How to Read Your Medical Bill

How to Read Your Medical Bill

Medical bills are becoming increasingly complex and
difficult to read. Charges from clinics and hospitals tend to
be lumped together instead of itemized – making it very
difficult to see exactly what you are paying for. With many
medical facilities going paperless, many patients are not
even receiving the statements regarding the amount the
insurer paid. This increases your chance of being
overcharged.

Controlling Costs

A big step in controlling your health costs is understanding
how to read your medical bill. Many medical bills contain
billing errors and items that are priced much higher than
their actual cost, so carefully reviewing your bills can save
you a lot of money.

How It Works
When you receive your medical bills there are three
documents that you need to compare to help you
understand if you are being billed only for the services you
received:
 A list of services performed – this document is
given to you when you leave the doctor’s office or
health facility.
 The bill from the doctor or health facility – this is a
list of services performed with the charges
associated with each service (which should match
the list of services performed document given to

you when you leave the facility). Many health
systems are no longer issuing itemized bills, which
will help you find obvious errors much easier. You
have the right to request an itemized bill from the
facility.
 Explanation of benefits (EOB) from your insurance
provider, Medicare or other payer, explaining how
much of the bill was paid by insurance.
Start by reading over each of the documents individually
and noting any charges that you don’t understand or items
that you don’t think you should have been charged for.
These bills use codes for each of the services provided,
which can make it even more difficult to read. To better
understand what these codes mean, use a medical
dictionary or encyclopedia. Then compare the documents
against each other, making sure that the charges match up.

Checking for Errors
Make sure there are no data entry errors including numbers
with an accidental zero added on (e.g., “10” instead of “1”
X-ray). Also check for duplicate listings of procedures and
medications that you do not think were administered.
If you find suspicious charges, don’t hesitate to contact the
health care facility billing department.

A Proactive Approach
There are a few best practices that you can use before your
procedure or appointment.
 Verify with the receptionist how your visit will be
coded.
 Write down notes as you are treated, noting
exactly what services are performed. Consider
bringing a friend or family member to do this for
you if you will be unconscious.
 If you’re going to be charged for a hospital stay, call
the billing department before your procedure to
ask if there are any supplies you can bring with you
to avoid high charges such as a box of tissues, extra
blankets or pajamas.