Just a quick note…

If you’re receiving medical bills, and have medical insurance, please make sure you contact your provider, billing agency, and insurance company before you pay it.

In the past three weeks, I’ve received three different bills from three different providers for three different dates of service…and it turns out they ALL were “sent in error.”

Bill No. 1:

An $800 bill from the pathologist from my September 21, 2016, surgery.  I called my insurance medical group to ask why they denied the $800 pathology bill.  They advised me they never received a bill from the pathologist and that I needed to call the billing agency directly.  So, I called the business that sent me the bill – turns out they billed a different insurance company – of course they denied paying the bill since I wasn’t one of their insureds.  So, the billing agency was going to resubmit the bill to my correct insurance company for payment.  I should not receive a further bill.

Bill No. 2:

The following week I received a $1,300 bill for an CT scan I had in July, stating the insurance company had denied my claim.  Oh man. Here we go again.  This time I checked online with my insurance company for the Estimate of Benefits (EOB) to see what portion of the CT scan they had paid and to confirm that $1,300 was, in fact, my share.  Guess what? There was no EOB listed for the July date of service, nor anything from the imaging facility.  So, I called the billing agency – and…they had sent the bill to CareFirst rather than Anthem Blue Cross. CareFirst?!?  Never heard of them. Again, the claim was justly denied since I’m not with CareFirst!  And, again, they were going to submit the $1,300 bill to Anthem Blue Cross for processing and payment.  I have yet to receive a further bill.

Bill No. 3:

Last night I came home to a bill from my gynecologist’s office for $47.  Not much…I could just pay a check for that.  BUT…I decided to check with my insurance company to see why I have to pay a portion.  So, there was an EOB for the September 13th, 2016, pre-op appointment, BUT it showed I had paid my entire share (a whopping $35 copay) when I was at the office.  So I called the billing agency and asked them why they showed I owe $47 when my EOB shows a zero balance on my end…he sat in silence for a minute as he reviewed the EOB they had on file and simply said, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, that bill was sent in error.”  He confirmed there was a zero balance and I needed to shred the bill.

So my message to you?  If you receive a bill for any medical visit and you have insurance, verify with the insurance company, the provider, and the billing agency that 1) the proper procedures were taken to secure payment and 2) the amount due is, in fact, due…

Otherwise, I would have paid $2,147 for no damn reason.  Yeah, I get it: human error does happen.  BUT C’MON!