One of her more recent anecdotes came from a colleague who received a medical bill they thought was "wildly high." The person said they called the billing office and were immediately given three options. Option No. 1 was to apply for financial aid if they were low-income, but they didn't qualify. Option No. 2 was to set up a payment plan, which would spread out the cost over time but not reduce the amount. Option No. 3 was more to their liking: If they paid that day over the phone with a debit or credit card, then they'd get a discount.
Duffy noted that they paid less than half of the original bill amount, just because they were paying right away over the phone. This is sometimes called a "prompt pay." While Duffy was intrigued by these stories, she said she found little research on the experiences of people who tried to reduce their medical bills.
[
Collection
]
[
|
...
]