Medical bills can quickly become overwhelming, especially when dealing with an illness or injury. A single procedure or hospital visit can generate a flood of paperwork from multiple providers, including hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, labs, and emergency rooms. Sorting through these bills while managing your health can feel like an added burden. However, taking proactive steps to organize your bills, review charges for errors, and communicate with insurance providers can help you stay in control of your finances. This guide offers practical strategies to help you navigate the complexities of medical billing and dispute errors, as well as explore options if you’re struggling to pay. By staying informed and taking action early, you can prevent medical expenses from turning into a financial crisis.
Get organized
Don’t throw anything away. Keep all receipts, insurance forms, bills, and anything else that relates to your medical care. Organize your bills so you can keep track of them. One way is to make a file for each provider. Inside each file, organize the bills by date of service. If you don’t receive itemized bills, request them. Go over each bill when you receive it because errors are common. A simple mistake, such as the wrong computer code, can cause you much grief. Here are some things to check:
- Is your personal and insurance information correct?
- Were you charged twice for the same service?
- Were you charged for something you refused or did not receive?
- Is there anything that seems unreasonably high or questionable?
Don’t ignore the explanation of benefits form
This form comes from your insurance company. It shows the medical service provided, date provided, how much your plan will pay, and how much you will have to pay yourself. If you don’t understand what you owe and why, call your insurance company or agent.
What if you think there’s a mistake?
Medical bills and the billing process can be complicated. If you think your doctor or hospital has made an error, here’s what you should do:
- Contact the appropriate billing office. Give it a reasonable amount of time to correct a mistake.
- Don’t refuse to pay a bill because you think it should have been paid by your insurance company. Most likely, any agreement you made with a hospital or doctor holds you responsible for payment, even if your insurance company doesn’t pay.
- Contact your insurance company to review the claim. Explain why you think the company’s wrong. If the company needs to do something, find out when it will get done. If you have to do something, make sure you understand exactly what and when it must be done. Get the full name of the person you spoke to, and send a letter confirming your conversation.
- Request a written explanation of denial if you’re still unsatisfied. To save your credit rating, pay the bill yourself, or negotiate a payment arrangement with the medical provider. Then use the insurance company’s appeal process as soon as possible to collect your money.
Suppose you just can’t pay
If you’re having financial problems and can’t pay your medical bills, it’s better to work directly with your medical provider. Contact the provider before it contacts you. Perhaps you can work out a payment plan.
Try to keep the bill from being turned over to a collections agency. You don’t want to damage your credit report. If the bill does go to a collections agency, understand that the agency is not interested in hearing that the insurance company made a mistake. Don’t expect the collections agency to call your insurance company. And don’t expect your insurance company to call the collections agency. If your claim is denied, you will have to keep working with your insurance company until it’s settled. In the meantime, write to the collections agency and explain the situation.
Collections agencies get paid only for what they collect. And they can get very aggressive for their clients. However, they must abide by laws that prohibit harassment and unfair practices. For example, if you tell a collections agency that you don’t want to be contacted at work, it must stop calling you there. You can try to negotiate with the collections agency. You might be able to work out a long-term payment plan. See if that will stop the agency from reporting negative information about you to the credit bureaus.
In the meantime, don’t let your health insurance coverage lapse. You may have recovered from your illness or injury and think you would be better off using those premium dollars to pay your medical bills. But if something were to happen again, your financial problems will only get worse. Furthermore, if you drop your current insurance and apply later for a new policy, your recent illness could be considered a pre-existing condition, which would prevent you from getting coverage.
Look for other ways to save on your health insurance premiums. Talk to your insurance agent about increasing your deductible or co-payments. Do you have a child in college? See if the college has a low-cost health insurance plan that would enable you to take your child off your plan.
Finally, do you have any secondary insurance coverage? A secondary plan might pay medical bills not covered by your primary plan. Your spouse’s group plan may give you some benefits. Or if Medicare is your primary insurance, you may have a secondary policy through a retirement plan, another group plan, or an individual plan.
What to do next time
After all of your medical bills are paid, think about what you can do differently to keep from getting overwhelmed again.
- Understand your health insurance policy’s rules and benefits
- Keep a record of where you received medical care and who gave it to you
- Keep a date chart of hospitalizations, lab tests, X rays, treatments, medications, and doctor’s visits
- If you ask for incidentals, like a toothbrush, slippers, or cot for a family member, understand that you will pay for them
- If you don’t know why a procedure or test is being done, ask
Conclusion: Taking Control of Your Medical Expenses
Managing medical bills requires organization, vigilance, and proactive communication with healthcare providers and insurance companies. While medical expenses can be daunting, understanding your rights, keeping detailed records, and negotiating payment plans can help you maintain financial stability. If you face difficulties paying your bills, reach out to providers before accounts are sent to collections and explore all available options, such as secondary insurance or adjustments to your health plan. Most importantly, maintaining continuous health insurance coverage will protect you from even more significant financial hardship in the future. By adopting these strategies, you can take control of your medical expenses and reduce the stress associated with managing healthcare costs.
Scarlet Oak Financial Services can be reached at 800.871.1219 or contact us here. Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter with the latest economic news.
Source:
Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. prepared this material for use by Scarlet Oak Financial Services.
Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. does not provide investment, tax, legal, or retirement advice or recommendations. The information presented here is not specific to any individual’s personal circumstances. To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law. Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on individual circumstances. Scarlet Oak Financial Services provide these materials for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable — we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.
