A listener’s doctor wanted her credit card info up front — before her appointment. She wondered: Do I need to give it to them? We did too.
After all, who wants the risk of being overcharged — and then having to fight for money back?
Experts gave us their best advice, including a couple of tricks to try, and a legal protection you may be able to rely on.
Meanwhile, Elisabeth Rosenthal, senior contributing editor at KFF Health News, filled us in on the rapid growth of medical debt as a financial product, including specialized credit cards and financing plans pushed by hospitals and other providers.
They can come with steep interest rates, and (surprise, surprise) the terms aren’t always spelled out clearly.
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been issuing reports, including a handy FAQ, but hasn’t taken enforcement action in a decade.
Here’s a transcript of this episode.
Send your stories and questions. Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.
And of course we’d love for you to support this show.
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How one drug got its $500,000 price tag. (With 99 Percent Invisible– Season One, episode 3)
All the Marbles: One woman’s epic quest for health insurance (Season One, episode 2)
This is Water, and it sucks. Let’s talk. (Season One, episode 1)
A podcast about the cost of health care, coming November 2018
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