After spending another hour yesterday making calls to try to come to a conclusion over the 2x appointments and treatment I had for my leg wound back in August and early September. I’ve been applying the lessons learned, experience I’ve had resolving my billing for my heart attack, which i close to, but not yet finally resolved. Here are some tweets I sent after getting off the phone yesterday.

Still battling the medical billing systems. Hint, don’t get diverted to applying for financial assistance when you have no insurance, until you’ve negotiated everything down to minimum for self pay, and approved every line item. Then you can go for $ assistance

— Mark Cathcart (@cathcam) December 8, 2017

Challenge every line item you don’t understand or don’t think is accurate, or item that was used. Ask for billing codes for everything, look them up including supplies don’t let them bundle up into macro charges, make them split out

— Mark Cathcart (@cathcam) December 8, 2017

It takes time and persistence, but I’m getting there… So far I’ve reduced insurance qouted/billed costs down from circa $80,000 to under $7,000 including $1100 paid for ambulance to ER

— Mark Cathcart (@cathcam) December 8, 2017

Finally, don’t ignore bills, they just get worse. Call, tell [them] you have no insurance, need to work out how you can afford to pay… Ask for 30-60 days, then for itemized bills. It’s way confusing as Dr bills, and often blood work billed seperately from ER and actual hospital.

— Mark Cathcart (@cathcam) December 8, 2017

Anyone who doesn’t think billing systems are major factor in the price of US Healthcare, isn’t thinking at all. 1x hospital admission, 5x seperately medical bills, 5x different numbers to call, 5x different ways to pay. It’s a shambles a shit show and massive cost overhead.

— Mark Cathcart (@cathcam) December 8, 2017