Cut a hospital bill with a coding audit and charity care

0/24 · 0%

Call the billing office and request a billing hold
30 min
This step freezes the account so it cannot move to collections or onto your credit report while you review it. The move that makes it work is naming the real reason: the account is under active review for financial assistance, which a tax-exempt hospital must screen for before it takes collection actions under Section 501(r).
Keep one line in your notes: the representative’s name, the date and time of the call, the case or reference number, and the hold expiration date. You will need it the first time a later request is “not on file.”
- Find the billing office number on the latest statement or on the hospital’s “Billing & Financial Assistance” page.
- Call Monday–Friday during business hours and ask for patient billing or financial counseling.
- Say: “This account is under review for financial assistance and a billing audit. Please place it on hold and do not refer it to collections or credit reporting for at least 30 days.”
- Ask for the representative’s full name, a case or reference number, and the exact date the hold expires.
- Ask whether the hold pauses collection letters and interest; if not, request that in writing.

0/4 done

Contents