Lowering Medical Bills: Quick Checklist

Your Action Checklist

1

Immediate Actions (Do Today)

STOP - Don't pay yet

You have time. Medical debt credit reporting has waiting periods.

Request itemized bill

Call billing: "I need an itemized bill with all CPT codes and line items."

Get your EOB from insurance

Download from member portal or call. This shows what insurance should cover.

Check for obvious errors

Duplicate charges, services not received, wrong dates/quantities.

2

For Hospital Bills

Check for coding errors

Upcoding, unbundling, wrong ER level (99281-99285).

Apply for charity care

Most hospitals offer free/discounted care up to 200-400% FPL.

Negotiate cash price

Ask for a prompt-pay discount or an amount based on Medicare rates you can afford.

Full Hospital Bill Guide

Scripts, templates, and step-by-step instructions

3

After Insurance Processing

Verify EOB matches bill

Patient responsibility should match. If not, request reprocessing.

Appeal any denials

File within your plan’s appeal window. Include a medical-necessity letter from your doctor.

Check surprise billing protections

No Surprises Act covers out-of-network emergency and certain services.

After Insurance Guide

Appeals, coordination, and provider negotiation

4

Final Steps

Get agreement in writing

Any discount or payment plan must be documented before paying.

Set up payment plan if needed

Interest-free hospital plans beat credit cards. Never miss payments.

Keep all documentation

Save EOBs, itemized bills, correspondence for 7 years.

Quick Scripts

Requesting Itemized Bill

"I need an itemized bill for account #[number] showing all CPT codes, quantities, and individual charges. Please email it to me as a PDF."

Negotiating Discount

"I can pay $X today if we can mark this paid-in-full. What prompt-pay discount can you offer?"

Resources & Tools

Bill Defense Service

Expert analysis and step-by-step guidance

Hospital Charity Care

Find your hospital's financial assistance program

Medical Bill Letter Templates

Copy-paste letters for itemized bills, disputes, and appeals

Tips for Success

Timing Matters

Apply for charity care before negotiating
Appeal insurance denials within 180 days
Medical debt isn’t typically reported right away; ask for a billing hold

Document Everything

Log every call with date, name, reference #
Get agreements in writing before paying
Save all bills, EOBs, and correspondence