Manage your Medical Bills

MANAGING YOUR MEDICAL BILLS

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*Repost* Brought to you by Cigna: http://www.cigna.com/healthwellness/hw/medical-topics/managing-your-medical-bills-abo3249

Topic Overview

Medical bills. They can be confusing and stressful. But with some basic know-how and organization, you can manage them—and avoid overpaying for your health care.

After you receive a health care service, you get:

• A medical bill from your provider. If you have no health insurance, this is the amount that you pay. If you're insured, you will likely pay less than the provider has billed you for.
• An Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurer. This insurance statement shows how much of the bill you will need to pay.

This may sound simple. But when you get a bill, then an insurance statement, then a revised bill based on the statement or a payment you've already made, things can get confusing.

Organize

Take these simple steps to keep your medical bills in order. You can organize paper bills and statements, or electronic versions on a computer.

• Keep a calendar of your medical appointments. Jot down each appointment, including the provider and the care you've received. Also record the dates you've paid for prescription medicine.
• Organize your medical bills by date of service. If you have bills for more than one family member, keep a separate file for each.
• Pair medical bills with insurance statements. Sometimes an insurance statement will be about more than one medical bill. Keep those papers together. If you can, make a copy of the statement and match it with each separate bill it mentions. Include any payment receipts and updated statements about those bills.
• Create a list or a spreadsheet—whatever works for you. Across the top, label columns that best fit your health insurance. Include these types of headings:
  • Date, type of service, and provider
  • Billed amount
  • Allowable amount (see your insurance statement)
  • Amount insurance pays (see your insurance statement)
  • Amount I pay (see your insurance statement)
  • My payment/date paid
  • Amount I still owe
  • Amount I've paid toward my deductible (see your insurance statements or website)
  • Notes

Update your list or spreadsheet with each bill and insurance statement you receive and with each payment you make.

Don't be surprised if you get several bills for the same care. For example, for a surgery in a hospital, you might get bills from the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the hospital. Or for an X-ray, you'll get bills from the imaging facility and the radiologist who reads the image.

Compare your medical bill and insurance statement

Read carefully through your medical bill and insurance statement. Make sure that:

• The date, provider, and type of medical care are correct on both.
• You understand how much of the bill you need to pay. This is the amount that your insurer says you owe.

If you have questions about any part of a bill, call your provider's billing office. And for questions about what's on your insurance statement, call your insurer.

Fix errors

Billing mistakes can happen. Before you pay anything, be sure to read your billing paperwork carefully. Look at your health insurance policy.

• If you think you have found an error, call your provider's billing office or your insurer. Ask to review the statement on the phone.
• If your insurer won't cover a service that your policy says should be covered, file an appeal. Ask your insurer about the appeal process. For information about health insurance appeals, see the U.S. government website at www.healthcare.gov/using-insurance/managing/appealing-denials/index.html.

If you have payment problems

Not paying a medical bill can ruin your credit rating. Talk to the provider's medical billing office. This is one key to keeping your account from going to a collections agency.

• If you realize you've missed a due date for a bill, call the billing office right away. Pay on the phone if you can.
• If you can't pay a bill in full, ask to arrange a payment plan. Many providers are happy to do this, as long as you stay in touch and agree to make small, regular payments.

Current as of: November 20, 2015

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine & Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use . Learn how we develop our content .

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Benefits of Being Happy:

Happier people more likely to live longer...

"We can train ourselves to have more positive emotional qualities like happiness, kindness and mindfulness."

Happier people have an unusual amount of activity in one area of their brains – the left prefrontal cortex, scientists have found. Happier people are more likely to live longer and tend to be healthier, more successful and more socially engaged than people who describe themselves as less happy.

In the field of psychology, there’s been a lot of emphasis on figuring out people’s problems – what causes depression, anxiety or stress. It wasn’t until the 1990s when Dr. Martin Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, realized we were missing a big piece of the puzzle. He asked the important question we’d all been missing, “What makes people happy?” It’s because of his question, that Dr. Seligman is considered the founding father of positive psychology.

“If we exercise that part of our brains, just like exercising a muscle, we can train ourselves to have more positive emotional qualities like happiness, kindness and mindfulness,” says Hyong Un, M.D,of Aetna Behavioral Health.

Want to be happier? 

To see for yourself try practicing one, or even all four, of these proven methods suggested by Dr. Un. You might be happy that you did.

1. Savor

Notice the good stuff. Good things happen to all of us, but so often we’re busy rushing through our day that these moments aren’t appreciated. Dr. Fred Bryant, a researcher at Loyola University in Chicago, coined the term “savor.”  He found that people who regularly pause to savor positive moments are more satisfied with life and are happier. You can savor the past, present or the future.

2. Gratitude

According to one study, simply having an attitude of gratitude can increase happiness by 25 percent. Being gracious can lead to optimism and self-confidence, while also deepening our relationships with one another.

3. Optimism

Optimism is linked to increased happiness. People who are optimistic are more likely to tackle their problems and persevere until they meet their goals. This results in increased feelings of success, improved self-esteem and productivity.

4. Generosity

Being generous leads to all kinds of great results. In one study, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky divided participants into two groups. She asked one group to commit five random acts of kindness per week for six weeks. The control group went about their lives as usual. The control group reported back feeling more stressed and less happy. But the random act of kindness group reported a 42 percent increase in their happiness levels.

“Life can throw a lot of curveballs,” Un says. “Positive thinking can’t prevent bad things from happening. But if we are essentially a happy person inside, it can help us make it through the rough spots.”

Brought to you by: Aetna

Read more: https://news.aetna.com/2016/05/happier-people-more-likely-to-live-longer/#.V1cDaI2OklE.facebook