Can Doctors and Hospitals Mess up Medicare Bills?

It hardly seems that there should be too many problems with Medicare and Medicare Supplement charges by doctors and hospitals.  After all, you basically put in a code, the doctor and treatment information or hospital information and turn the claim in within the three month period that is allowed.  Right?  WRONG.

One thing that has been going wrong with these bills is that a lot of doctors and hospitals are not turning in their paperwork on time.  As a result, seniors on supplemental plans may have changed companies or coverage by the time the bills are received by Medicare.  Simple fix, right?  WRONG, again. 

What happens then is that the new company on record often gets the billing from Medicare, but has no idea what to do because they were not covering the person at the time of the claim.  Meanwhile, the doctor is frustrated, the individual covered by Medicare or a Medicare Supplement is receiving bills that need to be paid, and everyone is in the dark.

There are some ways to overcome this.  If you are on Medicare or a Medicare Supplement, it is important for you to keep track and keep copies of everything.  If you begin to get any bills that don’t make sense after you  have been to the doctor or the hospital, call the doctor, the hospital or Medicare immediately to have the situation researched.  If you have changed supplemental plans after the bill was generated, be sure to let the doctor, the hospital and Medicare know your old information about your prior company so that they can re-bill correctly.

Just these simple steps can save everybody involved – especially you – a lot of confusion, frustration and aggravation.  If you are seeking information or need to call Medicare because you are in a similar situation, contact them at 1-800-MEDICARE, or find them online at www.Medicare.gov or www.cms.gov.