Quote:
Originally Posted by EnVe46
I sell health insurance so maybe I can help... Have you got an EOB or Explanation of Benefits from your insurance company? Even if you have a high deductible, the bill still needs to be sent to your insurance company so they can apply their negotiated rate for being within the hospitals network. This should reduce that bill quite a bit. Also, $800 is not enough for an MRI these days, so whatever figure they're giving you upfront is a bonus to them. A lot of Drs and hospitals are charging fees upfront due to majority of plan reimbursing on such a low basis. To prevent that form happening, ensure that ALL bills, even non covered expenses, first go to your insurance company. Not only for repricing but so they can be applied to your deductible. If they aren't sent to them first and you pay it, they have no record of you paying anything towards your out of pocket.
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This...even though I have "Cadillac" insurance, I shop around. My first stop is my Insurers website for preferred providers. My current insurance also has to approve imaging studies of any nature, and while it creates a small hassle in that I have to drive a little further, it saves me a great deal of money. medical imaging is a bit of a racket these days. Prior to having my current insurance, I required an MRI. As I was paying out of pocket (read cash!), I shopped around. my local hospital wanted $5 000, however, I found the same service for $1 000 all in. With respect to Imaging, the service is somewhat generic in that a Radiologist reads the film and produces a report on the findings. It turns out that the same Radiology group I went to in this instance also reads the films for the hospital that wanted to charge me $5 000. So, essentially, I was getting the same service for $4 000 less. Do the same with Dentists, you'd be shocked at how much you can save if you do the above
and locate a Dentist with a current GroupOn coupon, you may end up paying nothing at all.