Healthcare?…Medicare Billing?

Medicare Supplement News | May 7 - 2017

rusty78609…Got a bill today from healthcare provider. 7 months after Dr. appointment for ???…you can contact me by mail to: Rusty, POB 1446, Kingsland Tx or PayPal to [email protected]…thanks!

Healthcare?…Medicare Billing?

55 thoughts on “Healthcare?…Medicare Billing?”

  1. I am in so much shock abt medical.and behind on what I should do even with insurance….we are so much in a mess with this health care…dear Lord in heaven help us!!

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    • Thanks @David Lorrell, and Rusty and some real thinking comments and people I have read here give some heart…I just still have faith we will get to a better healthier world…and things are starting to tip in right direction…but why did we have to learn with so much graft and dishonesty fighting agst things so much that we even loose the new wonderful doctors to insurance…a friend’s newly graduated neurosurgeon son…. could never afford to practice way back…do not know the rest of the story..pray he is now.

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  3. Thats absurd, not only the total initial amount but also the way the billing was split between the dermatologist and the hospital. I could understand a $1700 initial bill if you had some sort of treatment or biopsy testing. Anyway, I advise that everyone have a supplemental health insurance policy to cover the 20% of the bill that Medicare doesn’t pay.

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    • After the ACA went into affect our deductible went from 2,500 to 5,000. In additon our Co pay went from 25.00 for a Dr’s appt.. to 50.00. and rose from 40.00 for a specialist visit to 80.00. I became illl and ended up 13,000 in debt and I had insurance.

      When I turned 65 I went to an insurance agency that specializes in Medicare. Believe it or not.. you pay the same amount whether you use an agent or not. The agent was well verse and gave me all my options.. He spent 2 hours with me informing me of what each choice in Part B included or did not inculde. I went with one where I have a 184.00 deductible.. That is the most I will ever need to pay per year.

      I have had 2 major surgeries since then and several ER visits.. and have never paid more than the deductible. Anyone who is receiving Medicare should get a Part B plan from a knowledgeable agent.

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    • MrWinger1951 did not understand ABCDEFG dot dot dot have my medicare need those amendments because 20% of my fixed income is being sucked out

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  4. Everyone I know (and I mean everyone) has horror stories about the US healthcare system. Why congress can’t fix this beyond me.

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  5. all that sh!t pisses me off. we need to copy a well run universal care system (exactly). a botched universal would probably be worse…….maybe? AND i haven’t been to a doctor since age 19. i’m 51 now. dentists the exception.

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    • Richard Riehle Dentistry should also be covered and it’s not, even though it’s very important to your health. Now I wish I voted for Sanders. I thought he was too much of a socialist, but that is what we must need.

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    • Richard Riehle well you could try living in socialist Venezuela where health care is considered a right, only problem is no one wants to pay for it and the government can’t afford it so it’s pretty much nonexistent. Maybe government is the real problem.

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    • walleye, if you knew me, you’d know i’m very much a pro capitalist. i’m quite aware of venezuela’s socialist problems. capitalism works when there is a free and open market for goods and services. healthcare in the u.s. is for the most part quasi-monopolistic enterprises. i say this because consumers lack price transparency and have limited providers. i’m open to suggestions.

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    • Richard Riehle, get the Government out of health care as much as possible. It’s the layers of bureaucracies that no one knows what anything cost and every layer just adds more and more cost because everyone has to be paid, even the people Rusty was dealing with. The Issue I have with Sanders is telling everyone that healthcare is a right. I say rights are not something someone else is required to provide another person, it might be nice and compassionate but it’s not a right as in the Constitution. Venezuela simply by making a law making health a care right doesn’t mean anything if your country doesn’t have the money. Our health care system is no longer measured by individual risk as in the auto or home owners policy which creates these huge transfers payment to those that can pay for the ones that can’t. Take care

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    • first off- i’m not pro sanders by any means. if other commenters are, that is their prerogative. i didn’t vote sanders…….never will! i don’t see how the health care system can become a proper running free market. i see health care in the same vain as electric utilities and thus should be regulated as such. i agree government is very likely to botch universal health care if they tried to implement it. just look at rusty’s experience and costs. and that only covers a portion of the population. i too am not on the bandwagon that “health care is a right”. i am not in favor of price gouging and complexity that the health care quasi-monopolies exhibit.

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  7. Rusty….wow. You are a CPA and have a chance to understand the numbers. Seriously, what do stupid people do?

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  8. We have to deal with Baylor Scott & White…Grrrrrrrr…..The billing department is filled with dumbasses! I’m in a fight with them as I type. Trust me, they’ll be after their $53 bucks…

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    • He’s already satisfied his deductible for 2017… A bill timing glitch shouldn’t negate the fact. I’d send BS&W a drop-dead letter, let them take me to court, and plead my case to the judge.

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    • David Lorell They won’t take you to court, nor will they close out the bill. Eventually it probably will go on your credit report, but lenders usually don’t take into account medical bills on credit reports. If any lender I’d go to would ask me about that bill I’ll tell them the truth, it’s a bill I’m still disputing and I won’t pay it.

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  11. Hi Rusty — Medical billing has become highway robbery ! “Hospital usage” fees are just a way to line somebody’s pocket . In the past , I have received an itemized hospital bill that listed a specialist that I never saw ! When I questioned it , I was told that that Dr. was probably in consultation on my medical case . What the H- – – ! I think the billing is designed to be so confusing that you just give up and pay it to be done with it. As a senior on a fixed income , this BS burns me up ! We need mre patient advocacy people in a position to help us with this problem . Anyway , “having said that,” have a wonderful day !

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    • Lola Bolds Last year I had an ultrasound at a hospital that was paid for by insurance, but I had a $200 co-payment fee. Okay, paid that. A few months later I got a bill for $400 for some Dr for the same date. My insurance said it was probably the Dr who read the film, he billed separately and I owed that, it was not covered by insurance. Guess who did not and will not pay that bill! Me! Paying the hospital isn’t enough anymore. Same happened prior to that for GI test, had to pay the facility, a co-payment fee of $186, plus Dr. I’m not doing it anymore unless it seems reasonable.

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  12. As a professional advocate for senior citizens, I deal with this on a regular basis.  I could write a book on this subject.  At some point, I may start a youtube channel just to help seniors.  Here is some information that has helped many of my clients: #1, Unless you ask, Medicare will NOT tell you if you are taking advantage of everything there is to offer.  #2, Anyone on Medicare should call 1-800-medicare (1-800-633-4227) at least every 6 months and verify you have what it is you THINK YOU have.  #3, Ask Medicare if there is anything available that you would benefit from (like Medicare Benefit Savings PLans).  #4, Call your local Department of Human Services OR go on line and look for “Major Medicaid Eligibility Categories.”  If you qualify for QMB – Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries OR SLMB – Special Low Income Medicare Beneficiaries this could be a game changer by paying your Medicare Premium.  Also, it may cover what your primary Medicare does not.  #5, if you DO qualify for a Medicare Savings Plan, most likely you will have assistance covering prescriptions.  #6, Most who qualify for Medicare Savings Plans do not have to wait for open enrollment to make any changes. 
    Rusty, if you do decide to pay the incompetent spineless wonders, pay them $7.57 a month until paid – if it took 7 months to bill you, make it another 7 months before they get it paid.  Some times the most important information I share is “THEY CANNOT EAT YOU” so don’t take it too serious.

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  16. Medical, especially hospitals, are notorious for fraudulent charges. The thing they’re doing with medical billing now is … they send you a bill with a list of charges for five or more years which were supposedly not paid for each year. When I checked into this, knowing the one my son received was pure fraud, I was told to definitely NOT pay anything on it. What they don’t realize is that my son has always been on my health insurance since birth and that I pay all his medical not covered by the insurance. I also keep in-depth records.

    My son is now 23 and the supposed deficits go back to when he was a teenager. I guess they figure he’s now legally responsible and won’t have any clue if he owes or not. Interestingly, we both use same medical doctors and facilities. Why haven’t they sent me one? Next stop is attorney if they continue the harassment.

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  17. LOL Rusty my .02 again, the whole hospitals, insurance and pharmaceuticals are a train wreck, just socialize the whole thing and be done with it. I dont know where it went wrong but my gut feeling says the Hospitals were the start of it when they began allowing themselves to be ran by CEO’s.
    In our nation we can work our whole lives trying to have a few things only to be stripped of every asset when we get older….sad

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    • Medicare for everyone with zero deductible…same plan for everyone including Politicians, Military, etc…one plan for all!!!

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  19. My doctor says rules are changing daily. Doc does not see your bill. You will go to collections unless your income is low enough. This is what medical war is about. As a retired Union BA I know you could not change a plan to one with less benefits. They have “free” med in Britain I have family there. It is the same Obama plan with dental. Sorry

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