BANKRUPTCY UPDATES

• Taking Your Credit Score from Bankrupt to Perfect 10 (May 21, 2012)
• Music Storage Website MP3Tunes.com Seeks Bankruptcy Protection (May 22, 2012)
• Book Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Files for Bankruptcy (May 17, 2012)
• Las Vegas Tycoon Lists $500 Million in Debts in Bankruptcy Filing (May 15, 2012)
• Nassau Broadcasting Sells its Assets in Bankruptcy Court (May 22, 2012)

Emergency Room Trips Don’t Have to Break the Bank

One of the most common causes of severe financial distress is a medical emergency. In fact, oversized hospital bills have led many Americans on a path to personal bankruptcy.

Often, the total cost of a visit to the emergency room resembles the GDP of a small country. In addition, bills from the E.R. can be remarkably complex, and are often sent from different sources, including the doctor and the facility.

To remove the mystery surrounding these documents, a recent article in the New York Times explains the anatomy of an emergency room bill, and suggests that there are practical ways to reduce your spending on emergency medical costs.

You May Not Have to Pay Full Price

Most emergency rooms are required by law to treat every patient that comes in, regardless of their insurance status. Since they accept people without insurance, emergency rooms are often not paid for their services. As a result, emergency facilities charge inflated prices for their services.

Patients with insurance will usually pay significantly less than the amount on the medical bill because most hospitals have financial arrangements with commercial insurance carriers. On the other hand, patients without insurance are typically charged the full rate, but most are only able to pay a portion of their fees.

According to Dr. Jesse Pines, a health policy professor at George Washington University, “people don’t realize that the prices on the bill are just a starting point. Prices listed on the bill often don’t represent what the insurer or patient will ultimately pay.” Moreover, prices can vary substantially for different patients treated for the same type of service.

Damage Control for Medical Bills

Here are some practical tips that may help you lower your emergency room costs:

• Don’t go for minor injuries: Surprisingly, sources report that the top three reasons for trips to the E.R. in 2007 were for sprains and stains, contusions, and superficial injuries. If you have a minor wound, call your doctor or visit an urgent care center. Doctors can give valuable advice over the phone, and urgent care centers are usually cheaper and faster than E.R.’s. Make sure you have your doctor's advice before making this decision.
  
• Double check the bill: Hospital billing departments are a beehive of activity, and can make mistakes. Check your bill to make sure that you were not charged for services you never received.
• Feel free to bargain: If the final bill is too expensive for you to reasonably pay, try to broker a deal with the hospital. Many hospitals will provide a discount, especially if you are paying out of pocket. Remember, hospitals would rather receive partial payment than no payment at all.

If a recent trip to the ER has sunk your finances, consider contacting a personal bankruptcy attorney to learn more about your legal rights.