Two times in the last week I have heard that it is possible to ask for a discount on medical bills and get it. Wow.

My mom told me she needed some physical therapy to help heal an injury she had this last year. She told me that she intended to negotiate a lower rate. Being self-employed, she does not have health insurance.

Then, yesterday, on my GoogleReader page I saw a link in the “Top Recommendations” section to a site I had been meaning to check out called Baby Cheapskate – Saving Big Bucks On Baby Stuff. It was a link to a blog article called Want Cheaper Medical Bills? Just Ask.

The basics are:

• Know your insurance policy well so you know what is covered and what is not and how much you have to pay out of pocket.
• If you don’t have insurance, shop around. See what the going rate is and how different Doctor’s offices compare.
• Negotiate your price up front.
• If you pay in cash you are more likely to get an incentive discount.

I recommend clicking on the links in the article that I linked you above so that you can check out further examples and more details on how to accomplish lowering your medical costs, and, you can hear someone else’s story. I found it to be an interesting read even though I have insurance. Although, come to think of it, my insurance will not pay for the hospital stay when I have the baby. Hmm. I should check into a discount. Also, I racked up a $22,000 medical bill for my 3 day hospitalization 2 weeks ago. The claim is still pending so I don’t yet know how much I will have to pay out of pocket.

I just can’t believe how expensive health care is. My eyeballs popped out of my head when I read how much my care cost for managing my pre-term labor. I’m still in disbelief. $22,000?!

Maybe we should move to Sweden. I have some really nice relatives there. I hear Canada is beautiful too.