Decoding Your Healthcare Bill
How a couple digits can save you money
After a lot of ranting, and a lot more time spent on hold, it’s finally dawned on me that I’ve got something to share that could help you understand your medical bill. If you 1) have insurance and 2) have bills and 3) would stare at me blankly if I used words and letters like ICD10, CPT, or just-plain “codes,” read on.
Any time I see a doctor or receive some healthcare service I can expect two letters in the mail. The first comes from my insurance company, which details the services that were billed to them, what they’ve covered, and what I’m expected to pay. The disclaimer “THIS IS NOT A BILL” in bold letters at the top is not reassuring.
The identifying information of the not-bill is:
- Member Name
- Date of Service
- Claim Number
- Provider Name
…and will be of little-to-no use when the actual bill arrives. The “Provider Name” is the largest annoyance since it lists the name of the entity, let’s call it Veridian Healthcare, instead of the name of the doctor who performed the service. This makes it harder to determine what to dispute.
To avoid premature dismay I tuck this not-a-bill into an envelope and await the actual bill, which…
