Cut a $195,628 uninsured ER bill to about $32,500 by checking it against Medicare rules with Claude

Posted

Feb 13, 2026 by Matt Rosenberg (Business Insider)

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Last checked

Oct 17, 2026

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Method:

How we verify

Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.

Context: Rosenberg says they cross-checked Claude's figures with ChatGPT and the Medicare rules themselves, and doesn't recommend using AI as a lawyer.

Outcome

After a relative died following four hours of emergency care, Matt Rosenberg got the hospital's coded UB-04 form and asked Claude to compare each charge with what Medicare would pay. Claude spotted unbundled stent supplies worth over $100,000, a bypass charge for surgery that never happened, and ventilation billed alongside critical care, and estimated Medicare would have paid about $28,675. Rosenberg had ChatGPT check the analysis, spot-checked the rules, and sent a six-page letter. The hospital countered at $36,356 and they settled at roughly $32,500.

Agent

Claude, ChatGPT

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me understand a large hospital bill and build a fair, evidence-based counter-offer.

What I'll share as we go:
- The itemized bill and, if I can get it, the coded claim form (UB-04 or similar)
- Whether the patient had insurance, and which
- What care actually happened, in plain words

You're not my accountant or financial adviser. Show your working, label estimates as estimates, and tell me which points a professional or the official source should confirm. You're not my lawyer. Stick to facts I give you, label any rule you mention as something to check against the official source, and keep the tone firm but polite.

Rules:
- Explain each code in plain words before judging it.
- Compare charges with published Medicare rules and rates, and cite the rule for every issue you raise.
- Flag charges for care that didn't happen, items that should be bundled, and services that can't be billed together.
- Label every figure as your estimate until I've checked it against the official source.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A table of disputed lines with the rule and your estimated fair amount, then a draft letter with a specific offer.

You'll know it worked when: I have a checked, rule-by-rule case and a reasonable offer the hospital takes seriously.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me understand a large hospital bill and build a fair, evidence-based counter-offer.

What I'll share as we go:
- The itemized bill and, if I can get it, the coded claim form (UB-04 or similar)
- Whether the patient had insurance, and which
- What care actually happened, in plain words

You're not my accountant or financial adviser. Show your working, label estimates as estimates, and tell me which points a professional or the official source should confirm. You're not my lawyer. Stick to facts I give you, label any rule you mention as something to check against the official source, and keep the tone firm but polite.

Rules:
- Explain each code in plain words before judging it.
- Compare charges with published Medicare rules and rates, and cite the rule for every issue you raise.
- Flag charges for care that didn't happen, items that should be bundled, and services that can't be billed together.
- Label every figure as your estimate until I've checked it against the official source.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.
- List exactly which of your findings I should double-check myself, and where.

Output: A table of disputed lines with the rule and your estimated fair amount, then a draft letter with a specific offer.

You'll know it worked when: I have a checked, rule-by-rule case and a reasonable offer the hospital takes seriously.

Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.

Source

https://www.businessinsider.com/claude-helped-negotiate-hospital-bill-discount-medicare-ai-assistant-2026-2