Understanding Hospital Charges Better

We only go to a hospital when we absolutely must! While such a visit can stress us out physically and mentally, it also has financial repercussions! If you’re heading to the hospital, then knowing how much such a visit will cost can reduce some of that stress.

Here are some tips that will let you know what to expect and what to look out for:

Surprise Fees

You need to remember two things in this regard: One, paying more doesn’t mean you will be given the best quality of care. Two, most surprise fees will be out-of-pocket expenses that you will be paying yourself!

For instance, in case of a surgery, different surgeons will have different charging rates. So will the anesthetists – who will be charging you separately from the surgeon! That means you need to do your research about how much you will be paying beforehand.

That means before you go to the hospital, simply have a conversation with each health professional that will be involved in your care. Ask them for a break-down of the services they will be providing. As mentioned above, clarify if there would be any out-of-pocket expenses. Keep in mind that it isn’t enough just to have this information. You should have these details provided to you in writing. It is known as informed financial consent and it needs to happen before you ever enter the care of the hospital.

Other examples where you may be paying yourself include blood tests, x-rays etc. Do your homework and it will be that much harder to surprise you!

 Right Questions

No matter what anyone tells you, being given an itemized medical bill is one of your rights. Therefore, don’t just blindly accept the bill a health care provider hands you. If it doesn’t just give much information beyond a lump sum, then ask them for a more comprehensive bill.

If you don’t do that, you won’t be able to tell if you were charged for a procedure by accident or are paying for services you didn’t receive.

Correct Identifiers

Having your claim rejected by your insurance provider can be nerve-wrecking. You could stress yourself out, thinking you will have to pay the bills yourself. The best way to ensure that never happens, you must be careful when filing your claim. Even something as simple as a misspelling – one of the most common errors – can result in such a rejection.

Another mistake that many insurance holders make is forgetting to update their health insurance provider once they have moved. Yet another bad idea is to fail to update your doctor when you have switched insurance carriers.

While the previous errors were based in personal information, there are other mistakes that you could be making. For instance, read it carefully when you are handed the medical bill.  Check if the medical insurer address, group, and policy numbers are correct. Known as the identifiers, any mistake that concerns them could lead to a complete claim rejection by your insurer!

If you have any other questions about hospital charges, call us at 954-968-9409