Need assistance in lowering physical therapy bill

Hi-

I had "charity care" from a local hospital. I do not qualify for medicaid, and had no health insurance. The nerologist prescribed PT...I questioned whther this charity card woul pay for it, evryone w/in hospital systen said yes, even though card said no. I was advised by PT dept. things have chaged. So I went for an eval and 3 session (each less than an hour, with me doing exercises). I now owe $2600 to hospital system as they do not pay for "rehab" services.

Any ideas on how I can try to negotiate a lower amount to pay it off? Any ideas would be most helpful. The therapist did not use ANY modalities....no heat, ice, ultrasound, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Write the hospital system and tell them your situation and suggest something/how you want to pay/back, etc. Ask them to give you their negotiated insurance "rates" (as if you had insurance). What is charged is always much more than an insurance company will pay/the doctors and therapists will accept. That's why one buys insurance, to get the insurance rate that they have bargained for, it's like having a union on your side. They certainly want some money at least though not like they can force it out of you if you do not have it so they probably will be quite happy to negotiate rather than have you just not pay.