How to Pay for the Hospital With No Insurance

Medical expenses can decimate your savings if you do not have health insurance. Hospital bills may appear complicated and expensive, but there might be help for you if you are uninsured. Always review, understand and question every line item of your hospital bill. Do not assume that the hospital will not work with you to pay for the hospital bill if you do not have insurance. Exhaust every option before sending payment or letting the bill go to collections.

Instructions

• 1

  Call the billing department and request an itemized hospital bill. Review each line item to make sure it is a service that you actually received. Question any charges with the hospital's billing department and challenge any charges you feel are in error or too expensive. Occasionally, billing errors occur and do not get addressed.

• 2

  Negotiate a payment plan with the hospital's billing department. Most hospitals will work with you, based on financial need, and allow you a long-term payment plan where you pay a portion of the bill off each month. The hospital may allow you to name your own payment plan. This contact usually occurs by telephone.

• 3

  Speak to a supervisor in the hospital's billing department and ask whether the hospital would forgive, discount or reduce the bill. You may want to meet with the supervisor in person and speak to any doctor's or departments that provided services. If you explain your financial plight, you may find compassion and flexibility with humans instead of the computers producing the invoices. Many hospitals offer financial assistance based on your ability to pay.

• 4

  Meet with a social worker at the hospital and explain your situation to her. A social worker may know of some community resources or funds that can help you pay the bill. She may also advocate on your behalf to help you explore payment options and coach you on how to work with the hospital.

• 5

  Apply for state-sponsored plan such as Medicaid, Medical Assistance or a high-risk pool insurance plan. These plans may provide retroactive benefits if you are approved for coverage. If this occurs, they may cover all or a portion of your hospital bill. This applies for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, known as COBRA, too. If you are recently unemployed and still have a COBRA option, sign up and coverage is retroactive back to your last day of previous coverage.