My dad died from COVID in December 2020 in Texas. He had a combination of health insurance through the VA and medicare (Humana). I’m in charge of settling his affairs.
I received a very thorough packet from Humana detailing his hospital treatments, EOB, etc.. The end result was, according to Humana, a patient responsibility of around $600, mostly for ambulance services, which I have double checked and paid.
I recently received a bill from the hospital via a medical billing company for $1500. When I looked it up in the Explanation of Benefits packet, Humana stated that the patient responsibility was $0 for this service. I called Humana to double check and they confirmed that the patient responsibility was $0 and to call the billing company and tell them that, and that they couldn’t “balance bill” me.
I called the billing company to tell them this and they wanted a death certificate before they would speak to me, and the first customer rep said I also needed to write them a “hardship letter”. I sent the death certificate 1.5 weeks ago and declined to provide them with a hardship letter because doesn’t that imply that I have responsibility for this bill and am asking their leniency? I called again today, they said to call again on Friday when perhaps the death cert will have been reviewed by the appropriate department and someone can actually talk to me.
Am I on the right track here? What do I do if the billing company insists that we still owe them money? Dad had good health insurance, but no life insurance. Should I be prepared to fight this for an extended period of time, or do they usually give up after you push back? Will they send collections after us?
Any insight is greatly appreciated!
submitted by /u/anguas-plt
[link] [comments]
My dad died from COVID in December 2020 in Texas. He had a combination of health insurance through the VA and medicare (Humana). I’m in charge of settling his affairs. I received a very thorough packet from Humana detailing his hospital treatments, EOB, etc.. The end result was, according to Humana, a patient responsibility of around $600, mostly for ambulance services, which I have double checked and paid. I recently received a bill from the hospital via a medical billing company for $1500. When I looked it up in the Explanation of Benefits packet, Humana stated that the patient responsibility was $0 for this service. I called Humana to double check and they confirmed that the patient responsibility was $0 and to call the billing company and tell them that, and that they couldn’t “balance bill” me. I called the billing company to tell them this and they wanted a death certificate before they would speak to me, and the first customer rep said I also needed to write them a “hardship letter”. I sent the death certificate 1.5 weeks ago and declined to provide them with a hardship letter because doesn’t that imply that I have responsibility for this bill and am asking their leniency? I called again today, they said to call again on Friday when perhaps the death cert will have been reviewed by the appropriate department and someone can actually talk to me. Am I on the right track here? What do I do if the billing company insists that we still owe them money? Dad had good health insurance, but no life insurance. Should I be prepared to fight this for an extended period of time, or do they usually give up after you push back? Will they send collections after us? Any insight is greatly appreciated!
submitted by /u/anguas-plt [link] [comments]Read Morer/HealthInsurance