. He believes that the discounted rates negotiated by health insurers should be considered the “reasonable and customary” price. Michael plans to argue that the list price being sought for collection is inflated and not representative of the actual reimbursement rates commonly accepted by healthcare providers.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Jeffrey Johnson

Insurance Lawyer

Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption