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- [00:00]
Jen
In most cases, what you see on your medical bill is not what you have to pay. We did some research, talked to some experts, and we're going to tell you why and how to pay less on your medical bills.
- [00:14]
Jill
Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity.
- [00:21]
Scott Speranza
And live a richer life.
- [00:24]
Jill
Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.
- [00:28]
Jen
Welcome to Frugal Friends. My name is Jen.
- [00:30]
Jared Walker
My name is Jill.
- [00:31]
Jen
And today we are talking about how to get as much as half off the medical bills you have received in the mail. This is a topic we get asked about all the time. And even though we've had medical bills before, we don't see a lot of medical bills. When I had my second son, I got an email with 70 ish thousand dollars right in the body of the email. They didn't even tell me, go to your portal to get your bill. They just sent me the number via email. And it was shocking. And I am not the only one who has experienced this.
- [01:12]
Jared Walker
One hospital tried to charge me $32,000 essentially for a room rental because that wasn't even including the surgeon costs or the anesthesia costs. And these are all the things that I wish that I would have known before facing some of those medical bills.
- [01:29]
Jen
Yeah. So we have talked to several experts in the past and they have all kind of laid out this kind of four step process to lowering your medical bills. They're all experts in different ways and areas along that journey. So we're going to go through those four steps with you and cut to them when they have insight that really shed some light on this experience. So when you get a medical bill in the mail or in your inbox, the first thing you're going to do is ask for an itemized bill and look for errors. And I asked Jared from Dollar for who you'll hear from later. I've heard the stat that 80% of medical bills have some kind of error on them. And I'm like, is that true? You've seen a lot of them? Would you, have you heard of that? And would you agree? And he was like, yes, there's always some kind of medical billing error.
- [02:31]
Jared Walker
We talked with Scott Speranza, the CEO of HealthLock, who has audited over half a billion dollars worth of medical claims about the most common medical billing errors he sees. And here's what he said.
- [02:42]
Scott Speranza
It's technically the only service I can think about where we don't know what we're going to pay before we get our service. I mean, and this is by the way, for medical, dental, vision, rx. Right. So all those things are healthcare expenses. And but of course, we might go to the drugstore and we think we're going to get a $15, you know, co pay for our RX. And all of a sudden they want to charge $750. What happened here? And now I'm stuck in line and I've got this big bill, and it's stressful, and you just never know what's going to happen because it's a complex system. And again, especially when it relates to adjudicating against assurance. So adjudication is that word that says, you know, an occurrence, a medical occurrence, medical, dental, vision, an occurrence, a healthcare occurrence has happened. And I have insurance, and so someone's going to go bill my insurance company first and say, well, how much money is the insurance company going to pay me for the service? And everybody's got a different price, everyone's got different negotiated rates. And then that claim gets adjudicated, and then I receive that wonderful thing called an explanation of benefits, an eob. And that EOB basically says, this is not an invoice, but this is potentially what you owe. And then, of course, you've got the doctor, provider, lab, whatever it might be, actual invoice. A lot of times those don't match. And of course, what we're finding is that there are errors, unfortunately, that are made, whether they're simple, complex, whether they're nefarious, or just, you know, simple mistakes. All those things we see. And we've now saved well over $130 million for our, our customer base. And, and we have stories after stories of people maybe literally save them from bankruptcies because 66% of all bankruptcies in the United States are due to medical bills. So it's not something that's actually getting better, it's actually getting worse. Your MRI might be the simplest, right? Some MRIs might be A$500, some are a thousand, some are 2,500.
- [04:41]
Jill
Why?
- [04:42]
Scott Speranza
What's the reason for the price difference? If there was something specific that was that you received in the MRI that caused that, that's one thing. But for the most part, those are. There's a lot of parity now with MRIs. So if we see a bill that comes in at 100%, 200%, 3% over our market price, that's going to get flagged. That's a common overcharge. You have things like duplicate service, where one doctor came in and said, hey, how you doing? And then another doctor came in a while later and said, hey, how are you doing? And there's two doctor codes on there for visits that could equate to, of course, a much larger bill. When did I check into the emergency room? That's a big deal, right? So if I check in before a certain period of time and my 24 hours, those changes, those change the rates. There's things called upcoding. I, I go into an urgent care and I need a band aid for my cut, but they mark it as level 5, which means my neck is profusely bleeding. And these are the codes that they use. And of course, what you're seeing in the news today, this is a very common, unfortunate practice from the providers and even the carriers. What we've seen with Change Healthcare and the UHC debacle, you know, data breach is a lot of billing issues now are being exposed for fraudulent billing. The latest statistics is there's 171 million patient records breached last year. The year prior there was about 60 million. The year prior to that, there was, I think about 20 million. Year prior to that was just a few million. So the thieves have really moved over to healthcare and taken it by storm. And a fraudulent bill, which is also a balance bill. So one of the other keys is if you get a bill, you, your EOB says you owe $100 and you get a bill for $500, or you were never supposed to get a bill and you got a bill. Well, what is that? And I've got some examples on that. So balance bills, upcoding, denial of benefits, obviously something that is just completely out of whack as far as the pricing is concerned. These are the things that a consumer needs to have awareness around so they can protect themselves in their pocketbooks.
- [06:56]
Jen
So when you are requesting an itemized bill, sometimes it's going to be easy, sometimes it's not. There are different types of itemized bills. So when you're doing something that's just for your own, like reference, then asking just for an itemized bill is probably going to be good enough. And even when you ask for one, they might go through it and you might end up getting a bill that's lower than the one you were initially sent, because they're going to review that itemized bill before they send it to you. Also ask for it via email. If you ask for it via mail, they might try to charge you, but if you ask for it via email, they're not going to charge you for that. There are different types, so you could be requesting a UB04, which is for a hospital. So if you're going to, you know, requesting a doctor or a like paramedic bill, they might not have the UB04. They might have something like a CMS 1500. So when they, they might get into the weeds asking you like specific forms and I know me using health care sharing, the forms do matter. But if you're not submitting it to a health care sharing, then an itemized bill should be good enough. The most important thing is it has the CPT or the HCPCS codes and these are procedure codes, the date of service, a description of each service or supply, a charge for each item or service and a total cost. So these are the most important things you're looking for on your itemized bill. If they don't have those things, then it's not itemized.
- [08:41]
Jared Walker
The second thing that you can be doing is applying for financial assistance programs. Even if you have health insurance, most hospitals will provide income based programs or charity care that you may be eligible for. And in most cases you have 120 days from receipt of your bill in order to be able to apply for these financial assistance programs. And so we were able to talk with Jared Walker, the director of $4, which is a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating medical debt by making hospital financial assistance known, easy and fair. And here's what he said about this topic.
- [09:24]
Jill
I posted a video a couple years ago that was, it was just showing people how to find their own hospital's financial assistance policy. Because the laws around these programs are very vague. It really just says that if you are a nonprofit hospital, you have to have a policy and it has to be widely publicized and widely available. So most hospitals hide the policy on their website or they have a poster in the er. So I think like the best way to find out about it would be to just call the hospital and say, hey, I would like to apply for your financial assistance program. Or Google your hospital name and the words financial assistance policy. Number one to keep in mind is they're not out here just telling every single person and making these programs really, really easy to access, unfortunately. But they do exist. So there is that Most people just assume that they are not eligible. I think when people hear the term financial assistance programs or charity care, they just automatically think like, oh, I didn't qualify for food stamps or I didn't qualify for Medicaid, so I'm not going to qualify for this. These programs are much more generous than other programs out there. And most people just assume that's not for me. So I would say most patients that come through our assuming that they are not eligible, and then they go through our screener and find out, okay, I, I'm eligible for a discount. Or I mean, $4 has helped eliminate $90 million in medical debt. So like, we had. One example would be there was a woman, her husband had passed away from COVID and she got a $430,000 medical bill. And it was just like, I mean, that is obviously not all the bills are that large, but it was just like, that is something that would bankrupt you. I mean, they would have lost everything and did not know about a program, did not think that they were eligible. We convinced them to see we got the entire thing waived. So I'm in the Pacific Northwest, I'm in Portland, Oregon. Most hospitals around here will waive one 100% of my medical bill or hospital bill if I am at or below 300% of the federal poverty guidelines. And then they will do a sliding scale up to 400%. So what does that mean? It is, if I'm a family of four, I can make a little over $90,000 a year gross annual income and be eligible for a complete waiver of the bill and then a little more than that to receive a discount. I think the national average is about like 260% of the federal poverty guidelines, which, again, as a family of four, making, you know, 85, $90,000 a year, you can still be eligible for a pretty significant discount, which I think is just more than what people think for what is eligible for these programs. But if you are in New York or if you are in San Francisco, a lot of this is based off cost of living. So there are hospitals in New York that go up to 800% of the federal poverty guidelines. You can be making, you know, $150,000 a year and still be eligible because obviously it's more expensive to live there.
- [12:55]
Jen
What I found really interesting was that different states, different areas, different hospitals have different requirements for how high, like above the federal poverty line you can be. And so I loved finding DollarForg to be able to have all that information in one place, Even if you are going to different, like providers, you can get an idea of what you can be eligible for. And so the fact that, and I loved that he said you could, if you fall maybe just outside those lines, you can always submit like a letter of hardship, some kind of letter kind of explaining your situation, and get them to reconsider or just include you into that. He said that that has worked a lot. And I know for me, I don't feel like I deserve that. I think it should be reserved for other people less fortunate or even like, I feel like I put myself into this situation, so it is my responsibility to get myself out, not somebody else's. And so I don't want to ask for help, but I think the way that we are going to save the most on some of these bills is that every time we get one, we are following these steps to just find out, to just see if there's an error, to just see if there's some kind of financial assistance. And if the income is too high, send the letter, just see. And if you are not eligible or if you can't get it, then you won't, but you never know. And I think that is the thing that is most important, is that we put ourselves out there.
- [14:54]
Jared Walker
Not to mention, one of the things that we've realized when it comes to medical bills is that there are times when they are unplanned circumstances versus planned. So, for instance, we might have preventative care or maybe elective surgeries that we can shop around for ahead of time versus unplanned crises that happen. And medical bills just kind of fall upon us. And then we're kind of scrambling to figure out how can we lower these. And so, so we were able to talk with Jared about what he sees as the differences between these two and what we should be doing in order to lower that bill, decrease it the most that we can.
- [15:34]
Jill
The first thing to know is that financial assistance and charity care can be done proactively. Think of financial assistance as a status that you have. So when you are approved for financial, financial assistance, you will usually get a letter from the hospital that says, okay, you've been approved for, let's say, an 85% discount for six months. So any treatment that you receive within that six months is going to be covered under that 85% discount. Unfortunately, most people are not thinking ahead in that way. Right. So people are applying for financial assistance usually after the fact that before, if you do know that, you know you're planning a surgery or you're doing something that you know you're going to get a medical bill you can shop around. That is like, again, there are websites where you can look at, like, what are the. What is the cost for an MRI here versus here versus here? And you'd be shocked. Like, those numbers can be drastically different. The other thing would be, if you have insurance, what is the cash pay rate? Like asking for, I Know, it sounds crazy because we all pay like we're paying for insurance, but sometimes it is actually cheaper to not mention that you have insurance and just ask for the cash pay rate. So like, what is this? If I were to just come in and pay cash versus what is your deductible? Because sometimes it can be cheaper. So I think there's a lot of things can be done, like if you, if you have the time to do the research on, you know, where are, where can this be a cost savings in my area. And then after the fact, I mean, obviously I'm going to advocate for, you know, applying for financial assistance and all that after the fact and then obviously negotiating and kind of going down that road. If, if the medical bill happens to you in an emergency setting.
- [17:34]
Jared Walker
The thing that stands out to me with that is the ability to shop around. I think we don't often think about that with medical bills. We kind of think we just go to the hospital. But it can be that one hospital in this part of town is charging 20 to 30% more than a hospital in another part of town. And so if we do have time on our side and the ability to make those phone calls, then it really could save us thousands of, of dollars.
- [18:00]
Jen
I was shocked with how much you shopped around for your surgery you had last year.
- [18:06]
Jared Walker
I was tenacious.
- [18:07]
Jen
You went so deep. You didn't just check the price for the doctor, but you went doctor, anesthesiologist, hospital. And it was that last one you checked is how you figured out that that that was 30, you know, thousand dollars that you were not willing to pay. And it is, it's so sad that you do have to do all that work. But if you get pre approved for financial assistance, it can take some of that. It can eliminate having to do some of that. Because if, you know, you're in, in a income bracket where you can get 100%, like forgiven at a certain place, it can just take a huge weight off of your shoulders at first. So if you, if you get your bill and maybe you do get some financial assistance or maybe you don't, then you have several options going forward. The first of those is to negotiate. And I was really impressed with Jared being like taking a hard stance, like 50% is what I'm willing to pay. He told a story about how he had like a $1300 bill and he called and they negotiated down, but it wasn't what he was willing to pay. And so he asked, you know, speak the supervisor still, you know, no more. So he Just called back, like, every week for about six weeks, and then eventually did get the number that he wanted. And so that is, again, in my mind, I don't think it's gonna happen for me. So I wouldn't put in that much work. But just knowing that somebody who does this for a living sees this, and he's not unique. He sees this for multiple people. He sees this every single day. It encourages me to try.
- [20:06]
Jared Walker
Yeah, he gave, Jared gave some great tips on negotiating medical debts. We want to share those with you.
- [20:14]
Jill
It's a tall order. Like, you have to set aside time. You are going to wait on hold for probably hours. You are going to, you know, but it is. You call the hospital, you ask, what is the settlement amount? Like, those are the magic words when you're negotiating. And you, you know, you have to come with. With money in hand, right? Like, you have to have an amount that you are offering. We can get into negotiations. But I would say, yeah, if you are not eligible for financial assistance, the next best thing is what can you negotiate? What people need to realize is these. The provider, the collection agency, like, they want to close this out just as much as you do. Like, they are trying to collect and move on. So if you can give them, if you can offer an amount that is acceptable, like, they will take it. Absolutely.
- [21:07]
Jen
So In January of 2025, a rule passed that creditors cannot put medical debt on your credit report. And Jared told us you have one year from when you get that first bill to make some kind of payment. And as long as you make something, they have a full other year to make anything before it goes on your credit report. But in a strong negotiation, when you talk to them, you want to be able to pay in full, but that just means you have a full year from receiving your first bill to having to pay, even if it goes into collections, before you see anything on your credit report. And so I thought it was very eye opening, because this is something I have done in the past because I haven't necessarily been worried about my credit score. My credit score is so high, I'm not taking out any extra debt. So it's. It's something I have used, but now it's something more people can use. And I asked Jared, do you see a difference in negotiating between a hospital, a doctor, a clinic, or a collections agency? And here's what he had to say.
- [22:22]
Jill
I think the larger the system, the more willing. Usually, like when I, you know, if I were to call my, you know, local chiropractor and try to like negotiate. It probably wouldn't go over as well as like a large lab, you know, company or a hospital ambulance, I feel like are pretty darn willing. There's also, I have had, I've had success with, and I don't know why they do this, but there are certain ambulance companies that have something called a compassionate care program. It is financial assistance, but they will not extend it to you unless you ask for it by name. Compassionate care program. So I have had success with that and then I have had success negotiating ambulance bills. I think that the ones that are harder are, yeah, those smaller, like small, smaller clinics and stuff like that that aren't a part of a larger system, especially a nonprofit like nonprofit hospitals are more willing to negotiate, I would say.
- [23:29]
Jen
So I hope that encourages you to use all the strengths you have, use all, everything that's in your corner to get the best negotiation outcome on your own. Knowing some of this stuff now, but, but then there also just comes a point where you don't want to negotiate or you don't have time or the capacity. And then that's where step four comes in, where there are services that will negotiate for you on your behalf if you're not eligible for financial assistance. Jarrett's nonprofit $4 will help people who are eligible for financial assistance to get that and they will advocate for you. But if you're not, there are medical advocates out there like goodbill.com or individual medical advocates. And that's a paid service, so you will usually pay a portion of your savings. But if negotiating just isn't something you can do, maybe you have too many bills, then that is an option.
- [24:35]
Jared Walker
And the goal with something like this, when it can be worth it to, to go with a medical bill advocate, is when they can decrease your bills by about 50%. And usually that might be something that you could talk to the person about ahead of time of what do they think they might be able to do for you in this situation before you are signing any type of agreement for kind of what, what you're going to end up owing them through the process.
- [25:02]
Jen
So those are the four steps, steps in your journey to getting a medical bill or even medical debt negotiated down, getting that itemized receipt, checking your eligibility for financial assistance within 240 days, negotiating. And that's where we really get into. Even when you get into collections, when you have medical debt, it becomes much easier to negotiate and using that 50% number as kind of like a rule or a guide. And then if you can't do it on your own Using some kind of medical advocate.
- [25:39]
Jared Walker
Do you know what is fun and is free and never gives us? Well, a bill that costs money. The bill of the week.
- [25:51]
Jen
This is the bill of the week. This is the bill of the week. This is the bill of the week.
- [26:01]
Jill
That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage.
- [26:10]
Jen
Maybe your car died and you're happy.
- [26:12]
Jill
To not have to pay that bill anymore. Duck bills. Buffalo bills. Bill Clinton. This is the bill of the week.
- [26:21]
Jen
We got there. We did get there, Jared. Every week we yell at our guests and our listeners and ask them to share their favorite bill. Now, I know we're talking about medical bills, but that doesn't tie you to this category for your bill of the week. You still have just as broad of a niche as everyone else.
- [26:43]
Jill
Okay, so I need to tell you about a bill. Well, I got a stick in the hospital. I can't.
- [26:52]
Jen
They always do.
- [26:53]
Jill
Yeah, they always do do. I can't go away. Okay, I'll, I'll. This is a, this is a, a fun one. So every day at $4, we have a slack channel that is the, the community celebration channel. So every single time we get a medical bill eliminated for a patient, it goes into this and we all, you know, celebrate. So as of yesterday, I'm just going to read you bills that we have eliminated today since 9am so this is an hour and a half. Okay.
- [27:29]
Jared Walker
This is very fun.
- [27:31]
Jill
So we have a $7,800 medical bill eliminated. 6018-1100-0374-4364,920, 4,1200 4, 4,200 and 6,700. So those are the bills that we've eliminated so far today. But what is fun is when patients tell us a little bit about their story. So we had a patient say, I got this medical bill and I was forced with the decision. And this happens all the time. Am I going to pay this medical bill or am I going to continue my education? She was young, going through school. So she sent us a photo of her on her graduation day and said because $4, I was able to continue my education and graduated. So that is the bill of the week.
- [28:24]
Jen
Wow.
- [28:25]
Jared Walker
I am not prepared to cry.
- [28:27]
Jen
That is it. That is the bill of the month, I believe. I think that's it.
- [28:33]
Jared Walker
Talk about a life changing. Bill of the week. That's wild. You guys must feel so fulfilled. I mean, maybe you don't. You don't have to, but I gotta imagine those wins are just amazing.
- [28:47]
Jill
We, we do. We, we love it. I mean, it's, yeah, it's, it's like when we were kind of talking about our core values as an organization, one of them was celebrate. Like, if we're not celebrating these wins, we're going to lose sight of why we do this. And so it's having that celebration channel is a very good motivator. Keeps us all kind of like, this is, this is what we're doing and it matters.
- [29:13]
Jared Walker
Yeah. Celebrating with you and with all these people who now get to choose to do other things with their money because it's not going towards medical debt. That's amazing. If you all are listening and you've got a bill to share about eliminating tens of thousands of dollars worth of medical debt and allowing other people to be able to finish out their college degree, or if it's not quite so motivational and just your name is selfish too, and you don't mind paying certain bills. You know what to do. Frugalfriendspodcast.com Bill, leave it for us. And now it's time for the lightning round.
- [29:56]
Jen
All right, what is the most shocking medical bill you've ever received? And in my mind, it's like, biggest. But it doesn't have to be biggest.
- [30:07]
Jared Walker
It doesn't have to be.
- [30:08]
Jen
It can just be shocking. Jared.
- [30:14]
Jill
Okay, I'll go, I won't go. The biggest. I think I'll go with that classic, like, I've heard this story a million times about like the $50 band aid or the hundred dollar aspirin. And I just, I haven't seen it until I, until I, until I saw it. It's one of those things where you, yeah, you look at it and you're like, how, how are they doing this? How are they getting away with this? Right? So, yeah, it was Medical Bill asked for the itemized statement and, and saw that line item. And it just, man, one of the most frustrating things because again, you hear about it, but you don't actually think that they're going to charge you that much for. And ibuprofen. And here we are.
- [31:06]
Jen
You don't think it's going to happen to you and then it does.
- [31:10]
Jill
Yeah, absolutely. And it's just one of those, like, I mean, the whole thing about a medical emergency, a medical bill, like, there's, there's a lot that goes into it. Right. A lot of these people are, they just had a, a significant medical emergency. They were diagnosed with something. They were like There's a lot of stress, there's a lot of emotion. There's a lot. And then when you feel like you're, you know, you go to the doctor or you go to the hospital and these people are trying to help you and a lot of times they do. Like, I don't want to take that away from the healthcare workers. Obviously that is like a very positive experience sometimes. But once you get that bill, it can really, really be frustrating.
- [31:56]
Jared Walker
So, yeah, yeah.
- [31:58]
Jen
I saw a social video of a doctor once and it just said when my patient says they took Tylenol before they came to the hospital. And then it's just that song like, go Little Rockstar.
- [32:16]
Jared Walker
Saved $1,000 by taking Tylenol before going to the hospital.
- [32:21]
Jill
Well, it's like how many people too? Gosh, I see this all the time. I've seen this happen where when you get in a car accident, they always say, oh, do you want an ambulance? And they're like, absolutely not. I'm not. You know, people deny ambulances all the time because they know that that's going to be a $2,600 taxi ride to the hospital.
- [32:40]
Jen
I got a sixteen hundred dollar ride in November.
- [32:43]
Jared Walker
Yeah, it doesn't actually sound that bad.
- [32:46]
Jen
It wasn't a comfortable ride.
- [32:51]
Jared Walker
What's your most shocking bill, Jen?
- [32:54]
Jen
Well, the mileage fee on that ambulance charge was quite shocking. Half of it was base fee and half of it was mileage and we live four miles, five miles max from the hospital.
- [33:07]
Jared Walker
Wow.
- [33:08]
Jen
But that wasn't it. I got the bill for my birth, my most recent birthday. Came in an email and it was just in big numbers. Like it was like seventy something thousand dollars. Just one big number in an email. And I was like, man, they're not even hiding it. They're not even like your, your bill is ready to view in your portal. They just sent that out there. It is crazy. That was wild. I knew I wouldn't have to pay it. So it wasn't I. You see that number and you still worried. You're like, I know I don't have to pay that.
- [33:46]
Jill
Yeah.
- [33:46]
Jen
Because like my maternity care was like fully covered. Um, but still like, still shocking. Wow.
- [33:55]
Jill
Yeah. That is the number one reason people reach out to dollar for is cancer related treatment. The second thing is childbirth.
- [34:03]
Jared Walker
Crazy dang. Wow. My most shocking medical bill happened before for a surgery. So I had the circumstance where I was able to do the shopping around as you're describing and I was actually just a few days from surgery and through that process learned that everybody has their different bills that they wanna give me. So I was self pay. So I had already gotten the anesthesia amount, I'd gotten the surgeon's amount, and the final amount I needed to grab was the amount for the hospital. And I'm thinking, all right, the surgeon and the anesthesia were pretty reasonable prices in my mind. So I'm thinking that the hospital is going to be right around that. I was guessing between like 3 to $4,000 for a 15 minute room rental is kind of how I would describe it. And they got back to me and they're like, oh, yep, that's going to be $32,000. And my stuff stomach dropped through the floor. And I was like, well, take me off your schedule because I am not signing up for $32,000. They, they were locking me in because that was kind of in my mind. One of the downsides of agreeing to surgery ahead of time is they then send you all this paperwork locking you into this pricing that you know, you, you are signing up for. So I ended up canceling it and, and did a lot more shopping around. But yeah, that was. And I did, I got, I got the whole thing, the whole kit and caboodle for $10,000 including surgery. Surgery and anesthesia. But that was a shocking number and thankfully I didn't have to pay it. I got to choose ahead of time. I'm not paying that number.
- [35:56]
Jill
Yeah. Wow.
- [35:58]
Jared Walker
Anyways, Jared, if people want to hear more from you, more about $4, they want to be one of those people on your slack channel that you're celebrating. Where can they get more?
- [36:09]
Jill
$4 org? Yeah, we are a nonprofit. We do this for patients nationwide and it is completely free. So we are fully funded through donors and generous people that give to our cause. But if you are a patient, you have a hospital bill, we might be able to help.
- [36:30]
Jen
That's amazing. And so when somebody enters their information on $4 org, you said, yep, then you help them find the assistance programs, apply for them, what's the move forward?
- [36:46]
Jill
Yeah. So what happens is we have that database of every hospital and all their financial assistance programs. So you put in your household size, your income, what hospital, and how old the bill is, and then it will tell you immediately if you're eligible. And then from there we've actually taken it a step further where we have collected every single financial assistance application and the patient can fill it out on their phone, tablet, computer, and our system automatically maps their information into the correct hospital application, sends it to the hospital, and we advocate on their behalf so really they just have to go to $4.org, put in the qualifying information. If they're eligible, it will lead them through the application process and then we help them from there.
- [37:31]
Jen
Oh, that's awesome. That's amazing.
- [37:33]
Jared Walker
Thanks so much, Jared, for what you do and for being on our show.
- [37:36]
Jill
Thank you so much for having me.
- [37:41]
Jen
Thanks so much for listening to this episode. It was a bit of a departure from what, what we're used to doing and frankly much more difficult. We are still learning, but we want to bring really more comprehensive coverage to the topics that we're talking about.
- [38:03]
Jared Walker
Jen and Jill become journalists.
- [38:07]
Jen
Jen gets back to her journalist roots. It feels good. It felt really good drawing the outline and it's just a little more awkward always doing video or audio for it. So, so.
- [38:19]
Jared Walker
But we do encourage you to watch the video because we did this with YouTube in mind and we'd hate for it to be wasted. So please subscribe to our YouTube channel and just look at what we did.
- [38:34]
Jen
I don't think it will be wasted. I just feel like, I mean we are not alienating our audio listeners at all. But video is just a different type of per. Like it's a different person and we want to reach those people too. And, and by subscribing and watching this on YouTube you do like boost our numbers and our clout in the algorithm so that those people do get to benefit from this information. And so thank you so much for watching, for listening, for reading the book. If you haven't read Buy what yout Love without Going Broke yet highly, highly recommend it, it's going to help with so many of the things that we are talking about. Mickey read it and gave it a five star review saying fun filled, shame free, actionable guide. I recommend this refreshing book for anyone who needs help discerning current values, focusing on priorities and learning how to be intentional with finances. This book is not for people looking for the next Get Rich Quick scheme. Buy what yout Love Without Going Broke is focused on learning how to do the inner work necessary to identify values, practice, practice, curiosity and compassion with past decisions and implement communities and systems which enrich your finances in life. So thank you so much Mickey. That was such a kind review.
- [39:57]
Jared Walker
Thanks so much Mickey and thank you all for listening. If you did enjoy this show, please take a minute to leave a rating and a review. It does help potential new listeners know about it and and if you read the book and you liked it, please also leave that a rating and review.
- [40:11]
Jen
We're so, so grateful and please let us know what you thought about this episode, in particular in the YouTube comments for the episode. And yeah, we're just always evolving and refining.
- [40:24]
Jared Walker
Always. Bye.
- [40:27]
Jen
Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirian. I am so sorry, Jill. When I get an idea, usually I'm the one. I will take most of the brunt of the implementation, right? Like, I don't have ideas and pawn them off on other people. But lately I have been. Lately I have been. It feels. I feel bad.
- [41:03]
Jared Walker
I mean, it is. It's a shared venture. You are definitely an ideas person, and that's one of the things that I think makes us great. But an ideas person always needs an implementer. And I'm tired.
- [41:24]
Jen
And I do a good job of implementing a lot. It's just that right now, in this awkward, like, figuring out systems and processes and refining, there is an awkward, like, messiness to it.
- [41:41]
Jared Walker
Yeah, we'll see. I mean, people might be listening and they'll be like, what do you even mean? But just know that this episode needed so much work to piece it all.
- [41:52]
Jen
Together at no fault to our guests or us. But, like, we just wanted to make it different and our systems don't support different.
- [42:01]
Jared Walker
But I'm really going to hope that this one turned out just, like, beautifully.
- [42:06]
Jen
Me too.
- [42:07]
Jared Walker
Okay, bye. Bye.