How do you handle organizing medical bills?

[Janie Grace]

I'm pulling my hair out. Medical bills seem so complicated now! I can't keep track of what is covered and why or why not. I get bills and just feel like I am paying them by faith because I don't really know what is going on. Sometimes if I don't pay a bill right away, it gets resubmitted and more is covered.  :confused: And then if we have anything that's more complicated than seeing a doctor (blood tests, any kind of scan, etc) the confusing factor goes up. Then if there is something like a procedure (ds's tonsillectomy), there are bills from ten different people -- ENT, anesthetist, hospital,  and on and on. 

 

I am not a stupid person or a terribly disorganized person. But with five kids, I feel like this realm is just a mess and that we are constantly, unpredictably bleeding money.

 

How do you handle this stuff??? Very discouraged.

[KatieJ]

My rule of thumb is don't pay a medical bill until you have been billed twice.

With my recent hospital adventure I will be working this through. For now I have a folder on my desk that I a, dropping everything into. When my brain fog clears a little more I'll work it out.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Call your insurance company and either ask to have them send you a breakdown of your benefits, or ask if they have that on-line. 

 

Also, don't be afraid to call the insurance company to ask whatever it is you want to ask.  Ask them what the benefit is.  Ask them why you are paying this coinsurance for that procedure. 

 

When possible I like to know upfront what level of coverage stuff will have if it is ongoing.  The oddest little mistakes can drastically change level of coverage so it's good to iron that stuff out beforehand if possible.  As an example, for some therapy sessions I was told prior what I'd end up paying.  They told me I had to pay out of pocket until my deductible was met and that there was coinsurance (so it wasn't covered 100%).  That didn't seem to match what was in the benefit book so I called the insurance company and asked.  Sure enough the therapy office was quoting the incorrect benefits.  So I called them and they called the insurance company and they got back to me that they were told it was different than what I was told.  Blah blah.  Well it was kinda weird because how could they be getting such different information?  Turned out that the billing rep told them that the place of service was an outpatient facility.  Stuff like that is not covered the same way, but that was not correct.  This was a single private practice person not associated with any hospital and it was absolutely not an outpatient facility.  But that's not super crazy because yes it is a service not in a hospital and the place is a facility.  But whatever.  So after going back and forth finally we got that all straightened out.  My portion was a $20 copay per visit, not subject to a deductible,  covered 100% after that, and unlimited.  This was a HUGE difference in terms of my cost compared with what I was quoted.  Had I never asked, I would have wasted a lot of money. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh and if you aren't sure about a charge, do not pay it until you sort that out.  Getting your money back after is VERY FREAKING DIFFICULT.  BTDT 

 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

I have a spreadsheet.  I keep receipts from anything you have to pay upfront. When the EOB comes in from insurance, I note that.  Any remaining amount that I owe is noted.  When I am billed, I check against the spreadsheet.  Right now I have one charge that has been bouncing back and forth for six months, two things I'm waiting for EOBs on, and I need to get a refund from my oral surgeon.

 

Here, you have to pay upfront to obtain service, period. There is no option not to pay. 

 

I spend about 45 minutes a week on medical billing stuff because we have several medically complicated people in the family.

[G5052]

We have a huge number of bills. Usually at least 30+ insurance statements a month.

 

I keep the insurance statements in date order of the date of service. 

 

When I pay a bill, it goes into a folder for the month of service with other bills for that month.

 

I haven't made too many mistakes. One anesthesiologist bill from December that I paid too quickly. They're supposed to refund us next week.

[heartlikealion]

Don't feel bad, I'm a mess over here. Don't even get me started on how I ended up accidentally finding out I owed a tiny fee to the radiology dept. but it was not the same fee I owed to the billing service people that handle the medical bills... ?? So basically if I hadn't happened to call the radiology dept. I might still not know about that measly fee that did/could have affected my credit. I don't remember ever seeing a bill for it, but I'm horrible with mail so there's that. I think I'm a mail hoarder. I make dh open all the mail pretty much.

 

I only have two kids but we have all these separate bills.

 

ETA: The best I can seem to do right now is I write down the acct. number, the contact number and the balance on my calendar. Also, some of them are willing to email a receipt!! So I say yes, please do. Then at least I can go through my emails for info.

Edited May 19, 2016 by heartlikealion

[AmandaVT]

Call your insurance company and either ask to have them send you a breakdown of your benefits, or ask if they have that on-line. 

 

Also, don't be afraid to call the insurance company to ask whatever it is you want to ask.  Ask them what the benefit is.  Ask them why you are paying this coinsurance for that procedure. 

 

When possible I like to know upfront what level of coverage stuff will have if it is ongoing.  The oddest little mistakes can drastically change level of coverage so it's good to iron that stuff out beforehand if possible.  As an example, for some therapy sessions I was told prior what I'd end up paying.  They told me I had to pay out of pocket until my deductible was met and that there was coinsurance (so it wasn't covered 100%).  That didn't seem to match what was in the benefit book so I called the insurance company and asked.  Sure enough the therapy office was quoting the incorrect benefits.  So I called them and they called the insurance company and they got back to me that they were told it was different than what I was told.  Blah blah.  Well it was kinda weird because how could they be getting such different information?  Turned out that the billing rep told them that the place of service was an outpatient facility.  Stuff like that is not covered the same way, but that was not correct.  This was a single private practice person not associated with any hospital and it was absolutely not an outpatient facility.  But that's not super crazy because yes it is a service not in a hospital and the place is a facility.  But whatever.  So after going back and forth finally we got that all straightened out.  My portion was a $20 copay per visit, not subject to a deductible,  covered 100% after that, and unlimited.  This was a HUGE difference in terms of my cost compared with what I was quoted.  Had I never asked, I would have wasted a lot of money. 

 

I bill for a therapy office and run into this all the time. It's most annoying. I'll call to verify benefits (if it's an insurance I can't see online) and I've gotten multiple answers from different insurance reps. And we've, unfortunately, given clients incorrect information before and then had to follow up when the checks came in differently. It can be a mess. I always groan and brace myself when I see an unfamiliar insurance for the first time!

[TechWife]

I'm very familiar with what our insurance covers, I think that's a key step. When I get a bill from a medical office, I wait for the EOB from the insurance office. When it comes, I make sure they match up and pay the bill. If they don't match up, I investigate. Usually the medical office is wrong. I then write a check for the correct amount, make a copy of the EOB, highlight the correct amount due and mail that with the check. Sometimes I call them on the phone, but I find just mailing it to be more efficient. I write the date I paid on my part of the bill, staple it together with the EOB and file them. 

 

I've done things this way for as long as I can remember. It's a simple system, but it works for me. 

[TechWife]

dp

Edited May 19, 2016 by TechWife

[JFSinIL]

I have a separate folder for each of us to hold our medical bills and insurance info. I also keep an eye on the insurance website to see what has been paid and who among us has meet their deductible (me!me!) I never pay a bill until I see what insurance has paid. If there is a problem (for instance, this year BCBS thinks my birthdate is the same as hubby, so I have to ask each provider I see to with HIS b'day attached to my name or BCBC doesn't think I exist). Once insurance has paid their part (if any, depends on deductible) I go ahead and pay the provider. I note on the bit of the bill that I keep how I paid, and when, and I staple it to the insurance form, and put it in the folder for that person.

 

Plus I married a lawyer who is one of the top two in our state for understanding insurance law ;-) that helps a lot!!!

Edited May 19, 2016 by JFSinIL

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm another person who waits for the EOB (explanation of benefits).  I match all bills to that, minus any co-pay that I might have paid.  If the EOB is confusing or I think it is wrong, I will call the insurance company for an explanation.  If the bills does not match the EOB, then I will call the business number on the bill for an explanation.  If they cannot explain the difference, then I will call the insurance and ask them to call the doctor's office to straighten it out .  (Doctor's offices are motivated to comply with the insurance company since they have a contract binding them to certain billing prices and practices). 

 

Which reminds me, I have a bill that I have to make some calls on. . .

[SparklyUnicorn]

I bill for a therapy office and run into this all the time. It's most annoying. I'll call to verify benefits (if it's an insurance I can't see online) and I've gotten multiple answers from different insurance reps. And we've, unfortunately, given clients incorrect information before and then had to follow up when the checks came in differently. It can be a mess. I always groan and brace myself when I see an unfamiliar insurance for the first time!

 

The billing person was incredibly obnoxious about it.  This was an outside billing company.  The guy from the therapy office forwarded an e-mail she sent to him and she said patients don't understand how this stuff works and that I can't possibly know what I'm talking about. She also said that people don't understand the difference between medical and mental health benefits.  Well she messed with the wrong b*tch because first off I worked for 2 health insurance companies AND for a few doctor's offices as a medical assistant (and I helped with billing).  Second, I am very very very well aware of the mental health stuff because half my family has a chronic mental illness that they've had treated for years and years.  I absolutely knew what I was freaking talking about.  Oh boy did I have fun responding to that.  Yeah and not to mention he should never have forwarded that to me.  Didn't realize that was all a huge red flag.  The place turned out to be extremely unprofessional for several other reasons on top of it. 

 

But yes, I do get how this stuff is confusing and that you often get different answers with different reps. I was fortunate to finally get a rep who spent close to an hour on the phone back and forth between me and the biller.  The rep told me the woman was screaming at her. 

 

But see it's nuts because I happen to know how this stuff works and it's still a run around all the time and all the time I have to jump through crazy hoops to deal with the insurance.  It must be majorly awful for people who don't know how it works.  And really this isn't exactly common sense type knowledge.  Total racket. 

[Ravin]

The thing I find most frustrating is when I'm sent a bill, and then insurance winds up paying, and then I'm not sent an updated statement letting me know I no longer owe the money I was billed. I've only had that happen with one doctor, though.

 

We have one provider that doesn't bill our insurance and DH keeps failing to get a statement from them so that we can submit and be reimbursed. THAT is frustrating. I need to program a reminder into my phone to remind him on her next appointment day.

[SparklyUnicorn]

The thing I find most frustrating is when I'm sent a bill, and then insurance winds up paying, and then I'm not sent an updated statement letting me know I no longer owe the money I was billed. I've only had that happen with one doctor, though.

 

We have one provider that doesn't bill our insurance and DH keeps failing to get a statement from them so that we can submit and be reimbursed. THAT is frustrating. I need to program a reminder into my phone to remind him on her next appointment day.

 

I always find it odd when they send the bill LONG after the fact.  I once got a bill from a hospital 2 years after the visit.  I had to dig around to make sure I didn't already pay it. 

[alisoncooks]

Yeah, I totally get that "paying on faith" feeling.  DH had a cancer diagnosis, followed by 4 complications, 2 ICU stays, 41 days hospitalized in 2 months span, etc, etc.  I can't keep track of any of it, honestly.  Luckily (or not) for us, we have a $10K deductible, so we expect to pay a butt-load up front, but once the deductible is met (and we can keep reasonable track of that online), then we are 100% covered.  So far, we are 3 years into this mess (so currently meeting our 3rd $10K deductible)...we just keep paying....

[FaithManor]

First I scream. That is really important. Then I eat some chocolate. Then I moan and groan and whine and complain. Also a very important step, and then I put on another pot of coffee. After staring catatonically at the wall, I inhale caffeine and then get out a bunch of manila envelopes. I write the names of the different providers on each envelope, and jot down a balance owed and date due on the front keeping all of the bills inside organized by oldest first, newest last. I cross of each balance owed as it gets paid, and I keep them all in a basket on the dining room table so I can't ignore them for any length of time. Writing on the outside of the envelope - much like an inter office mail kind of thing - helps me see quickly if there is anything that should be attended to each day.

 

When particularly despondent, I go get a Mike's lemonade and a couple of dark chocolate truffles with sea salt, and dump the envelopes in Dh's lap while I vegetate to re-runs of Madam Secretary.

 

:D This is my system. It is imperfect, but I own it!

[Tess in the Burbs]

I have a notebook that I keep track of appointments.  I wait for the EOBs and then match up the bills with the EOBs.  I do call if there is a due date to push the amount due to a later date.  I had one bill that was 'current' and said if not received on time it would continue with medical collections.  But usually if I call I can get another month before they expect the payment.  And many take payments.  I then file by category for adding up at tax time just in case we spend enough to deduct. 

 

[JFSinIL]

Yeah, when threatened with collections just call the provider and let them know insurance should pay soon. Then call insurance and ask them to hurry up. You might find a bill wasn't paid by insurance since they got YOUR birthday wrong when you had to select a new plan through the Exchange, and they will only pay if the provider uses your husband's birthdate. That is what happened to me this year. Gee, just because hubby is 27th of his birth month, and I am 27th of MY birth month, and we were born in the same year...and our twins are the 27th of their birth month (and have the same initials)...how could anyone get confused? ;-)

 

BTW insurance says they can not correct my birthday, it has to be corrected by the Exchange folks, but since the Exchange manages to mess stuff up every year :-( I don't dare try to fix this until the end of the year. I have met my deductible (under the wrong birthday) and if I get it corrected mid-year I bet you anything I will be told I have to start over with a new deductible.

Edited May 19, 2016 by JFSinIL

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yeah, when threatened with collections just call the provider and let them know insurance should pay soon. Then call insurance and ask them to hurry up. You might find a bill wasn't paid by insurance since they got YOUR birthday wrong when you had to select a new plan through the Exchange, and they will only pay if the provider uses your husband's birthdate. That is what happened to me this year. Gee, just because hubby is 27th of his birth month, and I am 27th of MY birth month, and we were born in the same year...and our twins are the 27th of their birth month (and have the same initials)...how could anyone get confused? ;-)

 

BTW insurance says they can not correct my birthday, it has to be corrected by the Exchange folks, but since the Exchange manages to mess stuff up every year :-( I don't dare try to fix this until the end of the year. I have met my deductible (under the wrong birthday) and if I get it corrected mid-year I bet you anything I will be told I have to start over with a new deductible.

 

That's nuts.