How MDsave Helped Me Get Out of Medical Debt

Three years ago, Jessica was diagnosed with lupus and started amassing thousands in medical debt. Thanks to MDsave, she’s now debt-free and continuing to save thousands on her routine medical care. 

Meet Jessica.

“Medical insurance was never really an issue for me, at least for several years. I actually work for my father-in-law at an insurance agency. But our group health, our deductibles, are extremely high; mine's over $6,700 for my total out of pocket [responsibility]. It just didn’t become a problem until three years ago, when I was diagnosed with lupus. It took about six years to get me diagnosed, and then I started having to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills. I actually just finished paying off a medical bill from 2019! 

I have three children, and two of them are grown and out of the house but I still have to help them, too. And we have two homes that we're trying to deal with. I mean, I'm the only one [in my family] that really has this much medical stuff going on, but [my rheumatologist] is wanting me to come in every three to four months for blood work. And that's a lot of money!”

Finding MDsave.

“My friend Sarah is a nurse practitioner, and [my husband and I] had actually gone out to eat with her and her husband one night and we were discussing medical stuff. And I was telling her, you know, how ridiculous my medical bills were and that I was making four different payments every month to medical facilities, for forever. 

I was telling her about how my routine blood work was $3-4,000 every six months, and she goes ‘Well, have you ever tried MDsave?’ And I was like, ‘Tried what?’ And she's like, ‘MDsave! Have you ever tried that?’ And I said, ‘I've never heard of it.’ So she said, ‘Well, just get on there and see!’ And then she told me how it worked.

So I was like, ‘Yeah, sure, this will probably only save me a couple hundred bucks, you know.’ But a couple hundred dollars is a couple hundred dollars, so I thought ‘I might as well check this out!’

So I went and saw my rheumatologist, and I told her that I was gonna check out MDsave. And she said, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, give it a try!’ So I went online to [the MDsave] website. There were only two facilities near me, because I live in southern Illinois in a rural area. But I could get my blood work and labs, all of that done at either of the hospitals. So the one that I went to, Crossroads Community Hospital, is about 35 miles from me, but that’s really not too bad. For the kind of savings I get from MDsave, it's worth it to drive 35 miles!”

From Skeptic to Supporter.

“Before MDsave, I’d been going to the other hospital a lot, and I even got a bill that was so much, more than $3,000, that I had to finance it out and make small payments on it. So I did a 24-month financing plan and paid on thousands of dollars for two years. Then, around this time last year while I was paying that bill, I learned about MDsave and I realized that my same blood work that was costing me all this money was only like $200-something dollars on MDsave. And I thought, ‘Wow. There’s just no way that this is real.’

And you know, at first I was like, ‘Oh, that's crazy. There's no way it’s gonna save me much money and be easy to use.’ I’ll admit it, I was scared. I was skeptical in the beginning. But I took a chance, knowing I’d have to pay the money regardless, and went ahead and made a purchase through MDsave [for my next round of blood work], printed out my voucher and took it to Crossroads. I thought they’d give me a hard time [at the hospital], but no—not at all. I was in and out. They drew my labs and sent everything to my rheumatologist. And that was it. There was zero difference in the quality of care I got. 

It was awesome, I’m so thankful for it. And, I mean, it's worth it just to get on [MDsave.com] to see what’s available. Because it is easy to use—it's as simple as you can get.”

Crazy Savings Worth Sharing.

“This year, [my rheumatologist] wanted me to have some x-rays and stuff done. I called and priced it out everywhere around me, and it was gonna be around $5,900 for two chest x-rays and my routine labs. So I got on MDsave and it turned out that I could get everything I needed done on MDsave for only $281. I mean, that difference! So I paid, got my voucher, and went to the hospital the next morning. [The hospital] did my x-rays, drew my blood and faxed everything to my doctor, no problems. So I’m just super excited, because it saves me so much money. I mean, that's a vacation for my family! It’s huge. I love MDsave. And I wish I could tell everybody about it. I just love it.

It's definitely worth checking out. I have a complicated disease, and [MDsave] has had everything that I've needed to get done; anything I’ve needed for my health has been available to me on [MDsave.com]. So I wish I could just get on a big intercom and tell everybody to go there, because there are a lot of people that put off having medical care because they can't afford it. And it might even be some of the things that I'm having done but they just don't know about the program. They could be getting the health care they needed if they just knew about MDsave. And that's sad. So I’m doing what I can to tell everybody I know! I’m showing everyone my receipts, showing them my itemized vouchers and such.”

An Eye-Opening Experience.

“It's really crazy to me how much money can be saved. Almost anything I’ve needed I've been able to instantly get on [MDsave.com]. There were just a few [procedures] that were described a little bit differently, so I called the hospital [for clarification], and they said, ‘Oh, just type in this [CPT] code. And that's how you can be sure you’re buying the right thing!’ So, sure enough, I typed it in and up came my procedure. So I was able to buy everything I needed. And it saved me, like, $5,700.

[This experience] has really opened my eyes. How is it even kosher that [hospitals] can charge that kind of money? You know, one of my tests was $1,300. For one blood test! And it was just $29 on MDsave. I mean, come on. It’s crazy!

I just think about all the people that have been doing what I was doing—working to pay off medical bills for years. And then, well gosh, for a couple hundred bucks you could be done with it! It's just super awesome. I really, really love [MDsave].”

“Because of MDsave, I’ve Been Able to Get Out of My Medical Debt.”

“Most importantly, because of MDsave, I've been able to get out of my medical debt. I know so many people are in a crazy amount of medical debt right now. I'd probably be about $30,000 in the hole today, if not for MDsave. And that's the honest truth. I mean, it's been the difference of me being able to even look at buying a new car. Not paying all my money on medical bills? That’s always worth a shot.

And so, after all this, we took my friend out for steak. That's the least I could do for [her], for telling me about MDsave! I hope [MDsave is] around forever—or at least as long as I’m around!”