You May Not Have to Pay a Medical Bill
The next time you receive a medical bill in the mail, it’s worth calling the phone to see if you really need to pay it or if you were billed in error. When it comes to medical bills, mistakes happen more often than you might think.
Surprise medical bills are widespread and costly: 61 percent of American adults have received at least one bill they believe will be covered, totaling an average of $ 520, according to a recent Value Penguin survey . Some of these involve billing, which is when you receive an unexpected bill for an amount not covered by your insurance company, an out-of-network provider, which is a practice allowed in most states .
However, while estimates vary, roughly 30 to 80 percent of medical claims contain errors, including mistakenly rejected claims or unexpected fees. This means you will want to take a close look at each health care bill before paying for it.
What to do with a surprise invoice
Fortunately, help is just around the corner – Congress recently passed the No Surprises Act, which introduces new federal measures to protect consumers from unexpected medical bills (effective January 1, 2022). The law requires private health plans to cover unexpected medical bills for emergency services where you have limited options for a provider, such as air ambulance services and network hospital bills. and convenience.
Meanwhile, some states already have such protections with programs that can act on your behalf. If you do not have access to such a program, call the office that billed you and ask for a detailed breakdown of costs. Then compare the list with your insurance company’s explanation of benefits .
“Call the billing office and ask them to explain what each of the fees is. If the office manager cannot answer, ask to speak with a nurse or technician in the state. This is truly the best line of defense, ”recommends Bridget Lipetsker, senior vice president of security and transparency at DirectPath, in an interview with CNBC . It can be a long and tedious process, but it can save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.
If your bills are related to a larger treatment (such as a hospital stay), gather whatever paperwork you have and see if your employer offers advocacy services that can help you sort this out (contact Human Resources if you are unsure if this is suggested).
This story was originally published in 2019 and updated on February 4, 2021.