Are You Being Charged Incorrectly
1:51 AM
Having medical insurance is no guarantee you won't be over billed. Many are finding inaccuracies in the bills they receive from hospitals and caregivers. The problem is less uncommon than one would think. It could be sloppiness or it could mean the right hand isn't talking to the left hand. Hospital billing procedures often do leave a lot to be desired, since there are so many involved in the patient's care. But errors do occur, and it is a good idea to do a line by line review of your hospital bill.
Recently, as a young nurse was combed through the bills for her husband's recent hospital stay, she found that there were charges for a drug that should have been $80, but was charged incorrectly at $875. There was also an administrative error which caused her husband to be hospitalized an extra day, and she knew from her hospital experience that they didn't have to pay for additional unneeded care because of a medical mistake. She also discovered a charge for administering one medication 7 times a day, when the doctor's prescription was only 4 times per day. In all, she uncovered $7000 worth of over charges on her bills.
So some good advice to all is to ask for an itemized bill and make sure that you check through it carefully. If you don't know much about them, then pay cash and sit down with your doctor, not the billing department, to review each individual charge on your bill and what it means and take notes and ask questions. Finding out what you are being billed for, and don't just accept it at face value.
There are also resources that you can use to help you find out more information about your bill, there are patient advocates available and if you are having problems dealing with your insurance company you can contact the insurance commissioner in the state you live in, and they can help you.
We have health insurance so that we know things will be taken care of when something happens to us or a loved one, but don't fall prey to all the codes and numbers and just pay the bill as it is written. It is not uncommon for a medical bill to have errors, and you could be paying for things that you are not responsible for. So do your homework, and take the time to go over your hospital bill line by line, and you will more than likely find that the erroneous charges can easily be corrected.
Recently, as a young nurse was combed through the bills for her husband's recent hospital stay, she found that there were charges for a drug that should have been $80, but was charged incorrectly at $875. There was also an administrative error which caused her husband to be hospitalized an extra day, and she knew from her hospital experience that they didn't have to pay for additional unneeded care because of a medical mistake. She also discovered a charge for administering one medication 7 times a day, when the doctor's prescription was only 4 times per day. In all, she uncovered $7000 worth of over charges on her bills.
So some good advice to all is to ask for an itemized bill and make sure that you check through it carefully. If you don't know much about them, then pay cash and sit down with your doctor, not the billing department, to review each individual charge on your bill and what it means and take notes and ask questions. Finding out what you are being billed for, and don't just accept it at face value.
There are also resources that you can use to help you find out more information about your bill, there are patient advocates available and if you are having problems dealing with your insurance company you can contact the insurance commissioner in the state you live in, and they can help you.
We have health insurance so that we know things will be taken care of when something happens to us or a loved one, but don't fall prey to all the codes and numbers and just pay the bill as it is written. It is not uncommon for a medical bill to have errors, and you could be paying for things that you are not responsible for. So do your homework, and take the time to go over your hospital bill line by line, and you will more than likely find that the erroneous charges can easily be corrected.
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