Opening your medical bills can make you feel as ill as you did when you sought a doctor's attention in the first place. But there are ways to alleviate your wallet's pain.
Angie Hicks, founder of the consumer review Web site Angie's List, says that with a little preparation and a lot of patience, people can lower their health care costs through negotiation, price shopping and catching billing errors. Here are her tips:
Ask for a deal. Find out if there's a discount for paying cash or paying upfront, ask about special rates for senior citizens or students, and see if they will set up a no-interest payment plan.
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Don't be afraid to negotiate with your doctor: "Insurance companies have always negotiated with health care providers, so it's not like it's foreign to the industry," Hicks said. One member of Angie's List talked to her doctor after her insurance company covered just $18,000 of a $22,000 surgery, and the doctor agreed to waive the remaining $4,000, Hicks said.
Get multiple quotes in writing. Before your procedure, shop around to various doctors to find out how much they charge and how much they expect insurance to pay. Get those price quotes in writing, with a name, title and signature, so that you have a paper trail if you end up getting charged more later. Remember to cover all the costs associated with the procedure and every doctor in the room: lab costs, the anesthesiologist, the radiologist, etc.
You may want to consult the "Healthcare Blue Book" beforehand (healthcarebluebook.com). It's a medical pricing guide that states the average compensation that medical providers accept from insurers for services ranging from surgery to dental and eye-care procedures.
It's especially helpful for those with high deductibles or who are paying out of pocket.
"Healthcare Blue Book is a great tool," Hicks said. "We're actually partnering with them, and will have a service in place for our members this summer that will let them click a few buttons to access local medical costs so they can find fair prices and save money. We'll rely on Healthcare Blue Book to provide that information."
Be polite. "Asking questions in a calm manner will always get you further than being overly aggressive," Hicks said. Start with the office clerk you normally check out with, but don't be afraid to ask for a billing manager — nicely — if you don't feel you're getting a full answer.
Review all paperwork carefully. Eight out of 10 medical bills have mistakes in them, according to the Medical Billing Advocates of America, from duplicate charges to overcharges to charges for non-billable serves, to misplaced decimal points. Incorrect coding is a common error that can result in insurance companies not covering something they should. Ask for an itemized bill to see what you're really getting charged for.
If you don't understand the charges or if your insurer didn't cover something you expected them to, call your doctor and insurer and ask. Then call around to other providers and find out if the bill is in line with what they charge. Then go back to your doctor's billing department and argue for a lower bill. "It may take time, it may take a few phone calls, but it's really important," Hicks said.
Hire a medical-billing specialist. A new industry of professional bill reviewers will scour your bills for errors and unjustified charges, and will negotiate with your provider on your behalf to bring down your costs.
Some of these specialists charge a flat fee, but most will charge a percentage, typically 30 percent, of how much they save you, so you pay nothing if you don't get any savings. There's a wealth of information at billadvocates.com, the Web site of Medical Billing Advocates of America.
aelejalderuiz@tribune.com
By the numbers
While consumers will readily fight an incorrect cable or phone bill, they're often more reluctant to take on a suspicious medical bill.
"Health care is a more emotional field, and it can be complicated because it's not something you always understand yourself, so it's easy to get overwhelmed," said Angie's List founder Angie Hicks.
But according to a May poll of 1,237 Angie's List members, it's worthwhile to fight. Among poll respondents:
57% have never negotiated a medical bill.
23% didn't know they had the option of negotiating medical bills.
74% of members who did negotiate were successful.
42% of members who haggled did so because their insurance didn't cover as much as they expected.
17% of members who haggled did so just because they wondered if they could get a better deal.
chicagotribune.com/
Angie Hicks, founder of the consumer review Web site Angie's List, says that with a little preparation and a lot of patience, people can lower their health care costs through negotiation, price shopping and catching billing errors. Here are her tips:
Ask for a deal. Find out if there's a discount for paying cash or paying upfront, ask about special rates for senior citizens or students, and see if they will set up a no-interest payment plan.
Get the Chicago Tribune delivered to your home for only $1 a week >>
Don't be afraid to negotiate with your doctor: "Insurance companies have always negotiated with health care providers, so it's not like it's foreign to the industry," Hicks said. One member of Angie's List talked to her doctor after her insurance company covered just $18,000 of a $22,000 surgery, and the doctor agreed to waive the remaining $4,000, Hicks said.
Get multiple quotes in writing. Before your procedure, shop around to various doctors to find out how much they charge and how much they expect insurance to pay. Get those price quotes in writing, with a name, title and signature, so that you have a paper trail if you end up getting charged more later. Remember to cover all the costs associated with the procedure and every doctor in the room: lab costs, the anesthesiologist, the radiologist, etc.
You may want to consult the "Healthcare Blue Book" beforehand (healthcarebluebook.com). It's a medical pricing guide that states the average compensation that medical providers accept from insurers for services ranging from surgery to dental and eye-care procedures.
It's especially helpful for those with high deductibles or who are paying out of pocket.
"Healthcare Blue Book is a great tool," Hicks said. "We're actually partnering with them, and will have a service in place for our members this summer that will let them click a few buttons to access local medical costs so they can find fair prices and save money. We'll rely on Healthcare Blue Book to provide that information."
Be polite. "Asking questions in a calm manner will always get you further than being overly aggressive," Hicks said. Start with the office clerk you normally check out with, but don't be afraid to ask for a billing manager — nicely — if you don't feel you're getting a full answer.
Review all paperwork carefully. Eight out of 10 medical bills have mistakes in them, according to the Medical Billing Advocates of America, from duplicate charges to overcharges to charges for non-billable serves, to misplaced decimal points. Incorrect coding is a common error that can result in insurance companies not covering something they should. Ask for an itemized bill to see what you're really getting charged for.
If you don't understand the charges or if your insurer didn't cover something you expected them to, call your doctor and insurer and ask. Then call around to other providers and find out if the bill is in line with what they charge. Then go back to your doctor's billing department and argue for a lower bill. "It may take time, it may take a few phone calls, but it's really important," Hicks said.
Hire a medical-billing specialist. A new industry of professional bill reviewers will scour your bills for errors and unjustified charges, and will negotiate with your provider on your behalf to bring down your costs.
Some of these specialists charge a flat fee, but most will charge a percentage, typically 30 percent, of how much they save you, so you pay nothing if you don't get any savings. There's a wealth of information at billadvocates.com, the Web site of Medical Billing Advocates of America.
aelejalderuiz@tribune.com
By the numbers
While consumers will readily fight an incorrect cable or phone bill, they're often more reluctant to take on a suspicious medical bill.
"Health care is a more emotional field, and it can be complicated because it's not something you always understand yourself, so it's easy to get overwhelmed," said Angie's List founder Angie Hicks.
But according to a May poll of 1,237 Angie's List members, it's worthwhile to fight. Among poll respondents:
57% have never negotiated a medical bill.
23% didn't know they had the option of negotiating medical bills.
74% of members who did negotiate were successful.
42% of members who haggled did so because their insurance didn't cover as much as they expected.
17% of members who haggled did so just because they wondered if they could get a better deal.
chicagotribune.com/
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