Hospital Bill...

 (Photo Credit) 

I'm glad that I take the time to question my bills and don't just blindly pay them. 

 

We received a bill from a hospital visit my hubby had a few months back. The bill is for $191.85. I originally questioned the bill when we received it and I called our insurance company who said that the hospital is "balance billing" which they are not allowed to do and to not pay the bill because they would resolve it on our behalf.

I was pretty happy with that response, until we received another bill from the hospital last week. This one was in BIG RED LETTERS and it stated that it is our FINAL NOTICE before being sent to collections. That's never a good thing to read.

I called our insurance company again and they have elevated the issue to their management team because it was kicked back previously. The kind lady explained it to me like this - if you are on a PPO plan and go to the emergency room and a Doctor who is not in the network sees you, it is not your fault and not on you to pay for this because it was an EMERGENCY and you had no choice which Doctor saw you. If you see a Doctor out of the network for a normal visit, you would have to pay for that. Since this falls under the emergency room visit to a hospital that is in our network, we shouldn't have to pay.

So, I'm currently in limbo with this bill. The insurance company said a decision will be made in 2 weeks, so I have another week before I can call to check on the status. My fingers are crossed that this will be resolved smoothly.

Lesson Learned : Question your bills and don't just blindly pay them because it could be an error!