Save Money on Medical Billsby Miriam Caldwell | More from this Blogger 02 May 2007 09:09 PM Do you pay attention to the medical bills you receive, or do you just pay them and forget about it? Do you pay your medical bill the day it is due, or once the insurance has processed it? Do you read all those forms that the insurance company sends you regarding service provided? Medical bills and insurance can be tricky to figure out, but it is important to stay on top of it. Recently I had my third child. This time I was able to deliver naturally-meaning no epidural, no pain medication of any kind. The reason I bring this up is because when the hospital bill came, it had a charge on it for anesthesia. I was quite upset since this additional charge was over a thousand dollars. My insurance coverage is pretty good, but I still didn't want to pay for a service I did not receive. I called the medical billing service for the hospital and requested that an itemized statement of the bill be sent to me. I then requested that they complete a review of my chart and the billing procedure. I also contacted my insurance company to let them know I did not receive an epidural. I waited for about a month to receive the results of the review. When the letter came it simply requested that I call. I called the hospital and the case manager informed me that I was indeed charged for an epidural. I explained to her that I did not receive one. She informed me that I was mistaken. I then requested that she take the chart to her manager and asked if I needed to have my obstetrician write a letter confirming that I had not received an epidural. She told me that she would check my chart again and call me the next day, before sending the chart onto the manager. The next day she called and apologized that she had made a mistake reading the chart. She informed me that the hospital would be resubmitting the claim to the insurance company and issuing them a refund. This process took about six weeks to resolve. Often there are charges on medical bills in hospitals for services that you do not use. By watching the charges carefully, requesting itemized statements, and matching the bills to your insurance statements you can save yourself a lot of money. It only takes a few extra minutes to look over the bill when it comes. It is a good idea to file all bills and insurance forms until everything regarding a claim has been resolved. Related Articles: Are You Considering Cutting Health Insurance to Save Money? Take Advantage of Flexible Spending Accounts Learn more about Miriam Caldwell  Miriam is a SAHM mom of three children. She has a daughter who is seven, and two sons, four and two. She loves being a parent and spending time with her children. Relevantmoney tags User Comments Nola Redd (7081) 02 May 2007 09:42 PMGosh, Miriam, obviously the nurse was right and you were too doped up to know that you WEREN'T having a large needle stuck in your back! Oh, wow, that is just hysterical (once you got past the frustration point I'm sure you felt!). Great article. Since I had TWO epidurals, maybe they billed you for my second one... Wesleysgranny (173) 03 May 2007 05:22 PMI am fortunate in the health insurance department. I am on medicare for MS and and I have military insurance because I am retired Navy. I never have to at the bills. What one insurance doesn't pay, the other does. MS is a heck of a a price to pay, but one has to do what one has to do. Community Tags money, Medical Bills, savings Discuss this article
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