Initial communication

I wanted to make it perfectly clear: I am not a lawyer, what I do might get me in legal trouble, and it might get you into one a well. Do your research before following my steps. Also, keep reading this blog, if anything I have done was a mistake, it will show in further posts.

Now that we cleared that, down to business.

It is important to establish, that you are not going to simply write a check. But it is also a mistake to outright refuse to pay. In the end, hospital provided me a service. I do pay my bills, tip waiters, and I don't shoplift in Walmart. Hospital is no different. What I'm ranting against really boils down to two issues:

1. They will not tell you upfront what they are going to charge you: Every service starts with people given a price. You can have a big mac, or quarter pounder with cheese, and/or french fries. You can fill your car with premium gas or regular. Each option has it's own price, and you choose which option to take. Doctors don't give you options. You must have the best (read: the most expensive) option, and that is it.

Just imagine what would happen, if you went to a car upholstery service, and all they would offer you is: you write them a blank check, they will reupholster the car with most expensive leather, and there's no other choice.

Make no mistake: medical lobby is mafia. They drove out all the competition using legislation. So, when you at the clinic, you are dealing with people who work for thugs. It's their way or highway. This is unacceptable.

2. They flat out overcharge: As I wrote in my earlier post, the price they charge is not even a fair one. So, not only you pay for most expensive option, you could be paying as much as 5-10 times higher prices, than the fair market one, and they are well aware of it, it is not a mistake. Not good at all.

So, the first order of business is to make it clear, that you will dispute the charge. And to minimize amount of harassment you get, it will not hurt to write an official letter to CFO, referencing Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. You can usually find a CFO's name on the internet, but if not, just write to "Chief Financial Officer" at both hospital address, as well as the address where they want to send you a bill. Latter is necessary, because hospitals often outsource billing, so you want to make sure both parties know that the bill is being disputed.

In theory, you should send the letter with certified mail, to make sure it arrived. I don't normally do that. When I get a reply, that is as good as a delivery receipt.

The good template for the letter could be found on www.hospitalvictims.com. Make sure you take time to read and understand what it says, and remove inapplicable sections. Another good template to use is "Million Dollar Letter to Stop Debt Collectors Cold", courtesy of keepyourassets.net. You can get it as PDF, or in Open Office format