Many discerning adults especially retired adults should be alert to the fact that many medical statements from the providing medical professionals are incorrect and inaccurate. There have been many examples of invoices and statements that have backcharged patients for what insurance health carriers would not accept as a total claim. The claims are like going to a furniture store that has "List Prices" and then you are given your "Trade Discounts" for what insurance was contractually unwilling to absorb and to accept. Be willing to wait for the processed claims from your insurance health carrier before paying any balance that is incorrect and inaccurate and improperly coded by the health provider. This is one way that consumers of health providers are able to reduce unnecessary costs that are associated with any provision of heath benefits. If the health provider is an in network provider, then these claims will need to be adjusted to what the patient's legal responsibility really is. Look for the amount billed, the amount allowed, the amount paid, and the members' responsibility that is legally appropriate for the member to pay as a "co-pay."
In my personal experiences, there have been many mistakes that have been unknowingly overlooked by the "eyes" of the coding specialists at the medical facility where the patient received medical treatment. If the patient simply pays the amount on the medical statement, the patient will be "literally" pouring money down the drain. In one instance, my eyes caught a $600 overcharge on a medical statement that lacked details about the medical services. Having received the "Members Health Statement" from the Health Care Insurance Provider assisted me in determining the inaccuracies of the statement sent to me from the doctors' offices. In a few cases, my discovery helped the Health Care Provider to correct the coding that may have been completed by an inexperienced coder specialist. These corrections save the patients unnecessary health care expenses that have "skyrocketed over the years."
If you want real health care reform, the consumer may want to be more alert in receiving doctors' medical statements and quickly paying the amounts that are inaccurate, confusing, and incorrect. Be diligent about watching the costs that are cloudy and confusing. Let us help to keep the Health Care Providers in our Country be honest, diligent, and accurate in their passing on "balances" that are in the best interest of the patient. Let the patient decide what to pay health care providers after the insurance carriers have processed the numerous claims that may or may not be the correct amounts of the actual health care provider. Let the buyer beware! When you indicate "payment in full," that should indicate that you have done your homework in saving valuable health funds.
In my personal experiences, there have been many mistakes that have been unknowingly overlooked by the "eyes" of the coding specialists at the medical facility where the patient received medical treatment. If the patient simply pays the amount on the medical statement, the patient will be "literally" pouring money down the drain. In one instance, my eyes caught a $600 overcharge on a medical statement that lacked details about the medical services. Having received the "Members Health Statement" from the Health Care Insurance Provider assisted me in determining the inaccuracies of the statement sent to me from the doctors' offices. In a few cases, my discovery helped the Health Care Provider to correct the coding that may have been completed by an inexperienced coder specialist. These corrections save the patients unnecessary health care expenses that have "skyrocketed over the years."
If you want real health care reform, the consumer may want to be more alert in receiving doctors' medical statements and quickly paying the amounts that are inaccurate, confusing, and incorrect. Be diligent about watching the costs that are cloudy and confusing. Let us help to keep the Health Care Providers in our Country be honest, diligent, and accurate in their passing on "balances" that are in the best interest of the patient. Let the patient decide what to pay health care providers after the insurance carriers have processed the numerous claims that may or may not be the correct amounts of the actual health care provider. Let the buyer beware! When you indicate "payment in full," that should indicate that you have done your homework in saving valuable health funds.
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