Woman shares a brilliant hack to negotiate and reduce hefty medical bills: 'Ask them questions'

Medical bills often become a big burden for the patients and their families. A finance expert, Vivian Tu posted a TikTok video (@yourrichbff) in which she speaks about how to reduce medical bills and she sure has some important tips to share. The video begins with a stitch from a content creator called Sooklyn, she says, "What is something you found out late in life you should have known earlier but just didn't." After this, Tu starts to talk about what patients must do too. "Rich people negotiate their bills and you should too," says the woman in the video.

Then she goes on to share how to do it. She says that when one gets their itemized medical bill, they should go to FAIR Health Consumer or Health Blue Book. These are websites where people can check the actual costs of medical procedures or services. Next, Tu emphasizes the fact that people should negotiate. "Regardless of whether you can afford to pay the bill or not, always negotiate with the medical provider," Tu advises. The expert goes on to share that one should call the medical provider instead of emailing them. "Politely ask them questions that force the provider to tell you what are the waivers, discounts, or relief plans that are available," the woman explains. She also talks about some of the questions that need to be asked like "Which of these fees can be waived?" "I know many hospitals have medical bill relief plans - can you tell me about yours?" "What discounts do you offer for financial hardship?" 

Tu also suggested that the customers should check payment plans​ offered by the hospital and if they allow the patient to pay the bill in full, and waive some fee because of that. "This can help incentivize an administrator to cut out a break if your earlier questions didn't work," the expert explained. Moreover, she also shared that most hospitals also create monthly installment plans without interest for patients. In such a plan, the patient can pay whatever they can until the bill is paid off. She ends by saying, "Don't let your bill go to collections, it will tank your credit score."

People in the comments shared their thoughts on the American healthcare system. "Tell me you live in America without telling me you live in America," wrote @honey_b_han. "This is the part I hate most about America. People losing their credit strength over something they can’t control," commented @pedroantonio79. @deebiecakeslou expressed, "Good tip, but super sad that people have to play this shell game with their health care/insurance!" @ilyssa20 shared her own experience, "Yup! It works bc my surgeon billed me $1200 for my wisdom teeth surgery. I called my insurance and they said it was wrong and I only owed $35." @drmanhattan077 said, "Don't get me wrong... great advice. But the mere fact that this is a thing, at all, is depressing." @gbakes35 shared, "As an outpatient private practice doc I can say this is accurate. I will always provide sliding scale payment plans for anyone who asks."

You can follow Vivian (@yourrichbff) for more content on how to manage finances.