.to ask or not to ask

As I was compiling some of our medical bills for Karis's birth and following readmittance due to high bilirubin, I noticed something interesting on our $1700 bill for anesthesia. It wasn't the fact that the insurance paid nada, zip, zilch, zero. We were expecting that because of our maximum maternity benefit being well...maxed out! No, the interesting thing was a phone number prefaced by "for assistance, please call..."

So, you know what I did? I called. I asked if they offered financial assistance or could set us up on payments. She explained that their policy was to usually not do any discount or write-off for customers that have insurance, but she would ask her supervisor for me. I thanked her and waited.

When she came back to the line, she said her supervisor was in a giving mood and they lowered our bill by 40%! I thanked her again...even more exuberantly! Our $1700 bill had just transformed into $944! That's the favor of God...overriding policies for His children!

James 4:2b Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

So when $700 and some change is on the line, it literally pays to ask. The next time you're afraid to ask for assistance, remember the payoff for just a little bit of nerve. And be encouraged by the words of Jesus, "ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)