What is Medical Bill Savant?
Medical Bill Savant (MBS) is a tool to help you fight the exploitative billing practices of hospitals and clinics. MBS compares your bill to fair prices for your procedures, and then automatically generates a negotiation letter based on this information.
Most patients don’t realize that medical bills are often negotiable, and hospitals or providers may reduce charges if asked. Knowing your options—like requesting discounts, payment plans, or fair-price adjustments—can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
To use MBS, first navigate to the Generate Your Letter page and upload your medical bill with CPT codes in PDF format. MBS then automatically identifies your charges, determines fair prices for the procedures using publicly available Medicare billing data, and generates a negotiation letter to your hospital or clinic.
Wait, my bill doesn’t have any codes or procedures on it…
Under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rules, hospitals must provide an itemized statement of charges when a patient requests it. It is your right to see your itemized charges before you pay your bill. To request a list of itemized charges, send the following letter to your provider. Be sure to include your personal information as needed.
Dear [Hospital Billing Department],
I am writing to request an itemized statement of my recent medical charges for [Patient Name, Date(s) of Service, Account Number if available]. Under federal law (42 U.S. Code § 1861 and CMS guidelines), patients have the right to receive an itemized statement of charges. For my records and insurance purposes, I would appreciate it if the statement could include the associated CPT codes for each service or procedure.
Please let me know if any forms need to be completed or fees applied to provide this information. I appreciate your assistance and look forward to your prompt response.
Thank you,
[Your Name]
[Contact Information]
About Exploitative Billing Practices
Have you ever received an unlabeled medical bill and been unsure about why it was so expensive? You’re not alone. Many healthcare providers and institutions engage in billing practices that take advantage of patients’ lack of understanding of medical costs. Inflated charges, upcoding, and opaque fee structures can result in patients paying far more than the fair market or Medicare rates for routine procedures. These practices disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, creating financial stress while limiting access to necessary care.