Developing a Systematic Approach to Dealing with Health Insurance

Part 1: The Basic Tools, Chapter 3: Developing a Systematic Approach to Dealing with Health Insurance Page 1

Continued from Previous Page

Benjamin Franklin once wrote that "nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." If he were alive today, Franklin might have added health insurance problems to that list. In fact, health insurance problems are one of the most common types of consumer problems that Americans face these days. The way consumers deal with those problems can either intensify them, or can set the stage for a solution.

For example, I'm sure you've heard of people who keep their medical bills in an old shoe box and file the claims when ever they get around to it. The difficulty with that kind of approach is that when the person finally does get around to sorting through the bills, so much time has passed and so many bills have accumulated that a great deal of work is usually required to figure out how to file each claim. Knowing that the work is likely to be enormously time-consuming may lead to a decision to put it off even longer.

However, many insurance policies require that claims be filed within one year of the date of treatment. When the person finally begins to review the medical bills, the time limit may already have expired for some of the bills, and other bills may no longer make sense. Either the person is unable to remember if the bills represent photocopies -- where the original bills were previously filed -- or is unable to find the matching bills and EOBS from the primary insurer, making it impossible to file the claims with a secondary insurer. The result is that the claims are not filed properly -- or not filed at all -- and the person loses money.

In contrast, while developing a systematic approach to dealing with claims may not be particularly exciting, it can make claim-filing easier and more efficient and can save both time and money. It can also help you prevent claim problems from occurring, and it can make it easier for you to deal with the problems that do occur.

You might want to think of dealing with health insurance claims as a part-time job. In fact, given the high cost of medical care these days, and the importance of obtaining the benefits to which you are entitled from your insurance policy, you may find that it's a part-time job that's quite worthwhile from an economic point of view.

Continued on Next Page