At the beginning of January, we received a big bill from the hospital for the surgery I had back in November. Apparently my insurance company had denied the claim...or so they told the hospital. After calling and talking to them myself, I was told a different story. I had already called and had it pre-approved several months in advance, but apparently that didn't matter. After many hours on the phone with the insurnace company, the medical records department, the insurance claims lady at the hospital, and my doctor's nurse, I finally was told the insurance company had requested my medical records. To make a long story short...I was so relieved when we recieved the EOB in the mail today saying that we only owed $630! No, not thrilled to pay 630 dollars, but that's so much better than what it was.
Lessons I learned from this:
1. Never throw away any EOB (explanation of benefits) statements (we've always kept ours, so that wasn't a problem)
2. Always call your insurance company before having any kind of procedure done and have your doctor or nurse give you the codes for the procedure (insurance companies love codes!)
3. ALWAYS document any phone conversations you have with your insurance company (the name of the person you talk to, the date, and what they tell you)
4 comments:
FYI: Before you pay that, call the hospital. Often if you pay it in full, they will give you a 30-40% discount. It helped a lot with my spider bite bills. :)
PTL!
So glad that turned out good! I love your new blog look too! Cute header!
You are so very right, Lisa!! Keep and document everything. I went a few rounds with our insurance and a doctor's office in Georgia. I got a bill from the doctor's office nearly 6 months after the insurance company had payed it. It took forever to figure out. When I finally talked to "the right" person, it was taken care of in no time flat. So glad yours turned out in favor of you!!
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