A patient saved nearly Rs 44,000 by simply requesting an itemised bill after a medical procedure, only to learn they were being charged for a surgery they never underwent. Shared as a cautionary tale on social media, the patient revealed that their initial bill of Rs 1 lakh ($1,100) plummeted to Rs 57,000 ($618) as soon as the errors were challenged.
“Had an outpatient procedure done at a regional hospital back in January, got a bill for like Rs 1 lakh ($1,100) after insurance. I was just gonna set up a payment plan and deal with it but someone at work told me to always request an itemised bill first, so I did,” the user wrote.
Upon carefully going through a six-page document sent by the hospital, the patient found that they were charged for an anaesthesia consultation (Rs 31,430), which they never had. Additionally, they found a duplicate charge for a supply kit listed twice.
“Called the billing department and honestly expected a fight but the lady was actually pretty calm about it, said she’d flag it for review. took about 2 weeks and they removed both charges, bill went from $1,100 to $618.”
Since they had extra money, the patient managed to pay off the bill in full and moved on. However, they advised others to always ask for an itemised bill, otherwise such a mistake would have gone unnoticed.
“Apparently, billing errors are insanely common, and hospitals count on people just not looking. Call and ask for an itemised bill, not just the summary, the full itemised one. Takes 5 minutes, and you might find something.”
Check The Viral Post Here:
asked for an itemized hospital bill on a whim and found out they charged me for stuff that literally never happened
by u/LongjumpingOffice432 in povertyfinance
‘That Is Intentional’
As the post went viral, social media users noted that hospitals routinely employ such dark patterns, escaping accountability due to a lack of government oversight.
“You always ask for an itemised bill and watch the bill drop 20 per cent,” said one user, while another added: “It is not an error if it is always in their favour. That is intentional.”
A third commented: “What’s so frustrating is how insurance doesn’t care either. I’ve called to let them know, and they’re just like, ‘whatever. We’ve already paid it’. Like you’ll fight me on premiums and reasonable coverage, but not fight the hospital for literally defrauding you??”
A fourth said: “These aren’t billing errors. These are intentional acts spread across a large population with zero oversight and regulation within the government any longer.”