Dear Eileen,

I know the frustration that comes with unpaid insurance claims. My husband sat down not long ago and reasoned that I had "saved" us 10's of thousands (most lately a bill for 9685.00 from the radiology dept) by being able to follow-up on these "lost" claims. Most are straightened out by calling the facility, verifying insurance information and requesting that they resubmit. Sometimes this includes faxing information, any pertinent EOBs that you might have, etc., but the hassle is usually worth it.

I thankfully (or ufortunately, as Amy so accurately described it) worked in insurance billing for years. My husband doesn't have a clue, and this chore has always been left up to me.

Now, not to pass judgement on any facility that someone might use here, but in my past, I have seen an office "accidently on purpose" double-bill patients. I only include this in case someone runs across the same outrage.

This particular doctor's office manager would collect on Medicare claims and then bill the patient for the discounted, or write-off amount, that the doctor had agreed to in his contract. I had to quit after spending many weeks covering for this manager while she had "business obligations." Needless to say, she was his wife, and regularly needed "downtime" in Vegas, Hawaii, Colorado, etc. I mean come on, her life was sooooo stressful! (smirk) I would listen to these retired men and women weep to me on the phone.....scared because they thought they owed hundreds or thousands of dollars on a fixed income. I couldn't take it. I would explain to them that their bill was taken care of, correct the accounting, only to get reprimanded when she returned and have her try and force me to call these patients back, and tell them that I was wrong!!!!

I've since worked for several doctors who are absolutely honest. I only hate that I was on my first medical job, and only 19 when I worked for this particular woman. I would have absolutely NO problem is turning this woman over to the proper authorities now, but we all live and learn.

I feel so badly for patients who have no background in insurance, and have no help in figuring it out. I've often wondered how I could use my experience in these matters to help them, but I'm now at home, and don't have a clue how to go about it.

Do you have any ideas Amy?

Love,
Mandi