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.
Such important information, and thank you for sharing. I am midway through the book and taking notes not only for my family but also for my parents and aunt to help them navigate these complexities.
Hi Tina - glad to hear it! The book is an incredible resource filled with immediately usable tactics, templates, and advice. I remember reading it a few years back and making lots of highlights and notes. I'd also encourage you to check out the Marshall Allen Clone (MAC) which has all of Marshall's knowledge, including the entire book, baked into a large language model that you can interact with similar to chatGPT. You can access it here: https://www.marshallallenproject.org/ask-the-mac
This is a problem. Medical costs need to be on Medical caregiver websites. That will bring them all down. I went through this myself with a hernia in my stomach wall. I tried to get an accounting of what the repair would cost I was confronted with dismissive condescending attitudes. Finally, the lady responsible says "what do you care, one you've paid the deductible, insurance pays everything ". Well, the deductible was $7,000. I didn't appreciate the attitude and I found out the surgeon would use mesh. Standard of care he said. So I looked elsewhere and found a surgeon that didn't take insurance and his specialty was removing mesh. So I went in, all done in less than two hours. It ended up costing just shy of $7,000. But it's been over 10 years, no problem. I got followup calls every year for 3 years. The hospital bill would have been over $30,000.
Hi Jim, thank you for the support, insightful comment, and sharing your story. Transparency is needed in several areas of health care, including pricing. We need more people like you asking the right questions and prioritizing practices that value the patient experience.
Your numbers seem to be a bit misleading. The bill turned from $27k to $7.6k, not to $859. The mother’s portion was not $27k it was closer to $2700 if she paid 10%. So you could state that the bill went from $27k to $7.5k or that her portion went from $2700 to $859. Correct me if I’m wrong. The situation is bad enough that you don’t need to be misleading.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment and for raising this concern. Let me clarify the numbers to ensure there’s no confusion.
The original bill was $27,841, and through Bockwinkel’s persistence, it was reduced to $7,594. Of that amount, her health care sharing ministry covered 90%, leaving Bockwinkel responsible for $859 out of pocket. While I didn’t explicitly state that 10% of the original bill would have been $2,784, the focus of the story is on how Bockwinkel’s advocacy drastically reduced both the total bill and her personal financial responsibility.
The key takeaway here is the power of questioning medical bills, identifying errors, and negotiating reductions. Bockwinkel’s efforts saved her family thousands, and her story highlights what’s possible when patients push back against unfair charges. We appreciate your feedback and will review the wording to ensure it’s as clear and accurate as possible. Thanks again for engaging with this important topic!
Thank you for sharing. So many people get buried under excessive and incorrect bills. (I’ve been one of them!)
Appreciate your support, Andrea. I’d enjoy the chance to learn more about your experience, if interested. I will send you a DM.
Such important information, and thank you for sharing. I am midway through the book and taking notes not only for my family but also for my parents and aunt to help them navigate these complexities.
Hi Tina - glad to hear it! The book is an incredible resource filled with immediately usable tactics, templates, and advice. I remember reading it a few years back and making lots of highlights and notes. I'd also encourage you to check out the Marshall Allen Clone (MAC) which has all of Marshall's knowledge, including the entire book, baked into a large language model that you can interact with similar to chatGPT. You can access it here: https://www.marshallallenproject.org/ask-the-mac
Thank you so much Andrew for the additional resource link. I’ll check it out.
This is a problem. Medical costs need to be on Medical caregiver websites. That will bring them all down. I went through this myself with a hernia in my stomach wall. I tried to get an accounting of what the repair would cost I was confronted with dismissive condescending attitudes. Finally, the lady responsible says "what do you care, one you've paid the deductible, insurance pays everything ". Well, the deductible was $7,000. I didn't appreciate the attitude and I found out the surgeon would use mesh. Standard of care he said. So I looked elsewhere and found a surgeon that didn't take insurance and his specialty was removing mesh. So I went in, all done in less than two hours. It ended up costing just shy of $7,000. But it's been over 10 years, no problem. I got followup calls every year for 3 years. The hospital bill would have been over $30,000.
Hi Jim, thank you for the support, insightful comment, and sharing your story. Transparency is needed in several areas of health care, including pricing. We need more people like you asking the right questions and prioritizing practices that value the patient experience.
Your numbers seem to be a bit misleading. The bill turned from $27k to $7.6k, not to $859. The mother’s portion was not $27k it was closer to $2700 if she paid 10%. So you could state that the bill went from $27k to $7.5k or that her portion went from $2700 to $859. Correct me if I’m wrong. The situation is bad enough that you don’t need to be misleading.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment and for raising this concern. Let me clarify the numbers to ensure there’s no confusion.
The original bill was $27,841, and through Bockwinkel’s persistence, it was reduced to $7,594. Of that amount, her health care sharing ministry covered 90%, leaving Bockwinkel responsible for $859 out of pocket. While I didn’t explicitly state that 10% of the original bill would have been $2,784, the focus of the story is on how Bockwinkel’s advocacy drastically reduced both the total bill and her personal financial responsibility.
The key takeaway here is the power of questioning medical bills, identifying errors, and negotiating reductions. Bockwinkel’s efforts saved her family thousands, and her story highlights what’s possible when patients push back against unfair charges. We appreciate your feedback and will review the wording to ensure it’s as clear and accurate as possible. Thanks again for engaging with this important topic!
Thanks for the thoughtful response!