Many words have been spoken about the state of health care in the U.S. And so it goes… things are not always what they assume to be.
We recently received a bill for some health care service. Everything seems normal, except…
While we paid a co-pay at the time of service, the bill showed we have an unexpected balance due. Insurance had paid a substantial amount. While this is not unusual, we suspected some problem because normally there is no balance due for this kind of visit.
Phone calls were made. We stayed on hold for what seem several eternities to be able to speak to appropriate persons.
First we spoke to the billing office at the medical provider. This was not very helpful, except for the comment about how the insurance payment was made was he cause of the balance due.
So we spoke to the insurance company. Much to my surprise, they were helpful. It turns out that we were being billed for two co-payments, despite there having been one visit.
We knew that one visit meant one co-payment. After another phone call to the insurance company, we found them to be additionally helpful. They actually called the medical provider, and the upshot was that the bill was rectified and in the end we did not need to pay for a second co-payment.
This seems a run-of-the-mill kind of problem: Medical bill wrong, many phone calls needed but eventually things get straightened out.
But there are numerous cases of problems that never sort themselves out. Not everything gets resolved for the better. In this case we were fortunate it ended well for us. I had the nagging feeling the medical provider was just trying to get away with billing for more than they were entitled to. Perhaps others had paid without questioning.
That is why it remains that one must be vigilant when it comes to one’s expenses. Calling and requesting help may not always get bills reduced. Therefore it is important to ask for and get help when needed.
How have you managed medical expenses? Comment here.
The line “You haven’t lived until you you’ve experienced a live art auction.” is a screenshot from a brochure we recently received. The instruction “improvise using given notes” is from some sheet music.
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