Much of the challenge of avoiding unnecessary medical bills or contesting possible errors stems from the lack of transparency.
In most cases, patients rely on the expertise of medical professionals and the staff in their offices to schedule appointments and have no way to compare whether what they're being charged is appropriate.
But Eileen's column extolling the assistance of the Health Education and Advocacy Unit of the Maryland Attorney General's office includes two excellent tips that can help you avoid unnecessary bills down the line.
First of all, if you're going to be undergoing an elective medical procedure in the near future, be sure to ask whether all the health professionals involved (including those you might not interact with directly, such as the anesthesiologist, or the radiologist) also accept your insurance. If not, then you might be stuck with higher bills for going out of network, even though you didn't make that choice yourself.
Also, be sure to ask whenever you're making a doctor's appointment or even scheduling tests like an ultrasound whether you'll be charged a 'facility fee', which Eileen's column said can run $100 or more.
These fees, not covered by insurance, are often levied at doctor's offices or radiology departments associated with hospitals. I recently asked my own doctor's scheduling secretary how to avoid it, and she sent me to an independent center so my visit was entirely covered by insurance.
What sorts of questions have you asked to ensure that you don't get overcharged for healthcare?