Coming Soon

Negotiate a Lab Bill After a Medicare Denial

You've exhausted your Medicare appeal — or you decided not to file one — and you still owe the lab. You have more leverage than you think. We're building scripts, benchmark data, and an escalation guide. Sign up to be notified when it's ready.

Many labs would rather settle for less than face a public dispute.

Medicare rates are public. When you can show a lab their charge is 5x what Medicare considers reasonable, you have a credible basis for asking them to come down. Most billing departments have authority to discount. The script and benchmarks matter.

What's coming in the full guide

Phone scripts for lab billing departments
The four pieces of data to have in front of you on the call: Medicare rate, national cash price range, area average, and markup percentage
Letter templates for a formal written dispute
When and how to escalate to move the lab to action — your US Senator, Representative, state Attorney General, and local consumer-protection media
What to do if the bill is already with a collection agency
How signing an ABN affects your leverage — and what to do if the lab can't produce a signed copy

Get notified when the guide goes live

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While you wait — the data you'll need is already here

To negotiate a lab bill effectively, you need to know what Medicare considers the test should cost and what the markup actually is. Both are available right now, free.

GougeStop Rate Lookup Look up any test. See the Medicare-allowed rate, average provider charge, and the markup percentage — the exact numbers you'll quote on the phone. Coverage Lookup Browse the coverage rules for common lab tests to understand whether Medicare should have covered the test in the first place. MedCarePrecheck Bill Scanner → Upload your bill to see what Medicare would have paid line-by-line, with the markup factor for each test. Our affiliate site. Read: 5 Things to Do Before You Pay a Lab Bill Practical pre-payment checklist that often catches errors before money changes hands.

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