Questions about medical bills and payments

[Krischaser]

Ok so my husband had to have surgery and this is my first experience with crap insurance. The medical bills are coming in and we can't pay them all. There is one from the doctor, one from the surgical center and one from the anesthesia office. What are our options? Make payments? See is they will take a lesser amount? How or where do I start? Any help or advice would be great. Thanks

 

[LaurLaur04]

Just make regular payments on what you can afford. As long as you pay they usually won't send to collections. If you have a lower bill try calling them and asking if they give a discount if you go ahead and pay it in full.

 

[Sadie22]

It is normal to receive several bills, one from each provider, if there are balances due. First of all, has insurance paid what they were supposed to pay on each on the bills according to your understanding of what your insurance covers? Sometimes statements are sent before insurance payments have been processed. Sometimes insurance is not billed properly or procedures are coded incorrectly. You may not have to pay all of what you have been billed.

 

[Sew into Disney]

I would call each place and ask what kind of payment arrangements can be made. Be open and honest with them about how much you can pay. Most of the time they will work with you on lower payments. Just make sure you pay the amount you agreed to and on the date you agreed to.

If it is possible get the agreement in writing. That way they can't say you were behind on payments and send you to collections.

I had a minor surgery in Oct. 2012. The center where I had the surgery agreed to two small payments over 4 months with the remainder due by the 6th month. I was honest with what I could pay and they worked with me.

Don't be afraid to ask for financial assistance. Some surgical centers will let part of the bill slide if you honestly can not afford to pay it back.

 

[bumbershoot]

First, check your Explanations of Benefits and match those up to the bills. Make SURE everyone billed correctly and was paid correctly. And that they are billing correctly. If you have questions, call your insurance company and have a specialist go through things with you.

We once had a specialist figure out that a year before they had paid an ambulance bill wrong; the ambulance company charged insurance first, before the ER visit showed up on a claim, so insurance paid the ambulance bill as though it were a non-emergency visit.

So make sure everything is correct, then contact people. Or if you think it's going to take awhile to make sure things are correct, contact the billing departments first. Get some small payments going, and PAY EVERY MONTH. Do not miss a payment. Some offices are absolutely brutal, and will send you to collections if you're just a little bit late.

 

[POOHsie]

I have received bills from various medical outfits and doctors. I was pretty sure my insurance covered it, so I looked for my Explanation of Benefits first. Sometimes I was confused with the EoB so I called the insurance co directly regarding specific bills. Once I got the correct amount that I owed, if any, I called back the billing office listed on the medical bill and relayed the info from the insurance co. In most every case, it turned out that the bill was sent ahead of what the insurance company paid, and there was little or nothing actually due.

In your case, your insurance may or may not cover everything. But get the facts first. Those that you do owe, work with the provider to pay what you can on a monthly basis. If you are having financial issues, see if you can get a bill reduction or smaller payments. Good luck.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You will probably be receiving more bills. Didn't you research your coverage before scheduling the surgery?

 

[mickeyluv'r]

You will probably be receiving more bills. Didn't you research your coverage before scheduling the surgery?

There's really only so much you can research before you go. Hospitals won't tell you what they charge.

it's also been my experience that even if the hospital is 'in network" the individuals doctors might not be in network, which means that you will be billed differently.

another thing is that you may have a deductible amount, and certain copays. Even if you haven't met your deductible...a certain amount may be covered..


Oh, and hospitals have this lovely practice of back dating bills.

Do call everyone and get explanations.

 

[tvguy]

I would call each place and ask what kind of payment arrangements can be made. Be open and honest with them about how much you can pay. Most of the time they will work with you on lower payments. Just make sure you pay the amount you agreed to and on the date you agreed to.

If it is possible get the agreement in writing. That way they can't say you were behind on payments and send you to collections.

I had a minor surgery in Oct. 2012. The center where I had the surgery agreed to two small payments over 4 months with the remainder due by the 6th month. I was honest with what I could pay and they worked with me.

Don't be afraid to ask for financial assistance. Some surgical centers will let part of the bill slide if you honestly can not afford to pay it back.

I agree. I bet a big chunk of their patients have to do the same thing, it's just part of their business to have to take payments.

 

[ilovemk76]

Ok so my husband had to have surgery and this is my first experience with crap insurance. The medical bills are coming in and we can't pay them all. There is one from the doctor, one from the surgical center and one from the anesthesia office. What are our options? Make payments? See is they will take a lesser amount? How or where do I start? Any help or advice would be great. Thanks

Figure out how much you can pay today. Call each bill to see what they will reduce the payment to if you pay in full today. I always get a discount. Some were only 15%, many about 50% and sometimes they wrote off the rest after our insurance paid. You need to be able to pay, ours take CCs, at that time to get the discount. Pay all the ones you can this way and then ask the rest to put you into a payment plan. Most of the time, payment plans do not get a discount.

 

[Fantastic4]

I'm a former anesthesia biller. I agree with those saying to call. Many times the insurance will change billing codes to pay less so there's a possibility drs office is still fighting for payment. Talk to them and verify your final bill. Then talk to them about what you can and can't do. Many drs will write off part or all because they can use it as a charity tax deduction. If you are nice and honest they'll work with you.

 

[Marionnette]

Just make regular payments on what you can afford. As long as you pay they usually won't send to collections. If you have a lower bill try calling them and asking if they give a discount if you go ahead and pay it in full.

It's not true that just sending what you can will keep a medical bill out of collections. If you don't call to make arrangements, your account will never be noted in the computer system as such and after a certain number of days (usually 180+), the account will automatically be sent to collections if it has not been paid in full.

OP, call and make payment arrangements. Getting them to accept a lower amount may not happen. Your insurance company has already negotiated a lower amount with the provider on your behalf. The provider is under contract with the insurance company to bill you for the amount that is your responsibility. They could lose their contract with the insurance company when they are audited if it shows that they are discounting their services further.

 

[Snoozan]

As one who previously worked in both the insurance claims industry and a medical billing office, READ those EOB's(statements of payments from insurance co). Question if things are showing as 'covered', but maybe considered as out-of-network. For example, anesthesiologists are usually out-of-network providers, but, because you did not have a choice in who does it AND the hospital was in-network, In-network benefits should apply for the anesthesiologist. Just my experience(both as a claims examiner and as a consumer).