Man uses AI chatbot to reduce $195,000 hospital bill to $33,000 after brother-in-law’s death

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A man in the United States has shared how he used an AI chatbot to drastically cut a massive hospital bill after his brother-in-law passed away. The hospital had charged nearly $195,000 (around ₹1.6 crore) for just four hours of intensive care following a heart attack, but after careful analysis and negotiation, he managed to bring it down to $33,000 (around ₹27 lakh), according to a report by Tom’s Hardware.

Posting under the name “nthmonkey” on Threads, the man said that when the bill arrived, it was full of confusing and unclear charges. His brother-in-law’s medical insurance had lapsed just two months before the incident, leaving the family responsible for the entire cost. Feeling something wasn’t right, he decided to question the bill — with help from Claude, an AI chatbot developed by Anthropic.

Claude helped him analyze the hospital’s billing details and spotted major inconsistencies. The AI found that the hospital had charged twice for the same procedure — once for the main operation and again for each smaller component. This alone inflated the bill by about $100,000. It also detected wrong billing codes, such as marking the case as “inpatient” instead of “emergency,” and even noticed that ventilator services had been billed on the same day as admission, which can be a violation of medical billing norms.

Using the AI’s guidance, the man drafted strong letters to the hospital, pointing out the errors and threatening legal action if the issues were not corrected. The hospital eventually agreed to lower the amount to $33,000. He credited Claude not only for uncovering the mistakes but also for helping him write clear and professional responses that strengthened his case.

“The hospital made up its own rules and prices, thinking it could take money from people who don’t understand the system,” he wrote, adding that his $20-a-month AI subscription was the best investment he had ever made.

While the story has not been independently verified, it has struck a chord online. Many praised how AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT could help people handle complex systems — from understanding medical bills to challenging unfair charges.

As Tom’s Hardware noted, this case shows that AI isn’t just about automation or productivity anymore. For some, it’s becoming a powerful ally in solving real-world problems and standing up to institutions that once seemed too powerful to challenge.