Learning How to Deal with Paying Hospital Bills

Part 2, Chapter 5: Traditional Individual and Group Plans, Hospital Bills Page 7

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Paying Hospital Bills

If you're certain that your health insurance will cover a substantial portion of your hospital bill, it's not generally a good idea for you to pay the bill until both your primary and secondary insurance companies have processed the claim. Many hospitals are accustomed to filing claims with insurance companies on a direct basis, and many insurers routinely send payments directly to the hospital. If you pay the hospital bill before your insurer has processed it, you may unintentionally interfere with that system. If both you and your insurer eventually pay the hospital, you may have to go through a complex process to resolve the problem. That can take time, and may involve a great deal of paperwork.

For example, I recently helped a reader of my newspaper column with a problem involving duplicate payments to a hospital. She had been in the hospital for an extended period. She was covered by both a primary and a secondary insurer, and the primary insurer paid most of the bill. However, there was a balance of almost $2,000 remaining.

A few weeks after the hospital stay, the hospital sent her a bill for that balance. Since the hospital did not generally file secondary insurance claims, she paid the $2,000 bill with her personal check, and she filed the claim with her secondary insurer. The secondary insurer provided reimbursement for the full amount of the claim, but sent the check directly to the hospital.

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