I hadn’t heard of it either. When the bills started coming in I freaked out and hit Google for a solution, knowing that I had to fight back, or drown in these bills.
Did you know that most emergency rooms contract out for ER doctors, anesthesiologists, and radiology? I didn’t either. That is why I said “bills”, not hospital “bill”. Now try dealing with each one of those people, while keeping your (uninsured) job, and your sanity. Not going to happen, and they know it, and they collectively blew me off when I tried talking to them on my lunch hour. Did I mention that they all threatened to send me to collections knowing that I was uninsured and likely wouldn’t pay? I decided to go with that Ca company (they go by the name: Medical Bill Rehab LLC, because upfront I seemed to get some good common sense, knowledgeable information. It took them about a month to deal with the powers that be, but ultimately got everybody to sign off which means my credit record wasn’t affected.
They offered a short-term payment plan for their fee (25% of the $15,300 total savings), but I knew a gift horse when I saw it and squeezed my savings account to get it paid off immediately. I have since learned that paying only a bit over 19% was even better than many commercial insurance rates.
Hope this helps.