Comment on If you receive a high medical bill, don't pay it immediately. Ask for an itemized bill first.
EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 22 hours agothe number that the computer spits out is literally a spreadsheet sum of all the line items.
Yes a spreadsheet sum of potentially incorrect items, which the only way you’d know about is if you see the items, not the summary. Hence OPs post.
TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 22 hours ago
Not saying that it’s impossible… But, the way most of these codes are input is when a provider scans in a medication or procedure before they administer it.
Electronic medical records systems like Epic basically streamline physician notes with medical billing. It’s actually a lot easier nowadays to accidentally forget to input a billing code than it is to add extra billing information.
Tbh if you get a large and unexpected bill from the hospital, a more effective route is to ask if they have a hardship, charity care, or financial assistance program.
Hospitals, especially state funded ones like the one I practice at are so used to people not being able to pay their bills that we regularly have to write off a ton of medical care. They are usually more than happy to drastically discount care for people who are willing to pay for even part of their bill.
Kaerkob@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Regardless of whether it reduces the bill it is a good practice to understand what you are paying. That leads to understanding the insurance side of things as well, where I have personally experienced errors in the not too distant past. It is financially dangerous not to pay attention to this racket (referring to insurance, not providers).