Recently, one of my Medicare clients received a $50,000 bill for a hospital stay.
I hate to say it but…
It’s not that unusual for medical billing to be incorrect.
When a client in Ohio received the $50k hospital bill, I had to jump in.
After a couple of calls and a long time on hold…
We finally got the bill corrected and resubmitted.
The client’s portion?
Less than a thousand 😊, whew!
If you receive a bill and the numbers look high… remember that medical overbilling happens all the time.
Or different than your what your summary of benefits dictates…
Don’t pay right away.
Call your insurance provider and review the billing.
If the numbers don’t match, call the healthcare provider billing department.
Tell them to review the billing codes and to resubmit the bill to your provider.
Sometimes it can take multiple calls, but it’s definitely worth the trouble.
Remember, information is power. So arm yourself with as much information as possible. What exactly does your insurance cover? What doesn’t it cover? The more information you have and the better informed you are, the better prepared you will be to spot errors in medical bills.
There are many reasons why medical overbilling occurs. Some of these reasons include: Upcoding, Duplicate Billing, Over-prescribing Drugs, and Utilization Abuse. Again, educate yourself and pay close attention to all medical bills BEFORE making payment.
Here’s a Medicare link to new protections against surprise medical bills.
And if you have questions about Medicare Insurance, book a time on my calendar.
