We all have heard horror stories of hospitals charging $75 for an aspirin. The truth is that there is some adminstration fee incorporated into that $75, but nonetheless it does seem a bit steep. The result, however, is that these stories cause people not to trust hospitals with regard to their bill. Overbilling is not an uncommon thing, and it is always a good idea to review a hospital bill line by line.
In one recent example, a young couple, he a doctor and she a nurse, had a bad billing experience. The husband had been hospitalized for a short time, and the wife began to review the bill line by line. She discovered charges for administering one drug 7 times per day, when it was only prescribed 4 times per day. The hospital had also made an error which caused her husband to have to stay an additional day. Because of her nursing background, she knew she didn't have to pay for the extra day because of a medical mistake. She also found a charge for $875 for one drug that she knew should be around $80. Someone likely placed a decimal in the wrong place. Overall she found nearly $7000 of overcharges on the bill.
So when you receive a hospital bill, it is a good idea to sit down and review it very carefully. If you have questions, sit down with your doctor instead of the hospital billing department. The billing department is clerical by nature, and they don't always have an accurate history of the care that was actually provided. Make sure you ask questions.
There are other options to help you come to a satisfactory resolution. Most cities have patient advocacy groups available to offer you free advice. They can direct you on what steps you need to take to get things corrected. And your state insurance commissioner can advise you if you need help with your insurance company.
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. - 16492
In one recent example, a young couple, he a doctor and she a nurse, had a bad billing experience. The husband had been hospitalized for a short time, and the wife began to review the bill line by line. She discovered charges for administering one drug 7 times per day, when it was only prescribed 4 times per day. The hospital had also made an error which caused her husband to have to stay an additional day. Because of her nursing background, she knew she didn't have to pay for the extra day because of a medical mistake. She also found a charge for $875 for one drug that she knew should be around $80. Someone likely placed a decimal in the wrong place. Overall she found nearly $7000 of overcharges on the bill.
So when you receive a hospital bill, it is a good idea to sit down and review it very carefully. If you have questions, sit down with your doctor instead of the hospital billing department. The billing department is clerical by nature, and they don't always have an accurate history of the care that was actually provided. Make sure you ask questions.
There are other options to help you come to a satisfactory resolution. Most cities have patient advocacy groups available to offer you free advice. They can direct you on what steps you need to take to get things corrected. And your state insurance commissioner can advise you if you need help with your insurance company.
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. - 16492
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