Medical billing complaints come into the TODAY’S TMJ4 I-Team and Call 4 Action offices often. Some calls deal with being incorrectly billed by medical providers, while others have to do with coding errors.
Some patients have called us saying they are being billed by their provider even after they paid out of pocket for a discount on the service.
While major medical providers have financial counselors to help you handle a current medical statement, there are non-profits and other organizations dedicated to patient advocacy and other groups with useful information online for consumers.
Here are a few:
On the website, there are free how-to fact sheets where you can get immediate answers to healthcare questions like, "What if I can’t pay my bill?” or, “What’s free with insurance?”
2.) Patient Advocate Foundation
Patient Advocate Foundation is a non-profit offering free counseling for those currently dealing with an illness or currently receiving treatment. You can work closely with a healthcare advocate.
For seniors who have Medicare, there are help lines to call and benefit specialists who offer counseling to navigate medical bills. Those specialists can help with not just Medicare, but public and private benefit issues that come up.
4.) Consumer Investigator, Kristin Byrne
As a consumer advocate, Kristin has helped consumers receive discounts on their medical bills and has helped get thousands of dollars worth of charges removed from patients' bills. If she can’t help, she can refer you to medical billing advocates who can. Email her with questions: Kristin.byrne@tmj4.com
