If you don’t take the time to review doctor and hospital bills for errors, you could wind up paying outrageous or mistaken charges, notes the Medical Billing Advocates of America, an association that focuses on spotting and adjusting billing errors and insurance underpayments (www.billadvocates.com). What to do if your medical bills seem unreasonably high:
Seek a [...]
If you find yourself shopping for health insurance in the private market, here are some guidelines:
Check online.
Start by looking at policies offered on www.ehealthinsurance.com. Or ask friends who have purchased policies on their own about their coverage.
Tap a pro.
Consider hiring a licensed health-insurance broker to find a policy for you. To locate an agent, visit [...]
There are many ways you can lose your health insurance—including getting fired or laid off, early retirement, death of a working spouse, and divorce. Before you consider buying health coverage on your own, here’s what you’re legally entitled to:
COBRA.
Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA), you must be offered temporary coverage at [...]
Even if you have health insurance, you could wind up paying large sums out-of-pocket for care should you make mistakes. How to minimize costly errors:
Get pre-authorization.
If you’re required to get an authorization from your plan prior to treatment, be sure you do so. Don’t assume the plan will pay simply because the treatment was medically [...]
