I went to the ER in August last year. I had an unknown ectopic pregnancy — my IUD had failed, which is a whole other story — and it had ruptured. I had heavy internal bleeding and would have died without surgery.
Over the next two months, I got 9 separate bills for the visit. Of those, 3 were covered completely by insurance. The other 6 were partially covered, and so I had to pay some amount to 6 different providers. I paid 3 of the bills without issue.
The remaining 3 bills had not been submitted to insurance. The providers either didn’t have my insurance information, or had it incorrect. I spent the next 4 months correcting and re-correcting my information with representatives over the phone. One call a month, because that’s how long it took to receive a new bill, which let me know that it still hadn’t gone to insurance. During that time, I received overdue notices and threats that the bills would go to collections. The representatives told me to disregard the notices.
Since then, 2 of the 3 bills have been successfully submitted to insurance, and I have paid the balance on them.
I just got off the phone with a representative for my final bill. They’re going to resubmit it to insurance for the fourth time. Meanwhile, I have monthly reminders in my calendar to check back in. To try to catch if I get charged late fees, or if the bill has gone to collections. The calendar reminders don’t have an end date.
The lesson I’ve learned is that the fragmentation of the US health system doesn’t just lead to poor coverage and inflated prices — it also leads to bills that linger for months, or longer, while the patient is in an extremely vulnerable position. Billing agencies can threaten late fees, and collections, and even suing. All I can do is resubmit my insurance information and keep detailed records of what’s happening. I have no idea if that will be enough to protect me.
As a bonus for y’all: the total charges from my ER visit were about $56,000. Insurance has paid a little under $10,000. I’ve paid $1,500 (and still waiting for that last bill). The other $44,000 has magically disappeared through discounts and preferred provider agreements. I’m extremely, extremely grateful that I live in a state where ER visits are covered as in-network.
TL;DR – you can’t trust providers to send your bills to your insurance.
submitted by /u/smash_tree
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I went to the ER in August last year. I had an unknown ectopic pregnancy — my IUD had failed, which is a whole other story — and it had ruptured. I had heavy internal bleeding and would have died without surgery. Over the next two months, I got 9 separate bills for the visit. Of those, 3 were covered completely by insurance. The other 6 were partially covered, and so I had to pay some amount to 6 different providers. I paid 3 of the bills without issue. The remaining 3 bills had not been submitted to insurance. The providers either didn’t have my insurance information, or had it incorrect. I spent the next 4 months correcting and re-correcting my information with representatives over the phone. One call a month, because that’s how long it took to receive a new bill, which let me know that it still hadn’t gone to insurance. During that time, I received overdue notices and threats that the bills would go to collections. The representatives told me to disregard the notices. Since then, 2 of the 3 bills have been successfully submitted to insurance, and I have paid the balance on them. I just got off the phone with a representative for my final bill. They’re going to resubmit it to insurance for the fourth time. Meanwhile, I have monthly reminders in my calendar to check back in. To try to catch if I get charged late fees, or if the bill has gone to collections. The calendar reminders don’t have an end date. The lesson I’ve learned is that the fragmentation of the US health system doesn’t just lead to poor coverage and inflated prices — it also leads to bills that linger for months, or longer, while the patient is in an extremely vulnerable position. Billing agencies can threaten late fees, and collections, and even suing. All I can do is resubmit my insurance information and keep detailed records of what’s happening. I have no idea if that will be enough to protect me. As a bonus for y’all: the total charges from my ER visit were about $56,000. Insurance has paid a little under $10,000. I’ve paid $1,500 (and still waiting for that last bill). The other $44,000 has magically disappeared through discounts and preferred provider agreements. I’m extremely, extremely grateful that I live in a state where ER visits are covered as in-network. TL;DR – you can’t trust providers to send your bills to your insurance.
submitted by /u/smash_tree [link] [comments]Read Morer/HealthInsurance