The Scourge of Medical Billing

[+ Lucky]

The bf and I make regular medical visits to one of the big health care providers in the desert, and the co-pays are often small amounts, except when the annual deductibles come up. So we often receive bills for small amounts, pay them, and forget them. Well, I pay them as I handle the billings.

 

But I've noticed that they never seem to credit my payment on a future bill. So I started keeping good records, marking down the amount, the person, the service date, and the provider. They then double billed me, and I had the check information to prove it. You can't write because they won't write you back. I guess they want no written proof of what they tell you. I finally got a phone message back from a woman in billing who claimed that I had the wrong service dates, even though I have the bill right in front of me. Now I have to start contact all over again, and find the papers for the dates she claims I paid, dates she did not tell me. (What she says is ludicrous, but that's part of their schtick.)

 

Now another provider double bills and I have to do the same thing with him. You never get the same person twice and it goes on and on. No doubt most people just pay it. Right now the dispute is about $70. Should I just pay it and forget it?

Well, pay it again and forget it?

[jjkrkwood]

The bf and I make regular medical visits to one of the big health care providers in the desert, and the co-pays are often small amounts, except when the annual deductibles come up. So we often receive bills for small amounts, pay them, and forget them. Well, I pay them as I handle the billings.

 

But I've noticed that they never seem to credit my payment on a future bill. So I started keeping good records, marking down the amount, the person, the service date, and the provider. They then double billed me, and I had the check information to prove it. You can't write because they won't write you back. I guess they want no written proof of what they tell you. I finally got a phone message back from a woman in billing who claimed that I had the wrong service dates, even though I have the bill right in front of me. Now I have to start contact all over again, and find the papers for the dates she claims I paid, dates she did not tell me. (What she says is ludicrous, but that's part of their schtick.)

 

Now another provider double bills and I have to do the same thing with him. You never get the same person twice and it goes on and on. No doubt most people just pay it. Right now the dispute is about $70. Should I just pay it and forget it?

Well, pay it again and forget it?

 

NO, I believe most of these occurrences are planned. The companies bank on the fact that a) you will never check and hence wont realize and will just pay your bill b) if you do realize, they will make it so difficult for you to resolve, you will just pay it anyway.

 

It has happened to me many times, with many companies, and you REALLY need to watch. I have spent countless hours on the phone resolving these problems, more time than it was worth, but its the principal of the thing not to allow yourself be scammed.... They are ripping you off as it is already.

[+ beethoven]

No, DO NOT "just pay it and forget it." I assume that ignoring the second bill might cause you more trouble if they cancel your insurance for nonpayment. However, you have alternatives. One is to pay by credit card, and then tell Master Card, or VISA, or whoever that you are disputing the bill. The credit card company will probably give you a temporary credit, and if the vendor insists that the bill is valid, the credit card company will ask you for documentation.

You might also contact your state Departmenf of Consumer Affairs or the local Better Business Bureau, or the professional association to which the "big health care provider" belongs. Easier said than done, I'm sure, but if they're doing this to you, they're doing it to many others, and it adds up to big bucks for them. There are private and governmental groups that won't let them get away with this, and you should seek them out. It's going to cost more for the health care provider to deal with the state or the American Hospital Association, or whover, than to scam you for $70.

Don't let the bastards grind you down!!

[gallahadesquire]

I work for the hospital that supplies my health care. They never ask for the copays upfront. They never, as the OP noted, tell you the date of service or physician. And one bill, and it's off to collections.

 

you wonder why health care is expensive?

[jawjateck]

arghhhhhh! One quick look at this thread takes me back to last year, and a dreadful episode of billing between my hospital's lab and me. They harassed me about paying invoices when I had a legitimate beef about the accuracy of their billing. Scoundrels!!!!! At least I don't have to deal with the other scum.......health insurance providers. Frustrated with declining coverage and skyrocketing premiums, I dropped coverage a few years ago, and am now uninsured. True, I'm taking a big financial risk, but I do not worry about maintaining a comfortable lifestyle indefinitely. If my health fails and I go the way of medical bankruptcy like so many others, then so be it; at least that's one less blood sucking insurance company draining my finances and making life miserable.

[maxwellissmart]

The bf and I make regular medical visits to one of the big health care providers in the desert...

 

That's what you get for seeing a medicine man.

 

It's amazing how fucked up the health care system is, and how people want to turn a blind eye to it in the hopes that capitalism will fix it. It ain't happening.

[+ purplekow]

You do not have to use your insurance at the office. You may pay the bill in full and then submit the bill to have the insurance company reimburse you. Of course, the huge discount the insurance companies take will be your loss and not the doctor's, but you will not be getting a double bill from the doctor.

 

Assuming you enjoy the large discount you insurance company takes, keep good records. Every insurance company sends you an explanation of benefits. Keep those and attack to them the receipt for the co=payment you made at the office or a copy of the payment.

 

If they are double billing, notify your insurance carrier or Medicare. This type of fraud has a large penalty associated with it and it seems more likely that this was an honest error than a pattern of abuse.

 

You might also leave your big health care provider and deal with a smaller more personal medical care provider.

[+ Lucky]

purplekow, you might like this article: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-medical-prices-20120527,0,4627745.story

It's about paying in cash...

[rvwnsd]

...Right now the dispute is about $70. Should I just pay it and forget it?

Well, pay it again and forget it?

 

No, you need to fight it. Have you enlisted the assistance of your insurance company? I'm asking because I had several urgent care visits last year, all of which were covered by insurance save for a copay. I paid the copay up-front and still received a bill. I got nowhere with the biller, but one call to the HMO and the billing issue was resolved.

[Xander]

This reminds me of the one time this one internet company *cough, COMCAST, cough* somehow, on "accident", cancelled my auto bill-pay the day before my bill was due, then put on horrific charges for being late in payment.

 

Or the one time my bank, located in America, over-drafted me for a payment done before a holiday, and after a check was cleared after the holiday.

 

Put it in writing, threaten to take legal action. Priority mail w/ timestamp & receipt. Twenty years old and a credit score higher than my mom's ...

[jackboy48]

Bizzare medical billing is probably one of the biggest problems that people just refuse to admit is rampant in our society. No one can believe that the good ole Doc has engaged a surrurilous medical biller, but he/she are highly educated individuals and well aware of what is going on. If he claims ignorance, he is just giving you a bold faced lie. My parents could easily have been bilked out of thousands, if I hadn't started handling their bills. The worst were always for under $300.00, so you would be tempted to just write a check and clear the account. 99.9% of the time it was lazy billers who didn't submit claims properly. It took a great deal of time to clear these billing "mistakes," but with dogged persistance I was usually able to resolve the matter in my parent's favor. This only convinced me more, that it was a deliberate effort to make a greedy grab against older people, who just couldn't handle the endless phone chains and voice mails when trying to resolve a claim. I used to have a laugh when they threatened their credit, like who in their 90's really cares?

[jawjateck]

As one of the uninsured, I have saved alot of money the past 2 1/2 years. Not only am I pocketing the premiums, but each time I have needed medical attention, I have paid much less, via cash discounts, than if I had filed on my former insurance coverage. As an example, last year I saw two docs, had a minor procedure, and some lab work. I received discounts from both docs and the hospital lab, and the total cost was $600. Filing on insurance, my out-of-pocket cost would have been $1300+. Screwy system huh?!?!