Why You Should Always Ask for a “super Bill” for Medical Expenses
Whenever you receive a medical bill that is larger than you expect (which is often) or is confusing (also often), you should ask for a detailed bill or “super bill”. A Super Account contains more subtle information that you really need to understand what you are actually being charged for, which in turn will reveal errors that you can then remove from your account.
What is a super account?
Not all medical bills are created equal, and some give you little or no information about what you are billed for. In this case, ask your healthcare provider for a detailed invoice in writing or through their payment portal (if they have one). Within a couple of weeks, you should receive a new invoice with detailed items for each service provided.
Many of these items will have codes and abbreviated descriptions that are difficult to analyze, but there are ways to check if they are legal.
How to spot errors in a super account
Before disputing a bill with your healthcare provider, try to understand each point as best you can by doing the following:
- If you have health insurance, start with an EOB or an explanation of benefits . It is sent to you by your insurance company after you receive medical care and confirms how much of that medical care is covered by your insurance. This is very similar to an invoice that you have to pay, but it is not.
- At some point after your treatment, your insurance company will pay their share of the bill, and then you will receive the actual bill from your healthcare provider. At this point, you can request a detailed invoice if the first invoice doesn’t make sense. (You may receive this invoice before the EOB, so you will have to wait for the EOB or contact the insurer to close the cycle.)
- Then compare your super account and EOB and look for discrepancies, errors, or obvious surcharges for services you didn’t use or needed. Your itemized bill will include the universal codes HCPCS and ICD-10, which describe the service / product or diagnosis, respectively. If the position description next to this code doesn’t make sense, enter the code into Google to get a clear description.
Common types of errors in medical billing
Typos are common. Codes are often misused or may differ from one digit, so you will want to flag a service or diagnosis that doesn’t make sense depending on the treatment you received. Duplicate billing is also common.
Plus, you can successfully pass up exorbitant markups as healthcare providers sometimes secretly charge questionable fees for things like $ 100 aspirin or $ 10 bottles of water (you can also check databases like Fair Health or Healthcare Bluebook. to see what the normal range of fees might be). be for the service provided).
How to dispute medical bill expenses
All you have to do is call the provider or write a letter challenging the charge . You may want to contact your insurance company first and make sure the discrepancies are not on their side. Otherwise, if the provider does not budge due to an obvious billing error, you may want to consider taking legal action . If you can’t afford to pay your bill, consider the payment options outlined in this Lifehacker post .