<prompt> Human: Hi everyone. I am in a big fix. I went to an ER about 2 months back to get an abscess drained. The ER sent me two bills. Physicians bill was 2131 and the facilities bill was 3041. My insurance covers 80 amount after my 3000 deductible is met. I have paid nothing towards my deductible till date. Now, for an abscess drainage, that probably costs 800, I will be paying 3000. Can you tell me what all can I do to dispute the bill or not pay so much money?Thanks a lot! Assistant: Well step one in the future is dont go to the ER for a procedure easily performed in an outpatient setting.Did you get an explanation of benefits from your insurance company? They negotiate lower rates on all medical bills you get. Youd still have to pay until you meet the deductible, but they would at least get the price reduced to the standard rate insurance would pay.Did they bill you for things that didnt happen? They will have to provide you a line item bill showing the charge for each item on the bill. Make sure those are accurate.And you can always call your hospitals billing department and ask for a payment plan or a reduced settlement amount. They deal with people who dont have enough money all the time. But since you actually do have insurance, I dont think youll get much, but it could be worth it to try.This is how HDHP plans work. They have a high deductible. Thats the plan you have. If the ER bill is correct and its been discounted to your insurances rates and they billing department wont cut you any sort of discount or deal, you are gonna be paying the 3000.In the future, outpatient care is much cheaper, and you should budget for an emergency 3k medical bill each year since you have a deductible of 3k. Also assuming you have to pay this, make sure if there are any other lingering medical issues you want to address you do it this year since youve already met your deductible. Human: Okay. I understand this now. I shouldnt have gone to an ER. I did not know the difference between an ER and Urgent Care. That was my first mistake. I got the itemized bill. They used CPT 99284 for my abscess drainage. That is Level 4 in terms of ER emergency. Would you know if I can challenge that? Level 4 is high severity and urgent evaluation.  <response>: Not sure why this got down voted but... That code seems to high. Your issue was not life threatening, more than likely should have been 9282. This is something you should bring up with your insurance or the hospital. Sometimes, if youre lucky, improper coding can get your case dropped. Regardless of the outcome, when you go to the ER you pay for a building full of specialists per visit. Unless you need specialized care, stay away. 