Don't Overpay On Individual Medical Insurance Claims

With ample opportunity for the accounting errors in today's complex health care needs and reimbursement systems, it is a miracle, people with individual health insurance companies do not spend more time carefully checking each declaration of Benefit (EOB). The EOB shows what was to pay less, which covers the insurer, to be the balance of what you owe agreed. Checking your EOB, the first line of defense against overpaying is entitled to health insurance.

Your EOB may notshow a lot, but you can check to see that your name, address and policy information is correct. You should also confirm that you were paying the "maximum" rate shall be determined by your insurance company and not a penny more. Deductibles can be as high as $ 10,000, and the payment of all comes from your bank account, making the group discount even more important.

Other common mistakes that can prove to the EOU include: Failing to get loans that a deductible has been paid to network operators as classifiedOut-of-network, legitimate claims as "not medically denied", "upcoding" (will be charged for more expensive services than you received), and "unbundling" (when a single procedure is broken down and made so many in the calculation) . At Blue Cross / Blue Shield 's Website www.bcbs.com / better knowledge / anti-fraud / explanation-of-benefits.html, there is a short tutorial how to read and verify an EOU.

According to a Harvard study in 2001, disease and the associated costsis responsible for 50 percent of all bankruptcies, so it is worth literally itemized bills from hospitals and other service request. They are the next line of self-defense against overpayment. The problem is to make sense of them, hiring a patient advocate is required.

Taber Lee works for Health Care Mediation Group Audit itemized bills, coordination problems, and, if possible, the negotiation of reduced payments and workable schedule clients to always keep aDamaged credit ratings. While costly mistakes are rare, Taber estimates that contain 40 to 50 percent of hospital costs error: "The potential for error is high when a bill is 15 pages long and lists every aspirin and other medical care."

Advocates will receive a percentage of the money they save. Its cut varies, but can run as high as 30 percent. He Summarizes briefly the benefits of working with a lawyer: "If you do not know what you are looking for, how would youReally? "

In fact, go to the page on Individual Services Medical Billing Advocates of America www.billadvocates.com/ where you read about a patient who pays $ 12 for a "mucus recovery system"-a box of tissues .

If paying someone to fix a mess you do not have you mad, imagine, the victim of medical identity theft. It's like losing control of your social security number and personal financial information, but that's a loss that can be fatal. If a false claimmade about your benefits, your chart might contain incorrect information, if you are in urgent care. If your benefits are developed by a fraudster, you will have no separate provision for the left. According to a World Privacy Forum report on the crime, all levels of the medical system may be involved, in addition to organized crime.

When it comes to your individual health insurance, you do your homework and prepare for the case of excessive medical bills or identityTheft. It can save your money and your life.

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