The direct result of the more complicated coding systems implemented for payment...hospitals have done itemized billing for a long time and some is now rolling over to the practices offices with proper and correct coding necessary for payment...if you need help though, don't call the insurers on Monday advised Aetna...it is the busiest day of the week. The patient advocate is also a help in these scenarios to help iron out differences...almost like hiring an attorney in essence, but it sure seems like at times professional help is needed as the whole process gets more complicated by the day as information is continuously queried and analyzed. BD
Don't assume that your complicated medical bill is correct. Errors on bills for doctors, medical tests or hospitals can result in overcharges that run from a few dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Husband and wife Ron and Marilyn Hess, from Homer, Alaska, were left facing a bill of about $10,000 from a hospital after Marilyn needed an appendectomy. The hospital bill was about $45,000, of which her insurer agreed to pay $35,000.
Other common blunders include medical-coding errors, mistakes in how annual deductibles are applied and confusion over which providers are in or out of network. Fraudulent activity by some unscrupulous health care providers and medical-identity theft are other bugaboos, experts say.
“Sometimes you can get billed for tests you didn’t have,” says Johnson. You might want to enlist the help of outside experts. Your state insurance department or state health department can offer guidance.
Medical-bill errors becoming more common - Health Care - MSNBC.com
People need to review their explanation of benefits more carefully if errors are to be caught. Go to www.healthcaresoundoff.com and read about how to interpret your EOB.
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