I'll take Painful Medical Procedures for $4000, Alex!

September 18, 2009 11:18 AM

What's a typical range of discount negotiated by insurers with ambulance companies?

I dislocated my shoulder and had an ambo ride to the local ER. Since I have only high-deductible insurance, I ended up out-of-pocket for all the charges. The insurance company got a reduced rate on the ER fees (they have a negotiated schedule, I guess, and their interest in reducing my charges stems from their desire to keep me below my deductible, so they don't have to pay anything at all). However, they merely declined to pay the ambulance bill (perhaps that doesn't count against my deductible? I'd have to check the policy more carefully.)

Anyway, I would like to ask the ambulance company for a discount, and I would like to propose something in the range that they would already expect to give if an insurance company was paying.

Does anybody know what that range is?

(For anyone who's interested, it costs about US$4,000 to dislocate your shoulder in Portland, Oregon. Unless you want to do something more than get it popped back in.)

posted by spacewrench to health & fitness (1 comment total)

Not sure if this will help, but Healthcare Blue Book.
posted by IndigoRain at 10:05 PM on September 18