Being a better health care consumer means knowing to look out for medical billing mistakes. Here are the most common ones:

Wrong level visit charged

You have a much better chance of disputing the level 5 visit (life threatening) visit when you are there for a sore throat and the physician has spent 5 minutes with you in the examination room.

Return Visit

If you are returning for a follow-up visit for the same reason as your first visit, ask your physician to make sure he/she lets his billing office know you should only be charged for a follow-up visit since you were just there a few days ago for the same problem.

Lab work

If your physician feels its necessary to run lab tests to determine your condition and treatment, question where this lab work will be performed, in-house or sent to an outside lab?  Also inform the physician you do not want to pay for a venipuncture (sticking the needle in your arm) or a handling fee for someone to carry the tube of blood down the hall to the laboratory.

Radiology Testing

Is an MRI or CT scan the first test that should be performed to diagnose your condition? These are very costly tests and often cost thousands of dollars. Ask your physician if a less expensive test could confirm or rule out a diagnosis prior to getting a CT scan or an MRI.

Anesthesia

Anesthesia services can be performed by Anesthesiologists, Anesthesiologist Assistants or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). Always inquire as to who will actually perform the services, and make it your business to find out if they are participating with your insurance company.  When a CRNA performs the services and Anesthesiologists supervises, both are paid half of what an Anesthesiologist would receive if he had performed the services himself.  Medical math often times results in 2 halves equal far more than the whole!  So my question to you is why would you not insist on the Cadillac instead of the Volkswagen if you are paying the price of a Cadillac? Request the real thing!

Minutes In Operating Rooms and Recovery Rooms

Consider having a family member document the time that you enter the operating room and leave the operating room. The price for an Operating Room can run anywhere from $60 per minute to $200 per minute. The same goes for the recovery room. Unnecessary time in either place, due to staffing problems can be very costly.

Admission just before Midnight

Make sure you are not charged a full-day in ICU or regular room just because the physician wrote the admission request the last hour of a day. Chances are you would not even occupy the room before early morning hours on a new day.

Room Types

Check with your physician to make sure you are not spending unnecessary time in an expensive room (ICU) when medically you would be just as safe in a standard semi-private room.   When a patient is ready to transfer to a regular room from an ICU, and regular rooms are unavailable, don’t believe that they will keep you in the ICU and bill for a regular room.  If you are told this, have them put it in writing and sign.

Items Used at the Hospital

Beware of items furnished to you while at a facility. Egg crate mattresses can be billed at three times the cost in a department store.  Support Stockings are priced as if they were lined with the finest silk ever made.  You can spend more money in 2 or 3 days for your newborn’s hospital stay than you will spend for their first year for diapers. Bring your own hat’s, diapers, squeeze bulb, gowns, Q-tips, etc.

What this means for YOU:

Mistakes happen. Be aware of the common ones and you’ll save money. Be an educated consumer.