I get it, everyone wants their money. But emailed statements without an itemization?

Just mail me a statement. Three ER trips. First two billings from the doctor’s group, they never filed an insurance claim despite them having it on file at the hospital from a June visit. And I’ll get a third billing, and again I’ll have to call and give them the information again as hand “a” doesn’t know what “b” did or does.

Hospital, I just get a emailed statement that I owe $1650.00, my share of five days in. O.k., they billed the insurance carrier. All good but I need a real invoice to file with my secondary coverage for the in hospital stay.

And guess I’m a little dense here but I get a hospital statement that says “This Is Not A Bill” but with an expected amount due after my insurance carrier pays. Why don’t they just send a billing?

I’m willing and ready to pay these off ASAP but I need the bills in hand……

"A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma"

While Churchill was referring to the USSR, he might as well have been talking about medical billing.

Medical billing is a complete shitshow in 2025

Every ER/hospital visit we've incurred over the past few years has been completely screwed up. It's like they hire the bottom of the barrel people to run the billing and they just don't care.

Wait until you start getting medical bills by text.

The third party lab that my PCP now uses started sending bills by text message. Just a message stating which lab it is from, with an amount and a link to click.

I verified with my PCP it was legitimate, and the amount matched the amount I was expecting based on the EOB from my insurance, but it still threw me for a loop. I bet 99% of folks would just chalk it up as a scam and delete it.

I got one of those last month.
A text message for an anesthesia bill for my colonoscopy.
I called and verified it was real, but told them I wasn't paying anything until I got a 'real' bill in the mail.

I do not believe that emailing a medical bill is legit unless it is encrypted. I would politely call the Hospital Administrator. Could be a HIPPA violation which could get rather spendy for the hospital.

Google says; emailing a medical bill is not inherently a HIPAA violation, but it is a violation if it lacks proper security measures like encryption. Healthcare providers can email bills containing Protected Health Information (PHI) if they use secure, HIPAA-compliant email services and take reasonable safeguards. These safeguards include using encryption, limiting the PHI to the minimum necessary, and obtaining patient consent to inform them of potential risks.

I have been using the same eye doctor for years. I received a bill from a third party billing service the doctor started using and this bill was 16 months after my exam. 16 months after! I brought to the doctors office and asked the office manager if the bill was legitimate. She said it was but they were willing to write it off. Which was good, because I had a bill printout with an attached credit card receipt that said "paid" for that exact same service.
When it comes to medical bills, trust nothing.

I've been notified by all the places involved in my care that I'm being enrolled in electronic billing. You get a notification that a statement is available, but you log in to retrieve it. Fortunately, most of mine are zero balance due to Medicare Advantage.

A problem I have is that one medical group I have doctors and procedures done want to bill my supplemental insurance prior to billing my primary insurance (Medicare). It seems every time I go in now, I have to ask at the desk, and they change it back to Medicare as primary.

I have a Medicare Advantage plan with a additional secondary policy that pays a daily $300 benefit for each day I’m admitted and possibly some additional coverage for the two ambulance rides.

So it’s important for all the bills to be here before I start filing claims.

When you hire a tradesman to perform work for you, you get an estimate of costs beforehand and an itemized bill showing both materials and labor after. Every state mandates or regulates this, with only minor differences in details. Why is this not the case with medical billing? They can seemingly just make up any old shit they want, and demand payment upon receipt.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

Why the hell do medical providers have multiple formats of invoices and especially formats no insurance company or FSA accepts? Just have a detailed invoice with line by line accurate descriptions, accurate insurance codes, how much patient prepaid, and how much insurance paid.

It doesn't matter if they e-mail it, mail it, or download it yourself just have a single detailed format invoice where you're not hiding shit.

A concept I learned from supply management is 3-way matching. I don’t follow the exact process but it captures the intent.

I keep track of my medical appointments by the service dates when I see which medical provider. It’s the same list I track for my upcoming medical appointments. This is the first record - it gives me an idea when and what medical services I received.

The second record I get is the medical providers invoice. The invoice tells me which medical provider I went to and when to match with the first record. I don’t try to understand anything else. I just note if what they say what services I received match my appointment record. I also note whether they’ve received any insurance payment. But I don’t do anything until I get the third record. If the bill doesn’t show any insurance payments yet, I just file it and don’t worry about it. I want to see a bill that shows my insurance company has paid and what is left for me to pay.

The third record I wait for is from the medical insurance for that service date with that provider. I look if the service date and provider match then I see if the total amount invoiced to the insurance is the same amount on the doctor’s bill. The amount I zero is is what the insurance say is my responsibility as a patient to pay and I match that number to what the doctor’s bill says is the amount I have to pay.

If the amounts don’t match, I kick it back to the doctor’s billing department. If the numbers match, then I pay.

That’s the 3-way record matching; matching what was received to the purchase agreement to the billing invoice except in this case, it’s matching the service date - provider record to the amount the provider says you owe and what the insurance company says you owe. It’s not a guarantee you’re not getting screwed but, at least, they’re telling you the same story.

My healthcare provider, UCSD Healthcare, uses the MyChart app. On my iPhone and MacBook. It makes billing clear and simple. I can also pay via MyChart and get immediate confirmation of payment.

It’s a wonderful app. Test results are displayed clearly. I can send/receive messages to/from my doctors. Upcoming and past appointments are clearly displayed. Other features too.

Check to see if your healthcare providers use MyChart.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
Check to see if your healthcare providers use MyChart.

MyChart is a great resource and most of my docs have it, but it doesn't prevent the medical provider's back office from uploading unitemized invoices instead of the detailed invoice that insurance and FSAs need.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I bet 99% of folks would just chalk it up as a scam and delete it.

Yep.

I had two hospitalizations last month. Medicare and Supplement on file with the hospital. The other day, I get a text message saying 'click the link to see your bill'.

Sorry, I'll pass. If you think I owe something that's not covered by insurance, send me an itemized statement.

Got my first real itemized bill today, ambulance ride. Insurance paid their portion, this $300 is on me.

Yeah, that "click the link" shit is dead and stinking. I absolutely will not click on a link I didn't ask for. Ditto with QR codes.