Urgent! You’re Being ROBBED on Medical Bills!
Being sick is bad enough.
You shouldn’t have to worry about getting robbed when you’re dealing with health issues.
But if you’ve ever been to the doctor’s office, emergency department, urgent care, or even just the podiatrist, you’ve likely been charged money you didn’t owe.
Like I said, you’ve been robbed.
And according to a new analysis by Medliminal Healthcare Solutions, medical billing errors aren’t the exception anymore… they’re the norm.
According the recent analysis, 4 out of 5 medical bills – that’s 80 percent — contain an error, whether big or small.
Collectively, these errors add up to $68 billion a year.
Chances are pretty good that some of your hard-earned money contributed to that outrageous number.
Sometimes these errors are what I call “honest mistakes.”
After all, medical coding is a regulatory minefield. Every condition, test, treatment, scan, and what-have-you has a code assigned to it that doctor’s offices use to send to the insurance companies for reimbursement.
The problem is that standards seem to be changing all the time, and it’s hard for office staff to keep up.
I’m thankful for the staff in our office that deals with the ins and outs of this medical mumbo jumbo so I can focus my time and attention on my patients.
But not all mistakes are so good-natured.
Some healthcare providers inflate their costs. Others “cost shift” – that’s when they overcharge insured patients to help pay for uninsured patients.
Bet you didn’t know you were paying someone else’s medical bills, did you?
But whether it’s done intentionally or not doesn’t matter to your bottom line. So if you want to avoid being a statistic, here’s are a few things to keep in mind.
First, make sure you get an itemized bill. That will make any errors much easier to spot. Also check over the “explanation of billing” you receive from your insurance company.
These are 5 of the most common problems to keep an eye out for when you’re reviewing your bill:
- Duplicate charges.
- Cancelled procedures. Make sure you weren’t charged for that test that ended up being canceled.
- Upcoding charge. Make sure the medical facility hasn’t claimed you had a more serious procedure than you really did.
- Incorrect quantity.
- Operating room time. Patients are normally billed in 15-minute increments during surgery, so keep track of your time.
I know that when you’re hurting or sick or taking care of a loved one, the last thing you want to deal with are billing errors like these.
But trust me, it’ll be worth it in the long run. After all, the best person to look out for your best interests is you.
To a brighter day,
Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.
