People who challenge an unexpected medical bill often get some form of financial relief, a new study says.

About 1 in 5 people say they’ve recently received a medical bill they disagreed with or couldn’t afford to pay, according to a survey published Aug. 30 in JAMA Health Forum.

Nearly 62% said they contacted a billing office to address their concern, and most who reached out said they got payment help or had their bill corrected.

“Many people are hesitant to pick up the phone to question the accuracy of a problematic medical bill or explore financial options, but our findings indicate it’s worthwhile and typically takes less than one hour,” lead investigator Erin Duffy, director of research training at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, said in a news release.

For the study, researchers surveyed 1,135 U.S. adults between August and October of 2023.

About 74% of those who reached out about a billing error said the mistake was corrected, the survey found.

Likewise, 76% got some form of financial relief for an unaffordable bill, and 62% were able to negotiate a lower price.

Most contacted the billing office by telephone, researchers said. The vast majority said the process took less than an hour and they were treated with respect.

Type of health insurance and levels of education or income didn’t make much of a difference regarding the likelihood of receiving a problematic bill, results show.

But folks were less likely to contact a billing office if they didn’t have a college degree, had lower financial literacy or lacked health insurance, researchers found. This means people already at risk for medical debt are less likely to challenge bills that could severely affect their finances.

Of those who didn’t contact the billing office about a problematic bill, 86% said they didn’t think it would make a difference.

Patients might be more apt to discuss their bill if they’re provided more detailed written information about the charges and their payment options, the researchers said.

“Current healthcare billing practices generally require patients to practice a lot of self-advocacy, and those who cannot self-advocate well are missing opportunities for financial relief,” researcher Erin Trish, co-director of the USC Schaeffer Center, said in a news release. “Simpler billing processes and more transparency about financial options could make the system work better for patients.”