Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
6 Ways to Prepare for a Medical Emergency Now
By Gerri Detweiler | Credit.com
Michelle wants to buy a home but can’t get a loan. The problem? An emergency room bill from six years ago that is listed on her credit reports as severely past due. John is fighting a $406 bill he received after being seen in the ER for what the doctor diagnosed as a case of the flu. And Jerry is struggling to pay over $1,300 in ER copays on his limited Social Security income. These are just a few of the many stories readers have shared with us describing their debt problems following a medical emergency.
While someone with a serious or chronic medical problem might expect to wind up in the emergency room or hospital periodically, no one plans to get the flu, break a bone or get in a car accident.
More than 54 million people reported having trouble paying medical bills at the start of 2012, according to a survey from the Centers for Disease Control. And medical bills are often cited as a major contributor to bankruptcy.
How can you prepare so that a medical emergency doesn’t wipe you out financially? Here are six strategies:
Research Local Hospitals
When our reader Quentin’s daughter injured her ankle, he and his wife took her to the emergency room. They suspected a broken ankle. After X-rays were taken, they were told their daughter had no broken bones, and she was sent home with an ankle brace. That wasn’t the end of it though:
Two months later we get a bill from the hospital for $1500.00. They stated that my wonderful Blue Cross/Blue Shield (Federal) wouldn’t pay the bill. I call my Insurance Co and find out that the Hospital isn’t (a Preferred Hospital). Then I get an Insurance statement from BCBS stating that they covered the xray bill ($900). Then I get another bill from the Doctor (which my daughter or wife never saw) for $950. Again BCBS stating that this Doctor wasn’t a preferred provider. So I appeal the bill with BCBS and they agree to pay the $1,500 hospital bill, but only $250 of the Doctor bill. So now I’m getting $700 Doctor bills in the mail.
If you have health insurance, make sure you know the locations near your home, work, and/or children’s schools that participate in your health insurance network. Not only will you save money by going to an “in network” provider (which usually means lower out-of-pocket costs), these providers must agree to a fee schedule negotiated by the insurance company. If the amount they charge is higher than that, too bad. They can’t “balance bill” patients for the difference.
A warning, though: the physicians you see at an emergency room may be contractors of the hospital and therefore may not participate in your insurance network. It’s nearly impossible for patients to know this; but you certainly can try to ask – provided you are not in severe pain or unconscious when you make it to the hospital.
Before you travel, do the same thing: find out how your insurance company handles care outside your local area and scout out participating hospitals and urgent care providers.
Don’t have insurance? Request information about local hospitals’ financial assistance policies and review them to figure out which ones may be willing to work with you to reduce the bill.
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. -Mother Teresa
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