Bill Collection

Life is too precious to be spent trapped indoors or worse, stuck in the hospital. Nonetheless, it seems hard to “have a life” while we have health problems and ailments. Aside from the fact that being sick is difficult, the expensive prices of medications make matters even harder.

Whenever we get sick, we rush to the nearest clinic or hospital to be examined by the doctor. After that heart-stopping appointment with our doctor, he/she submits a bill (claim) to our insurance company. Enumerated in that bill are the services provided by the doctor to you. The insurance company, on the other hand, uses the bill as the basis to make the necessary payment to the doctor. Once the insurance company pays the doctor (hospital), an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) report will be sent to the patient’s address. Thus EOB is not a bill but rather an official receipt of some sort.

This is the ideal scenario. Usually, there are a lot of factors to be considered. Around 15 percent of the American people are uninsured, meaning they don’t have health insurance. Also, approximately 75 percent of those with health insurance filed bankruptcy because they are not able to pay medical bills. Sometimes health insurance denies the claim or fails to pay the expenses for the medication.

There are even cases that the patient is not aware that he/she has a pending debt because the doctor has not given it to him/her. It is important to understand that the existence of a bill is not a perquisite to tell whether one has incurred a debt. The very moment that a particular service is given, expect to pay for something. Patients should also keep track of the EOBs from the insurance company. If they have not received one, they should inquire whether the insurance company has paid the medical bill or not. A formal dispute should be filed against the insurance company if it has denied the claim for the medical bill. Try everything possible to appeal to their better nature and have them pay the claim, because unless to do bill collection agencies will have you as their next target.

So it is important to keep in mind that having a health insurance is a NOT a sure-bet that you will be alleviated from medical bill nightmares and bill collectors. You definitely should have more than that.