How One Mom Turned a $27,000 Medical Bill into $859

After receiving a $7,000 estimate for her son’s hernia surgery, Lindsay Bockwinkel received a $27,000 bill and went through a series of steps that left her paying less than $900.

When Lindsay Bockwinkel received a $27,000 bill for her toddler’s surgery - nearly four times the estimate - she knew something was wrong. What she didn’t know was how to fight back.

Bockwinkel lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband and five sons, ages 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1.5. As if managing five children isn’t already enough, she homeschools them from July to April.

Her youngest son, Andrew, underwent a routine inguinal hernia repair, one of the most common surgeries for baby boys. In his case, the surgery was a non-emergent, preventative measure for his intestines. The repair was needed to prevent future complications.

Lindsay Bockwinkel holding her son, Andrew.

Bockwinkel’s family of seven have been members of the Samaritan Ministries health care sharing plan for several years. Samaritan Ministries and other health share programs are not insurance. Their membership supports each other's medical needs by sending financial “shares” to those with eligible medical expenses. “For us, it’s been excellent. We pay $339 a month for our entire family to be in the program.”

Living just 10 minutes from the state line, she took Andrew to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas for the operation. As a member of Samaritan Ministries, Bockwinkel is a self-pay patient anytime her family needs care, which included Andrew’s surgery.

Without her needing to ask, the hospital generated and mailed her an estimate on January 17, four days before the scheduled surgery. The estimate was $6,745.

The surgeon told Bockwinkel that the estimate only included costs for repairing one side of the hernia. He then shared that it’s possible he would need to repair both sides and would make the final decision during the operation.

When she showed up the day of the surgery, the hospital collected $100 from her up front. The surgery was a success with the surgeon repairing both sides, and she returned home with her son later that day.

“The bills rolled in over the weeks that followed. First the surgery fee, then the hospital fee, the surgeon fee, and the anesthesiologist.” Bockwinkel recalled a flurry of notifications via mail and quickly responded by placing a call back to the hospital for the itemized bill.

“When I received the itemized bill it showed $27,841 in charges.” She was shocked by the size of the bill and how far it landed from the original estimate she was given. Bockwinkel bought Marshall’s book, Never Pay the First Bill shortly after receiving the breakdown of charges.

“I didn’t know what to do about it until I read the book and learned that errors are likely.” After taking a closer look at the bill, Bockwinkel began to question two charges that exceeded $11,000 and were only a few hundred dollars apart. Both charges read “operating room level two.”

A snapshot of the duplicate charges on the original itemized bill.

She suspected a mistake and wondered if the duplicate operating room charge may have been tied to the fact the surgeon ended up repairing both sides of her son’s hernia, resulting in two procedures during the surgery instead of one.

Armed with the confidence and her newfound knowledge from reading Marshalls’ book, Bockwinkel called the hospital billing department to verify that the operating room charge had been duplicated. It took three follow up calls over the next six weeks in order to have the error confirmed and the duplicate charge removed.

A few points of perspective looking at the itemized bill:

- The $11,455 operating room expense was 4.5x the cost of the surgeon who performed the procedures.

- The $1,480 charge for the recovery room was separate from the operating room expense of $11,455.

- The surgeon fee to repair one side of the hernia was $200 less than the charge for the recovery room.

Below is a table to summarize the various adjustments made to her bill during the weeks of review and negotiation that followed the event.

The revisions showcased in the table above illustrate the power of advocacy and not taking a bill at face value. Large discounts and reductions are made possible by analyzing statements, requesting itemized copies, asking for errors, and speaking with hospital staff to assist in clarifying details.

The final cost of the entire encounter, $7,594 was close to the $6,745 initial estimate. Samaritan Ministry members covered 90% of the total. Bockwinkel’s share of the bill was $859, after including her up front payment.

After paying the bill in full, the Bockwinkel family can now put the surgery in their rear view mirror. When asked about her healthcare billing experiences as a self pay patient Lindsay shared, “Generally they have been positive. Until this, I don’t think I’ve pushed back on any bills before. However, after having this experience that may change.”

From $27,000 to $859 - Bockwinkel’s persistence and knowledge paid off. Congratulations on the victory!

Key Takeaways:

• Always request an itemized bill with billing codes.

• Check for duplicate or inaccurate charges.

• Negotiate and ask about discounts for self-pay or full payment.

• Use resources like Never Pay the First Bill and asktheMAC.ai to guide your fight.

Bockwinkel’s story proves that standing up to billing errors can pay off.