Question about medical bills, specifically from hospitals

[krunchykrome]

I was sent to ER at a Hospital by my primary doctor. This was two months ago. Today I get a bill in the mail from the hospital. Does this mean that the hospital services were not covered by my insurance or is it common practice that hospitals send their patients invoices even if the Insurance covered the bill?

 

[cker]

Call your insurance company. It's possible that the hospital didn't properly file paperwork with your insurance company. Your insurer can check to see if a claim was filed and advise you how to proceed. You may have to call the hospital billing dept to proceed on this.

Also check your policy. If your haven't met your deductible or the insurer only covers a certain percentage of ER services, for instance, then you may have a balance to pay off. Ah, the fun -- going through insurance policy papers!

If your insurance is through your employer, you may contact HR if things stall out. Many employers have HR Benefits staff who can advise you on how to deal with the insurer.

 

[amddude]

They are most likely just sending you a notice to tell you that if your insurance does not pay, you will be paying that much.

 

[Kilgor]

When I was in the hospital all I paid was my deductable when discharged. A few months later the hospital sent me the invoice.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Keep a couple of things in mind:

1) Hospitals will very rarely send only one bill. You will get a different one for each thing (one visit can generate a dozen different bills sent over two months).
2) Keep every piece of paper they send. Check each new bill against previous ones.
3) If you have to pay ANYTHING over the copay that is probably listed on your card, call your insurance company. If the hospital sends you a dozen bills for different things, the odds are that at least one was messed up.

 

[ncage]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
I was sent to ER at a Hospital by my primary doctor. This was two months ago. Today I get a bill in the mail from the hospital. Does this mean that the hospital services were not covered by my insurance or is it common practice that hospitals send their patients invoices even if the Insurance covered the bill?

The hospitals around my area do it every time and it pisses me off. Hey send me an invoice if insurance isn't going to pay for it but not if i don't owe anything. So the answer to your question is yes some hospitals definitly do.

 

[krunchykrome]

I wasn't told to pay anything when I was in the hospital or when I had left.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: ncage

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
I was sent to ER at a Hospital by my primary doctor. This was two months ago. Today I get a bill in the mail from the hospital. Does this mean that the hospital services were not covered by my insurance or is it common practice that hospitals send their patients invoices even if the Insurance covered the bill?

The hospitals around my area do it every time and it pisses me off. Hey send me an invoice if insurance isn't going to pay for it but not if i don't owe anything. So the answer to your question is yes some hospitals definitly do.

Having those copies can be very, very important if there are any long-term concerns. These bills tell you exactly (often with the billing code) what procedures were done. The only other records that exist are the doctor's notes (which you can get, if you request them).