Tips for Understanding Your Medical Bills

Co-hosts Ryan Piansky, a graduate student and patient advocate living with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and eosinophilic asthma, and Holly Knotowicz, a speech-language pathologist living with EoE who serves on APFED’s Health Sciences Advisory Council, interview Beth Morgan, a medical billing advocate and consultant, on navigating your medical bills.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is designed to support, not replace, the relationship between listeners and their healthcare providers. Opinions, information, and recommendations shared in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice. Decisions related to medical care should be made with your healthcare provider. Opinions and views of guests and co-hosts are their own.

 

Key Takeaways:

[:51] Co-host Ryan Piansky introduces this episode, brought to you thanks to the support of Education Partners GSK, Sanofi, Regeneron, and Takeda. Ryan introduces co-host Holly Knotowicz.

 

[1:12] Holly introduces today’s topic, Medical Billing, and today’s guest, Beth Morgan, a medical billing advocate and consultant.

 

[1:31] Beth says a medical billing consultant is an individual who assists someone with medical bills to make sure that they are accurate and correct, and that they match the medical records, which are notes that the provider makes.

 

[1:48] The medical billing consultant or advocate can make sure the bills are paid correctly and that the charges are within the reasonable prices for the treatment area.

 

[2:19] Beth explains how medical insurance covers healthcare costs. It protects the patients and providers from very high expenses. It can also possibly help with the stress of navigating healthcare systems.

 

[2:36] The goals of medical insurance are to help cover patient costs for treatments, preventive care, and prescriptions. It can also provide resources for telehealth visits or support visits, if needed.

 

[2:48] With a telehealth visit, you, the patient, have to make sure that your insurance plan covers and allows it. Sometimes, the cost of a telehealth visit can be more than if you were to go to the office.

 

[3:27] Beth says most people look at what insurance will cost them per month. They fail to look at their yearly deductible, per person or per family, their prescription costs, or what it will cost to see a specialist. They don’t consider what therapies will cost them.

 

[4:08] Beth had a client whose insurance company would only cover in-state providers. If she went out of state, she wouldn’t be covered; even an emergency might not be covered. You have to look at the “nitty-gritty” of the policy.

 

[4:32] Beth says the biggest things are the deductible and copay, or co-insurance. Don’t just look at the cost. Most people will take out the $10,000 or $5,000 deductible plans, saying it only costs $75 for the entire family. What does it actually cover?

 

[5:00] You don’t want sudden surprises when you get to the emergency room. You want to know what your copay will be when you go into an emergency room.

 

[5:11] Holly agrees with Beth and notes that Real Talk listeners have chronic illness. Some have multiple illnesses. When you’re selecting insurance plans, those are the things you have to look into.

 

[5:27] Patients with EoE often need endoscopies and other specialized procedures. Holly asks for tips on how someone can know what an endoscopy or other procedure will potentially cost.

 

[5:41] Beth says to ask the doctor what the CPT code is. That’s the code that describes the treatment. Then look up that CPT code on the insurance company website. They will show an estimated cost for that treatment, for a rough idea of the cost.

 

[6:10] Keep in mind that it will not tell you what the providers will charge or what the hospital fee will be.

 

[6:21] Holly says she has EoE and MS. She asks a social worker for the CPT code for every procedure so she has a record to double-check when the bill comes. The CPT code is the key.

 

[6:50] Holly is a speech pathologist who does feeding therapy. She says to look at your plan to see if therapy is a copay or if it goes toward your deductible. If it goes toward your deductible, it will be very expensive until you meet that deductible.

 

[7:10] People living with an eosinophilic disorder may find themselves in the ER for a variety of reasons. Holly was there this week with a food impaction. For others, it could be a pain flare or an asthma attack.

 

[7:26] Holly asks how families can be prepared for medical bills related to emergency care.

 

[7:40] Beth replies, You also have on that bill the ER doctor and the ambulance fee, including mileage, which must be accurate or rounded up to the next mile. Track the mileage in your car.

 

[8:43] Who will be transporting you: volunteers from the fire department, a hospital ambulance, or an outside ambulance? Are you going under Basic Life Support or Advanced Life Support?

 

[9:05] Once you get to the ER, have someone else with you who can advocate for you. Sometimes, staff will bring you forms to sign before they treat you. If you’re in a lot of pain, you’re not in your right mind to sign those forms; you’re only thinking of your pain.

 

[9:53] Ryan says a friend of his went to his doctor’s office for a prescription refill. Typically, he pays a $25.00 copay per visit. This prescription refill visit was not covered in the same way as other visits, and he received a bill for over $200. The insurance company only covers maintenance appointments.

 

[10:48] Beth says an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) comes from your insurance company. It shows what the doctor charged, what the insurance company paid, and what you owe.

 

[11:07] A medical bill is what your provider sends you. Beth always asks the provider to send the bill after the insurance company has paid. That way, you know the insurance company has paid on the bill, and there are no surprises.

 

[11:25] When the provider bills you, the insurance company may have paid something on it, or it may have applied the bill toward your deductible or copay.

 

[11:44] When a patient receives a provider bill, Beth says they can go to a company called FAIR Health to see today’s rates of what should be charged. Insurance companies negotiate rates with providers.

 

[12:04] Beth says that an out-of-network provider of physical therapy can charge, for example, $160 a visit, and you have to pay out-of-pocket. They can send it to your insurance company, and the insurance company may only pay 30% of the charge.

 

[12:20] Call the insurance company to ask questions about your insurance. Utilize the estimated costs feature on your insurance company’s website.

 

[12:32] Beth says she always keeps the page of her health insurance booklet that shows what a PCP office visit, or outpatient specialist visit, will cost. Most people get the book and toss it out, but that page is very helpful.

 

[12:53] If you go into the emergency room, you might have a $300 copay just to be seen, but if you ask them to bill you after they bill your insurance company, most places should respect that.

 

[13:11] Beth says that most of the time, the red flags that she looks for on medical bills are supply items. Most supply items are included in the cost of the hospital visit. She says a surgical hospital visit is like an oil change.

 

[13:42] Beth compares a surgery to an oil and filter change. When you go in for surgery, the drape they put over you is included. You only pay for the supply items you walk out with.

 

[15:15] Beth says, If there’s something wrong on your medical bill, your insurance rep may not know the answer. Most insurance companies have outsourced their billing questions. Start with the billing department of the hospital.

 

[15:35] Ask, “Why did you bill me for an X, Y, Z, when I didn’t have an X, Y, Z? I had an A, B, C. Can we re-examine this, please?” Another thing is to go back to your provider. 

 

[15:52] The provider can request medical notes, which are part of your patient record, and you can look at them yourself. Beth says, for hospital stays, she always tells people to ask for a completely itemized bill.

 

[16:12] Holly agrees.

 

[16:20] Beth says you have to look at the itemized bill. Does something make sense to you? Does it look a little unreasonable? That’s easy to see.

 

[16:26] Ryan says when you call your insurance company, it can be time-consuming to reach the person who can answer your question, but it’s important to do so, especially for expensive things like hospital stays. Doctor’s office visits can also be expensive.

 

[16:58] Something else that can be tricky is medications. Especially for those of us with chronic illnesses and the rare diseases that we work with here at APFED, costs can be quite high for some of the medications patients take.

 

[17:20] Beth says, When you call the insurance company, ask for the name of the person you are talking to. Write down the name, date, and time that you spoke to the person. Ask them for a call reference number, where they are located, and what was discussed so you have record of that information.

 

[18:04] For medications, you can look up prices through GoodRx or other prescription websites that might give you an estimate of what the possible cost could be.

 

[18:20] If your provider states on the prescription, Do not substitute or give generics, you might be paying full price. Otherwise, most pharmacies will offer you the generics.

 

[18:35] Holly asks, If someone feels overwhelmed by billing or insurance issues, where can they go for help? Are there resources that you recommend?

 

[18:45] Beth says, There is a patient advocate group, with individuals across all 50 states, that will help you with medical bills and advise you on everything else. Your provider’s office or the facility also might have someone who could help you.

 

[19:11] Beth says she would look for patient advocates like social workers. Make sure whoever you work with has medical knowledge. 

 

[19:26] Ryan says, talking with the billing department can feel a little antagonistic, but they are there to help you. If you talk to the right people and ask the right questions, you can figure out what’s going on and get some answers.

 

[19:40] Beth agrees and says, Always write down your questions. Ryan adds, Always write down the answers and ask the name of the person you are talking to. Beth reminds you to ask for the call reference number. They keep a record of every call.

 

[20:09] Beth’s last words about medical billing: “The most important thing is keeping track of what’s going on. I recommend using a calendar, like a planner, that you can write 'I saw Dr. J. Smith, EoE Specialist. Discussed flare-ups,’ and the time and date.”

 

[20:30] “Keep a record. That way, in this planner, you can go back to it and match it up. If possible, have someone with you or on the phone with you when you talk with them. The other person can take notes, which is very important.”

 

[20:39] “You need to have the backup and the understanding. If you don’t understand something, ask questions.” Ryan says, Those are good tips for everyone.

 

[21:14] For our listeners who would like to learn more about eosinophilic disorders, please visit apfed.org.

 

[21:20] To learn more about navigating healthcare in the United States with eosinophilic disorders, please check out NavigateEOSCare.org. We’ll include links to both of those in the show notes below.

 

[21:29] Ryan thanks Beth Morgan for joining us today. This was an insightful conversation for everyone. Beth thanks Ryan and Holly for having her on.

 

[21:35] Holly also thanks APFED’s Education Partners GSK, Sanofi, Regeneron, and Takeda for supporting this episode.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Beth Morgan, President & CEO of Medical Bill Detectives

NavigateEOSCare.org

Patient Advocate Foundation

 

APFED on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram

Real Talk: Eosinophilic Diseases Podcast

Apfed.org

apfed.org/specialist

apfed.org/connections

apfed.org/research/clinical-trials

 

Education Partners: This episode of APFED’s podcast is brought to you thanks to the support of GSK, Sanofi, Regeneron, and Takeda.

 

Tweetables:

 

“Medical insurance covers healthcare costs. It protects the patients and caregivers from very high expenses. It can also possibly help with the stress of navigating the healthcare systems.” — Beth Morgan

 

“Most people look at what insurance will cost them per month. They fail to look at what their yearly deductible might be, per person or per family.” — Beth Morgan

 

“Ask the doctor what the CPT code is. That’s the code that describes the treatment. Then go to the insurance company’s website. Most insurance plans have it. They will give you an estimated cost for that.” — Beth Morgan

 

“Keep a record. That way, in this planner, you can go back to it and match it up. If possible, have someone with you or on the phone with you when you talk with them. The other person can take notes, which is very important.” — Beth Morgan

 

“For hospital stays, I always tell people to ask for a completely itemized bill.” — Beth Morgan

 

“I would look for patient advocates like social workers. Make sure whoever you work with has medical knowledge.” — Beth Morgan 

 

Guest Bio:

Beth Morgan, President & CEO of Medical Bill Detectives, has been a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and Compliance Specialist (MCS-P) since 2004. Over the past 20 years, she has worked in several areas of the medical profession, doing billing and coding for all sorts of providers. Her knowledge and expertise have enabled her to not only reduce providers’ accounts receivable but also medical bills by 51%. She has access to a broad base of insurance company policy information and is an information contributor to radio and TV shows, as well as magazine articles. Medical Bill Detectives reviews medical bills for errors and overcharges, reducing them to Usual Reasonable and Customary charges, for negotiating discounts on medical bills. We are able to review bills for all 50 states.

 

Aphadvocates.org/speakers/beth-morgan/

Seakexperts.com/members/7326-beth-morgan