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I am responsible for caring for my elderly relative, who is sick and in need of constant attention. As of late, the medical bills and procedures have significantly increased. Unfortunately, I am getting incredibly fatigued and frustrated. On top of all of this, I believe the medical bills of the individual are incorrect and more than what they should be.
I really don't have the time or energy to solve this. I was wondering if anyone knew of a respected company that could accurately find these mistakes and save me much need money.
Is this a Medicare patient? What kind of Medicare insurance does he/she have? Have you called the insurance company to inquire about these bills? And what are the bills for?
There are Case Managers who are employed in various states who can help you but what state are you in? The first place to inquire would be the insurance company who also employs case manager/nurses who can assist with these things.
The insurance company should be the one to call. They would be denying claims by the service provider.
Unless you're there at the time of service, it's hard to really know. I caught a doctor continuing to bill my mom for office visits after she had been discharged by the nursing home. I brought it up with Medicare and they were able to recover the charges. It had no impact on my mom's finances though.
I looked into this years ago, with regard to hiring a Case Manager privately. Sometimes you can find them online, or you can contact your local Department of Aging to see if they have people that they recommend.
They are very hard to find... especially to find good ones... and they charge a lot to get good one (ex. $100 per hour I found). And then you are paying someone $100 per hour to make phone calls, sit on hold..... I don't get paid $100 per hour, and in the end decided I had to do it myself. And they often make mistakes too because they don't know your loved one's medical issues/situation well.
Many of the bills are due to ... mistakes. Bills sent out before insurance paid. Bills sent because insurance rejected the claim because the doctor's office mis-coded it or made a mistake.
In my experience, you need one person... usually a family member... to devote the time to sort out these issues. It is painful, and you waste a lot of time on hold.
I have actually assisted multiple family friends doing this because it has become so complicated that many cannot advocate for their family members.
I looked into this years ago, with regard to hiring a Case Manager privately. Sometimes you can find them online, or you can contact your local Department of Aging to see if they have people that they recommend.
They are very hard to find... especially to find good ones... and they charge a lot to get good one (ex. $100 per hour I found). And then you are paying someone $100 per hour to make phone calls, sit on hold..... I don't get paid $100 per hour, and in the end decided I had to do it myself. And they often make mistakes too because they don't know your loved one's medical issues/situation well.
Many of the bills are due to ... mistakes. Bills sent out before insurance paid. Bills sent because insurance rejected the claim because the doctor's office mis-coded it or made a mistake.
In my experience, you need one person... usually a family member... to devote the time to sort out these issues. It is painful, and you waste a lot of time on hold.
I have actually assisted multiple family friends doing this because it has become so complicated that many cannot advocate for their family members.
I feel your pain.
There was a period of time where my husband's Medicare & private insurance bills were so complicated and mixed up that I would take a day off of work and spend the entire day on the phone trying to straighten it out. And, then I would often think that it was fixed and find the same error when I would get the bill the next month.
Sometimes the local commission on aging or similar governmental agency will have employees that help straighten out billing messes.
I agree that private pay agencies often charge $100 an hour or more to do this type of work.
You might want to set up an online account with Medicare and the secondary insurance provider so you can review the claims/EOMBs. Without specifics, it's difficult to dispute charges. You'll need the date of service for each disputed claim when you discuss it with the insurance company.
I am responsible for caring for my elderly relative, who is sick and in need of constant attention. As of late, the medical bills and procedures have significantly increased. Unfortunately, I am getting incredibly fatigued and frustrated. On top of all of this, I believe the medical bills of the individual are incorrect and more than what they should be.
I really don't have the time or energy to solve this. I was wondering if anyone knew of a respected company that could accurately find these mistakes and save me much need money.
Thanks
A friend in the insurance business gave me a great piece of advice on time. She told me to just stay out of it and let the doctor/hospital and insurance company battle it out.
Saved me tons of headache after my husband went through a major illness.
My father in law told me to never, ever, ever pay the first medical bill for anything, because it is always wrong in favor of whatever facility is doing the billing.
Do you have a friend who could sit down with you? Another set of eyes could be helpful.
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