Do You Need a Medical Billing Advocate?

Do you have a stack of unpaid medical bills? Not sure if you really owe all that your doctor or hospital bill is claiming you do? Did your insurance cover less than you thought they would? Do you have an elderly relative that has been ill and the bills are piling up?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, it may be time to consider hiring a medical billing advocate to review your bills to determine if you owe what is being claimed. After all, it is reported that 8 out of every 10 medical bills contain errors, and the majority of patients and consumers have no idea that they are being over-charged for medical services that have been rendered (and sometimes not rendered at all). It's not unusual for billing advocates to detect data entry errors, unbundling of charges (charging for procedures separately, when they are included in one code) erroneous billing for services never received - honestly, the list is infinite.

If your insurance company rejects a service, the provider may simply send you the bill rather than researching and resubmitting the charges for payment. How would you know if this is the case? How would you know that your insurance should cover the charge? It's so important to have someone knowledgeable review your bills so that you aren't placed in a position of feeling coerced into paying medical bills for which you may not even be liable.

Medical Billing Advocates review your medical bills by combing through them, line by line, and also carefully examining the explanation of benefits from your insurance company. They will subsequently compare the charges to your medical records, to ensure that you did in fact receive the services for which you are being billed. This will leave you with peace of mind, knowing that you are only paying for services that were legitimately rendered, thus eliminating the risk of paying thousands of dollars of medical bills for which you are not responsible.

You can be certain that Medical Billing Advocates have the expertise needed, and thorough knowledge of the codes used and how to read a medical record to determine if all charges are appropriate. Additionally, professionals will know what codes can be billed together, and what codes cannot, and when the provider is required to write off charges that have been billed in error, and when you are actually responsible.

It's time to be proactive. Remember, it's within your rights to obtain all the assistance you need, and it's unnecessary to pay another dollar for which you are not responsible.