Making well-informed healthcare decisions for another person can be difficult even if you are a good caregiver. Choosing the right Medicare plan for an aging loved one is hard because it might not cover some out-of-pocket costs. However, Medicare Part C is giving you more options in terms of out-of-pocket costs.
Here are some tips that will help seniors and their caregivers to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses:
We will cover in this article
- Do Not Pay Immediately
- Check the Basics
- Verify the Charges
- Ensure That the Bill is Adjusted
- Make Sure That the EOB Matches Your Bill
- Be Persistent
- Do Not Ignore Bills
Do Not Pay Immediately
Most people want to pay what they owe and get on with their lives, which means that you might write a check as soon as you receive a bill. However, you should not be in such a hurry given the number of overcharges and inaccuracies that most medical bills contain. After receiving a bill, you should verify that the amount written is what you actually owe before paying.
If you end up paying the wrong amount, it will be difficult to recoup your cash. You should contact your insurance provider if you have any questions about the billing.
Check the Basics
You need to confirm that your bills have the right basic info. This means that your address, name, and dates of services should be correct. If the bill has information about your insurance provider, you should double check this information, especially if you have changed providers recently or have a primary and secondary insurance provider.
Verify the Charges
It can be hard to understand medical bills because most of them are written in cryptic and vague billing codes. To avoid overpaying, you should take the time to understand your medical bills. You should ask your insurer for an itemized bill if you want to see what you owe. Verify each service on the bill to see if the charges are correct.
Ensure That the Bill is Adjusted
You need to check whether your bill is adjusted for insurance payments and contracted rates. If you visit an in-network healthcare provider, you should make sure that the provider submits your claim to your insurer. If your bill was not adjusted for the insurance payments, it means that your insurance was not applied to it.
Instead of going to your insurance company, the healthcare provider might decide to bill you directly. You need to look carefully at your bill to spot such mistakes.
Make Sure That the EOB Matches Your Bill
The medical bill that your healthcare provider sends to you is the counterpart for the EOB (Explanation of Benefits) that you receive from your insurer. Your provider will send a bill that lets you know how much you will pay while the insurer explains why you should pay that amount.
The EOB includes the contracted rate, the amount your insurance company will pay, as well as the amount you need to pay.
If you have not gotten the EOB, your insurer has not finished processing your claim. Your EOB should state what your provider should bill you for the medical service. If the amount stated in your EOB varies from the amount you have been billed, you should look into it.
Be Persistent
If you spot an error in your medical bill, you need to call your insurer to resolve the issue. When making the phone calls, you should be polite but persistent if you want your problem to be resolved quickly. Moreover, you need to document all the calls and write the date and time of the phone call as well as the person to whom you speak.
Do Not Ignore Bills
Although you need to verify the correctness of a bill, you should not wait too long before paying. Let your providers know that you will take care of the bill to prevent them from sending it to a collection agency. Once your provider knows that you are not ignoring the bill, you will be given extra time to deal with the issues.
You should make sure that your bills are correct before you send them but do not forget to pay them.
The above tips will help you to avoid paying hefty out-of-pocket costs. When it comes to choosing an insurance plan for senior citizens, knowledge is power. You need to do some research before settling on any plan.
