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How to Check a Medial Bill for Accuracy
How often do you check your medical bills? If you're like most people, then not often. It’s common for us to assume the bill is accurate, make payment arrangements and go on with our lives. Unfortunately, medical billing errors are common in the United States. Over time, they can cost customers thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.
While there are no comprehensive public studies, it’s well known that a significant number of medical bills contain some level of error. These mistakes often occur because of simple human error and not due to any negligence from medical professionals or billing departments. Errors can typically be attributed to:
- Misunderstandings about a patient's insurance coverage.
- Incorrect coding for procedures performed during a visit.
- Duplicate charges that the billing department didn't catch and more.
If you see something, say something. No one wants to be responsible for an expense they didn’t legitimately incur. Here are some steps you can take on how to address a medical billing error:
- Call the medical provider.
- Send a written request.
- File a formal complaint.
On January 1st, 2022, a new law, known as the No Surprises Act, went into effect to limit surprise medical bills. The law intends to protect consumers from high expenses. However, this may lead to a new type of medical billing error to look out for. There are two primary categories the law focuses on:
- When visiting an in-network facility, the provider can no longer bill you out-of-network charges for certain healthcare providers. This includes providers like anesthesiologists, radiologists and laboratories.
- When you have an emergency situation, you'll now be charged
in-network pricing even if you're not actually treated within your health insurance provider's network.
Medical billing errors happen. Fortunately, they can be avoided by reviewing your bill and looking for inconsistencies. Most of the errors you find may only take a simple phone call to sort out.
For more information on checking medical bill for accuracy, access the full article click here.
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