A good faith estimate is a written prediction of what a service will cost, which providers are generally required to give uninsured and self-pay patients before scheduled care under the federal No Surprises Act. If your final bill is much higher than the estimate, you may be able to dispute the difference.
The good faith estimate is a consumer protection built into the federal No Surprises Act. If you are uninsured or paying out of pocket, providers are generally required to give you a written estimate of expected charges before scheduled care, so you are not blindsided by the bill. It also creates leverage after the fact: if your actual bill exceeds the estimate by a defined margin, you may be entitled to use a patient-provider dispute process to challenge the excess. Keeping the estimate is what makes that possible.
Primarily uninsured and self-pay patients, before scheduled care. Insured patients generally get cost information through their plan instead.
If it exceeds the estimate by the threshold set under the No Surprises Act, you may be able to dispute the difference through the patient-provider dispute resolution process.
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