How to Fight High Medical Bills
30% of privately insured Americans received a so-called "surprise medical bill"
- in the last 2 years
- in study of 2,220 adults
- according to Consumer Reports
The Consumer Reports defines these "surprises", as events:
- where an insurance company pays of a medical bill less
- than the insured person expected
The most common "surprise billing" issues are:
- total amount charged was higher than expected - 63% of respondents
- a bill from an unexpected/unknown doctor - 23%
- separate bills from multiple providers for the same service - 20%
- charge for out-of-network (higher) rate, when the primary provider was in-network - 14%
--- (a hospital is in-network, but the strange anesthesiologist is out-of-network - after the fact "surprise")
- other (charges from nurses, technicians, assistants, drivers) - 10%
The worst news is - how few people know their legal rights
- when it comes to surprise medical billing issues
- 87% of respondents didn't know - which State agency handles health insurance complaints
How to complain:
1. Contact insurer in-writing & ask for:
- a written statement &
- a list of specific policies & language by the insurer
- for denial or exclusion of your specific case coverage
2. If not satisfied with the insurer's response:
- file a formal complaint with your State agency
Consumer Protection Agencies:
1. Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (MiDIFS)
- website http://www.michigan.gov/difs/0,5269,7-303-12902_12907---,00.html
- tel: 517-373-0220
2. Michigan Universal Health Care Access Network (MichUHCAN)
- http://michuhcan.org
- tel: 248-880-2526
3. in other States:
- to find which agency handles health insurance-related complaints, use the resource:
- https://consumersunion.org/insurance-complaint-tool
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http://www.moneytalksnews.com/how-fight-surprise-medical-bills
https://consumersunion.org/insurance-complaint-tool
Bonus - Successfully Negotiate Your Medical Bills in 7 Simple Steps: http://www.moneytalksnews.com/successfully-negotiate-your-medical-bills-7-simple-steps/?all=1