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Living a Better Life I Just Earned
$140 with One Phone Call! * * * Okay, we all know a penny saved is a penny earned, right? So, with that in mind, I just earned $140 with one phone call to my insurance company! That’s a lot of money you know, money that the insurance company would have been happy to collect if I hadn’t called to question the charge. Actually, I don’t blame the insurance company completely, but it does seem they make a lot more mistakes than they should. The charge was for my son’s last visit to the hospital emergency room, actually, that was for over $300, and the $140 was an additional bill that came in for the ER physician. I knew we had already reached our deductible for this child, but for some reason they increased the deductible and charged the $140 to us at “100% patient’s responsibility.” I let the bill sit on my desk for a few weeks, being too irritated to even look at it. Later on, I pulled out our benefits package and checked on that deductible. The amount we had already met was for approved in-network providers… the brochure said a higher deductible would be charged for out of network providers, which the ER was (out-of-network) because we were out of town when the accident happened. Next, I looked up benefits for emergency room visits and found that they are treated as in-network charges EVEN if you are out of town and have to go to an out-of-network provider. (Please note that not all insurance companies have this policy, it’s actually the first time we’ve had one that does.) I figured the insurance company must have just spit this claim out stamping it with an out-of-network charge, not even looking to see that it was for an emergency. So, I called and brought it to the claim representative’s attention and they agreed it had been processed in error and they would send it through again. Instead of getting another bill for the $140 today, I just received notice from the insurance company that it has been paid. If you only knew how close I came to paying this bill before checking on it! The worst thing about calling the insurance companies and hospital billing offices is that of being put on eternal hold. One time last month I was on hold for 30 minutes before I finally gave up. So, even though I earned $140 with one phone call, it wasn’t a short one. What’s almost worse than being put on hold, is those endless loops of automated service recordings. If you go through the recordings long enough, you’ll usually get to a message that says “to speak to a service representative, select 0.” I often wonder what would happen if you selected 0 as soon as you get on the phone with their automated service… maybe we should try it? Okay, so saving money can be a real pain, I won’t argue that. But, money is money and you can’t throw it away. You have to check every single charge that comes in on your medical bills and insurance statements… as well as your credit cards and phone bills, verify every single charge. If you find a mistake or something that just doesn’t look right, make the call. Over the last 2 months I have saved almost $200 in duplicate or wrong charges on our medical bills, it adds up to quite a bit of savings. Copyright 2001 by Michelle Jones, editor of BetterBudgeting.com
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