What to Ask Before You Are Discharged

Nothing on this page is a condition of being treated. You are never expected to discuss money before you are assessed, and cost is not a barrier to being medically evaluated in our facilities. These are questions for the way out.

Most billing problems are made at the desk and could have been prevented at the desk. Ten minutes on the way out is worth more than three phone calls in November.

This page is about the money and the paperwork. The clinical questions — what was ruled out, what should bring you back — are on their own page, and those matter more. Ask those first.

Ask these at the front desk

“Who is going to bill me for today?” The single most useful question on this page. One visit often produces charges from more than one organisation, and knowing how many envelopes to expect turns a frightening second bill into an expected one. Why that happens.

“Is anyone involved today going to bill separately?” A radiologist who reads a scan, or an outside laboratory, may bill in their own name.

“Do you have my current insurance on file, exactly as it is on my card?” This is where wrong bills are actually born — a stale plan, a transposed member number, an old employer. Hand over the card again even if you think they have it. A claim rejected for bad details comes back to you as a bill.

“Was today observation, or was I admitted?” Different things, with different billing consequences, and worth clarifying before you leave.

“I am self-pay today.” Say it plainly if you are not using insurance. CMS: “Usually, if you don’t have or use health insurance, providers must give you a good faith estimate of what your care will cost.” You are entitled to ask, and almost nobody does.

“What number do I call about the bill, and what will they need from me?” Get the number and the account or visit reference now, while somebody is standing in front of you.

“Can I have an itemised bill when it comes?” Much easier to ask for on the way out than to request later, and a summary bill is nearly impossible to check.

“Is anything you have prescribed or ordered likely to need prior authorisation?” A referral or a medicine held up at that stage is a delay in your care, not just a billing matter.

The question nobody can answer yet, and why

“What is this going to cost me?”

Expect an honest “I cannot tell you yet,” and do not read that as evasion. At the moment you are discharged, the visit has not been coded, the claim has not been filed, and your insurer has not applied your deductible. Anybody who gives you a confident total at the desk is guessing.

What you can get is the estimate route — say you are self-pay and ask for a good faith estimate — and the phone number for the people who will know once the claim has been processed.

Write these five things down before you leave

The date of service. Obvious, and the thing people get wrong two months later.

The name of the facility, as it appears on the door — not the name of the town.

Who you saw, if you got a name.

What was actually done — which scans, which tests, which treatments. A short list in your own words.

And keep the discharge paperwork. It is the only document you will have that describes the visit from the clinical side, and it is what makes a billing dispute winnable rather than a disagreement.

Who to ask, and who not to

Front desk, registration or the billing office for anything on this page. It is their work and they have the conversation daily.

Not the clinician who treated you. They generally do not know what the visit will be coded at or what your plan will do with it, and asking puts them in the position of guessing about your money. Ask them the clinical questions instead — that is what they can answer well.

And if you are already home and the moment has passed, ring the facility:

Fountain Hills Emergency Room — (602) 671-7990 El Mirage Emergency Room — (480) 237-4922 Mercy Grace Pediatrics & Primary Care — (480) 745-3702 Fountain Hills Medical Center — Primary Care Clinic — (602) 671-7981

Questions people actually ask

Is it rude to ask about cost in an emergency room? No. It is a normal administrative conversation, and the staff who handle it are not the staff treating you. Ask on the way out rather than on the way in.

Will asking about money affect my care? No. You are assessed on the basis of what is wrong with you. If you ever feel otherwise, that is something to raise with the facility directly.

I was too unwell to ask any of this. Then ask by phone afterwards, or have somebody with you ask. None of it expires — insurance details can be corrected after the fact, and an itemised bill can be requested at any point.

Can somebody else ask on my behalf? Yes for anything on this page. For clinical information there are privacy rules about who can be told what, so expect to be asked to authorise it.

What if I disagree with the bill later? Start with the organisation named on it, and have your five written-down facts in hand. If it looks like an emergency bill that breaks federal rules, CMS runs a free line seven days a week: 1-800-985-3059 — and you can complain about a facility, a provider or an insurer, including us.

Should any of this change whether I come in? No. This page is for the walk out of the building, not the walk in.

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Ten minutes at the desk on the way out prevents most of it. Who is billing you, whether your insurance details are current, and the number to call. Both of our emergency rooms are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year — walk in, no appointment and no referral. Find your nearest emergency room →

Related reading: what the words on your discharge paperwork mean · why you received two bills for one visit

Sources

7. Medical Bill Rights — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights

This article is a list of questions, not advice about your specific bill, and it publishes no cost figures. If it might be an emergency, treat it as one and call 911.