Community Chat

[Moonchilde]

I had an MRI this week. On the phone they told me they usually collect $50 co-pay at time of visit that Medicare doesn't pay. I said I had a supplement and they said bring it with you (duh, like I'd leave it at home?).

When I got to the imaging office they copied my cards and did a "verification" they told me, which must be the system mentioned earlier in the thread. I "passed", so they didn't ask me for any money. Whew!

[PinkSunset]

I have never heard of paying upfront for anything except a co-pay at point of service. Paying your portion of the bill until deductibles are met, is not a co-pay but co-insurance. And I wouldn't pay a penny of that until all bills are submitted, insurance companies apply their UCR adjustments, then let me know what;'s left for me to pay. How would a doctors office know what that amount would be? How do they know whether you paid your deductibles or not?

Billing companies, and insurance companies make a lot of mistakes. I caught a coding error in March and it took me 4 months between calls to hospital/doctor/Medicare to get them to straighten it out. I did not pay one dime of the bill until they did. They originally billed me $155 but after the coders reviewed notes and got codes changed appropriately, my share was $10. Had I paid the $155, I'd still be waiting for that reimbursement check.

[sktchy]

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@sweetee2 wrote:

I had a melanoma remove on my inner arm. I went on line to my insurances website and ALL three doctors in the office billed my insurance when only one did the procedure. Luckily they were in top of it and denied the other two claims. It must happen all the time.

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You know it  -   they should PAY YOU a small fee for catching that 'error'.  

I look over all of my bills.  I have separate folders for EACH DOCTOR and each HOSPITAL BILL (unfortunetly I have a lot going on) and I write on each bill the date the bill was paid (by check) and the check #.

[sktchy]

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@Carmie wrote:

If the provider... Doctor or hospital is paricipating with your insurance, DO NOT pay them any money upfront that would apply to a deductible.  They are not allowed to blll you upfront.  This includes Medicare.

There is no way anyone could know ahead of time which claims will apply to your deductible or how much.

The provider can bill for upfront for coinsurance or a copayment.

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My GYN refunded $140 to me after charging me for each visit for an ongoing situation.  

After I received the refund - with NO EXPLANATION - I called the Doctors office who explained that there is NO co-pay for the yearly visit and I also should not have been charged for some on-going visits since they where all related.

That nasty piece of work at the Front Desk DEMANDED payment for each visit - you would think she would have known.

When you are sick you just don't feel like fighting with the Powers that Be.

[sktchy]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

I had an MRI this week. On the phone they told me they usually collect $50 co-pay at time of visit that Medicare doesn't pay. I said I had a supplement and they said bring it with you (duh, like I'd leave it at home?).

When I got to the imaging office they copied my cards and did a "verification" they told me, which must be the system mentioned earlier in the thread. I "passed", so they didn't ask me for any money. Whew!

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I had an MRI too - unbelievably noisy !!!  

I have Medicare and BCBS - Hopkins never asks for money up front.  They KNOW they 'own' me 

[Pooky1]

i have ms so every couple of years i have and mri on my head and back. there is no copay.last time i went to the hospital to get it they told me theres a 200 dollar copay.i  told them to bill me. when i got the bill i called my medical and told them i got a 200 dollar bill for my mri. they said your covered 100 percent. call them and tell them there is no copay.

[Jordan2]

I'm the OP and would like to tell you my situation in a nutshell. I had cataract surgery on 7/26 and was told I had a deductible of $778 left from my $1,000. Never having dealt with being in a hospital before the admitting worker wanted a check from me, I gave her $400 towards it. Flash forward to my ophthalmologist claiming the deductible was owed to him. I have paid the doctor the $778 and am still out the $400 from the hospital. My insurance company has paid the hospital, they have been spoken to by the insurance company and were told to reimburse me my money. I have called the hospital repeatedly and was  told the check is coming, this has been going on for 6 weeks. My insurance company said there is nothing more they can do for me. My question is, is there any legal action I can take against the hospital? I don't think reporting them to the Department Of Health would help, they don't get involved in billing problems. The money to the hospital is a spit in the ocean but to me $400 is a large sum of money.The hospital hasn't billed me for the balance of the $778, so they must know they are not entitled to it.  I'm so annoyed and frustrated at this point!

[Jordan2]

I was really hoping someone could offer me some advice as to getting my money back from the hospital. 

[Jordan2]

I'm the OP and I started this thread way back on August 30. As of today I'm still waiting for the hospital to reimburse me my $400. The hospital has gotten paid by my insurance company so I don't know what the hold up is. I feel like I'm getting the run around.

[Jordan2]

I'm the OP and long story short I had cataract surgery July 26, 2016. I paid a $400 deductible that the hospital wasn't entitled to. Going back and forth all these months with the insurance company and hospital I still haven't received my refund. The hospital finally acknowledged they were paid. A request for a refund check went in December 6. They originally told me it would take 4-6 weeks now I'm told more like 6-8 weeks. I don't understand why it should take so long to issue me a check. I feel like I'm getting the run around and don't know what more I can do.