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Check Your Hospital Bills--You're Likely to Find an Error

By Adam Kolowich, Utahns for Healthcare Fairness

hospital bill
Most hospital bills are inaccurate or unfair. Make sure you check every bill.

Errors on hospital bills are extremely common; a 2017 study by Medliminal Health Solutions found that four out of five hospital bills contain one.   While some of these errors can be relatively minor, such as a charge for a medicine you brought from home, others can be significant, such as charging for a test you didn’t receive or overcharging for operating room usage.  While these errors can seem small, they can add up, potentially burdening even Medicare-eligible individuals.

Even when bills are accurate, they can be unfair or excessive.  For example, just because your hospital is in-network on your insurance doesn’t mean that all doctors at the hospital are in-network; patients often receive huge bills because one of the doctors they see during a hospital visit is out of network.

Many states have enacted legislation providing patients with protections against these so-called “surprise bills,” but so far Utah hasn’t done so.  Additionally, hospitals routinely overcharge for basic equipment and materials like gowns and slippers that should be included in your room charge.  Some unfair billing practices can even impact your insurance rates: Hospitals can charge more for complex admissions, so they sometimes “upcode” patients, which can lead to future increases in insurance rates.

If you receive a bill that you believe to be inaccurate, the most important thing you can do is to immediately call your insurer, health plan, or, in the absence of insurance, the hospital to discuss your bill. You should take notes and document the call, so you have a record of what you discussed.  While it’s not a good idea to refuse to pay a bill, you should not pay the bill until you have more information about why certain charges are included in your overall cost, as it’s much harder to recover your money once you’ve written a check.

There are also many resources available for people looking to fight an unfair hospital bill. The Utah Department of Insurance may be able to help, particularly with “surprise bills.”  Non-profit advocates such as the Patient Advocate Foundation (800-532-5274) and Take Care Utah (call 2-1-1) help patients navigate the complexities of insurance and hospital billing. The Patient Advocate Foundation offers patients facing life threatening or debilitating diseases free case managers to help address issues with hospital debt and insurance. Take Care Utah is a network of nonprofit organizations focused on helping people with health insurance.

For more information, please contact utahns4healthcarefairness@gmail.com.

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