Thread by @TheArghonaut

#neisvoid DO NOT pay full price for medical bills if you can at all avoid it. You can probably avoid it. (Not always, but worth a shot.) A thread:

The most beginner tip I can give is (if you're able) ask for an "early pay" discount as soon as you get the bill. I've had offices that had never given a discount before do one just because I asked. #LongCovid

Next level: ask if the doctor can code tricky tests or procedures in a way that insurance is more likely to cover. Rifaximin for SIBO is $3k. Rifaximin for diarrhea is totes covered. Correct coding matters. #chronicillness

If you're ready for the big time, ask for hospital forgiveness. Private hospitals may be jerks. Public hospitals are usually nonprofits and HAVE to forgive a certain % of bills. Even if you think you make too much, ASK.

You might be making a comfortable living for a healthy person, but factor in the $400 of supplements and $600 of out of network doctor bills every month, and suddenly you're not. Put that in the application.

YMMV, but my hospital forgiveness was granted for a year. I had only $500 in bills at the time, but will have NO bills for the foreseeable future, at least from hospital doctors.

Once you have hospital forgiveness, you can apply for non-hospital forgiveness as well. Many hospital-adjacent entities will forgive your bill with a form where you check a box that said the hospital already did.

Next tip: if you don't know about GoodRx, this is your sign to get it. #longhaulers

If you have some leeway in your case, shop around. An MRI at one hospital can be 4x the amount as another. One dentist might charge $500 for IV sedation, another might give it to you for much cheaper with a big procedure.

Some other things I do to scrimp and save on medical bills: use a cash back or flight miles credit card to pay. Take advantage of referral programs (usually at "wellness" type places). Just ALWAYS ask for a discount or a break. It won't always work, but it will surprise you.