SIGforum.com Main Page What's Your Deal! 34 medical bills for one thing- and they threaten to turn me into collections after making payments.
Main Page What's Your Deal! 34 medical bills for one thing- and they threaten to turn me into collections after making payments.Page 1 2
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Member |
Medical billing in my health care system is so dumb. My wife, daughter, and I all had some minor procedures/tests done last year and bills are still rolling in for them. It's really annoying that we've been getting multiple bills for one thing- one for the initial doctor's visit, one for the MRI, one for the doctor who reads the MRI, one for the doctor who did my wife's GI scope, one for the hospital where the scope was done, one for the doctor who gave her the juice to make her sleep during her GI scope.....it goes on and on. These are all in the same hospital system but they break their bills up for every little thing. I don't have a problem being charged and I pay my bills, but don't threaten to turn me over to collections for not paying on the $45 bill that got mixed in with the other 40 and got overlooked. We got another one in the mail yesterday. My wife went online and payed 1/4 of it. I just got a call that I have to be set up on a payment plan if I don't pay the full balance- if not then they'll turn me over to collections. So I get threatened the day after we make a payment on it? I told her to set me up on the plan or turn me over to collections but I was only paying so much a month on it. I'm not buying a house anytime soon and both of my paid off vehicles have plenty of life left in them so ding my credit all you want. I don't know which pisses me off more- the $25-200 little bills for every separate little thing or them threatening me when I pay them. | ||
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| Member |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Well that is not at all unusual. Everything you describe is common practice. I have half a drawer of medical bills for some major stuff I had done. I sorted through them over time and took care of them. Lots of people don't pay their medical bills hence the need for collection agencies. I know that is not what you want to hear, but that is how it is. If you have the misfortune of being in the hospital it is MUCH worse. | |||
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The Unmanned Writer |
Had a test preformed by my pain management Dr. His office sent the test out (not unexpected). The outsourced facility billed me directly without an explanation of the services preformed. I called them, they explained then I explained they needed to send the bill to my Dr who would review it and then, if valid, would forward it to me. That is when the s* storm started. It boiled down to: Them: We don't do that and you're responsible for the bill. Me: I do not know you nor if the bill is valid. If you want your money, you will forward it to Dr. X. Them: [rinse and repeat first comment followed by] We will send this to collections. Me: And your point is? That didn't go over too well and resulted in that Dr getting on the phone and the whole conversation being repeated. I went to me Dr and explained the events and was told I was in fact correct and the bill should be sent to them first. That bill was never forwarded, I never paid, and it never showed on my credit report. AND, my DR stopped using them. Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. "If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own... | |||
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Member |
I'm on BCBS and I can download a spreadsheet that shows all the claims submitted to insurance. I've used that to make sure I've received bills for my portion. More importantly, I can make sure that I'm billed the correct amount. This past year I've been charged for a teleheath appointment that I know was cancelled in advance, have not been billed for my share of hospital charges, and was overcharged by one provider. As far as medical bills goes, 2021 was by far the most I've ever had. (And I hope to never repeat.) Most of the providers are linked through a large hospital system. Sometimes I get the bills directly and sometimes through MyChart. (It seems paper copies of the MyCart bills take forever to arrive.) I'm then forced to see if I paid via MyChart or paid directly. Thus the need for the spreadsheet to make sure I'm not double paying. Speak softly and carry a | |||
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| Member |
I wish that is how it's done around here. This past year I was sent for test by both my PCP and surgeon. All of those vendors (lab test, radiology, hospital based tests, etc) billed me directly. None went back to, or were reviewed by, the doctor. Speak softly and carry a | |||
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I Deal In Lead |
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| Member |
In a dispute over a chickenshit medical bill I owed a whopping $25 on, I was threatened with it "going to collections". When I asked what was the least amount of owed money they would seek collections on, the clerk told me 25 cents. I sent $10 to them and told them to go ahead and send it to collection and see what the collection agency would charge them to pursue the debt. Never heard anything else from them. Our medical system is riddled with inefficiency, corruption and outright thievery. End of Earth: 2 Miles Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles | |||
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| Member |
Few years ago I was at the hospital for some tests done. I saw a few people walked in and told the check in counter nurses that they had medical issues. One of the nurse asked for medical insurance and form of payment. The guy said he left his wallet at home. How convenient eh? So the nurse asked for name and address so they can send him the bill. I don't think he ever paid a penny of it. Perhaps it would be more beneficial the next time I'm at the hospital if I accidently forget the English language and wallet at home. | |||
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| Member |
^^^^^^^^^^^^ The hospital here would say get a translator and your wallet. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower  |
I'm sorry to say that the idiocy appears to be universal. I've had these sons o' bitches calling me before bills were due to ask me when I was going to pay. Mind you, I've never been late on a payment, not once, yet they treat me as if I'm a deadbeat. Last time they pulled this crap, I told them to stop calling me about bills which were not overdue and that they would get their money. I also told the gal who called me that I realize she was just doing her job, but her employer should be truly ashamed of themselves, not that that will ever happen. It's not enough for them that they fucking bankrupt people with their obscene rates. No, they have to fucking hound you on speculation! Shameful! ____________________________________________________ "I am your retribution." - Donald Trump, speech at CPAC, March 4, 2023 | |||
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| Member |
With all of my normal bills, I round the amount up to the next dollar and pay that. The phone company, etc, never have a problem carrying 38 cents or whatever into the next billing cycle. When I got the first bill (after the insurer paid their part) from our current hospital, I did the same. Did they carry the 62 cents or whatever forward? No, they refunded it to the insurer. Stupid. It probably cost them $10 to refund it... and that was the last time they got a payment for anything except the exact amount. === I would like to apologize to anyone I have *not* offended. Please be patient. I will get to you shortly. | |||
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Member |
It's been a while since I was in the mortgage biz, but back then they ignored medical debt on a credit report. Might bring your score down, but the delinquencies didn't matter. | |||
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| Member |
You must be from a small town or something. There are no doctors that I know of that even do their own billing where I live. It's cheaper to hire a company than it is to have a staff just for your billing. | |||
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| Member |
We are in the middle of a huge dispute with the insurance company over my wife's back surgery . They decided after the fact that they are not going to pay the claim . They said the procedure was experimental and not covered by insurance . In the meantime the hospital would like $60,000 . We lost two appeals and are going to request an independent review . I expect to lose that one as well . | |||
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| Member |
You still have options. One being the insurance commission. I assume that preauthorization was required and that the physician and hospital submitted that. You have just been appealing to the insurance company. I doubt that your neurosurgeon is performing experimental procedures. This sort of stuff happens. You may need the service of a third party or health care attorney. Who is doing the independent review? You can do research on your own and find out what hospitals and neurosurgeons are doing this procedure. | |||
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| Member |
Like most people , we thought the surgeon got preauthorization for the surgery before scheduling it . The insurance company said no authorization was needed because they don't cover it anyway . Not sure who is going to do the independent review yet . She just sent the request to the insurance company . It's a mess ... | |||
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| Official forum SIG Pro enthusiast  |
What annoys me to no end is when they send you a bill that wasn’t properly filed with insurance. I wonder if they assume people will just pay it? I’ve had a bunch of hospital bills from the birth of my daughter that were not even filed right. I called and looked into it because of the astronomical amount on the bill. I do wonder for smaller bills that never got filed or were filed with insurance improperly whether people just end up paying the bill out of pocket? I bet it happens often. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The price of liberty and even of common humanity is eternal vigilance | |||
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| Member |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ One of the forms you filed indicated that you had the responsibility for the bill, but they would file as a courtesy. It is usual practice to send bills to the patient and the insurance company. Can you be more specific about "the bill was not filed properly with the insurance company?" There are certainly clerical errors, but I find the most egregious errors on the part of the insurer. | |||
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אַרְיֵה |
You were not addressing me with the question that I quoted, but I can give you a very clear example of medical billing that was done incorrectly by the provider's office. The last (most recent) surgery of any kind that I have had was May 15, 2013. At that time I had never met my current Primary Care Doctor, nor had I ever even heard of his practice. Never even knew that it existed. I visited his practice just a couple months ago for a discussion about blood pressure medication. His office billed my insurance carrier for "post surgery services." הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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| Member |
They pay it? I don't deny that mistakes are made. The insurance company software programs now routinely deny claims for men for hysterectomies as a result of billing errors. On the other hand insurance companies have software claims that routinely deny legit services because they have not bothered to properly configure them. An appeal must be made and it becomes expensive for the physician. Neurologists who practice headache medicine must routinely get preauthorizations on GENERIC DRUGS. This sort of practice runs up the cost of care with no benefit to the patient. The physician now has to train and employ at least one staff member to handle this task. | |||
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SIGforum.com Main Page What's Your Deal! 34 medical bills for one thing- and they threaten to turn me into collections after making payments.
Main Page What's Your Deal! 34 medical bills for one thing- and they threaten to turn me into collections after making payments.© SIGforum 2024