Should I contact the billing office or my insurer?
Contact your provider's billing office about the bill itself: the charges, the codes, an itemized bill, payment plans, and financial assistance. Contact your insurer about coverage decisions: what they allowed, paid, or denied. If the billing office made a coding or billing mistake, they can correct it and send the claim to your insurer again.
What should I have ready before I contact the billing office?
Have your bill with the account number and date of service, your EOB if you have one, and your rekupr findings. Write down the date, the name of the person you speak to, and any reference number. If you have an appeal case, add these as a note.
What should I ask the billing office for?
- An itemized bill that lists every service and code
- An explanation of any charge or code you do not recognize
- A correction, and a resubmitted claim, if something was billed wrongly
- Whether they will hold your account while you dispute a charge
- A payment plan, or an application for financial assistance
Can rekupr help me write to the billing office?
Yes. From your results, rekupr can write a letter asking for an itemized bill or a payment plan, and can help you check whether you may qualify for financial assistance. These are free. rekupr drafts the letter, and you send it to the billing office yourself.
What if the billing office will not fix the error?
Ask them to put their answer in writing, and ask for a supervisor or the patient financial services team. If the problem is how your insurer processed the claim, you can appeal to your insurer.