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As America's health insurance and medical fields gear up for complicated changes to related industries, private insurers are starting to invest in a new approach to connecting with possible enrolling members. New reports show that insurers are looking at creating "pop-up retail locations" in order to provide more access to new customers who will be entering the health plan coverage market because of provisions in the Affordable Care Act recently passed by the Obama administration. These reports cite UnitedHealthcare, a large multi-state insurer, which is estimated to have created over 1,400 retail locations, including stores and kiosks, in its coverage areas, to make shopping for health insurance coverage accessible. Consumer Concerns It's likely that you will take this news in a variety of ways. For some, the retail presence of insurance companies is just another harbinger of what is considered a 'giveaway' to insurance companies, where the new state health coverage exchanges and other parts of the Affordable Care Act will basically push individuals and families toward purchases. Also, consumer advocates for seniors sometimes point to the idea that retail locations can push a particular insurance option on the elderly, where they might be better served by getting informed about the range of options that are available to them. The Human Touch Regardless of the above concerns, a lot of consumers will see retail locations as a key piece of overall health care reform, albeit one that was in no way mandated by the government. Part of what retail health insurance locations can be for you is simply a place for asking questions and getting convenient answers. During the past decades, where health insurance was primarily sold via mail, phone and Internet, getting any kind of customer service for basic information on your policy involved long wait times and a lack of key face-to-face interaction. Giving customers retail locations means providing you a place to ask questions, voice concerns, and even to vent frustrations. And, for many who do pay for health insurance coverage, this is a very valuable resource. What Questions Do Enrolled Members Ask? Many of the top questions for health insurance members involve cost vs. value. Even for those who are insured, medical bills can be extremely expensive, and in some cases, customers don't feel they are getting what they deserve for their money. We have even detailed cases where out-of-pocket patients end up paying less than those who are insured! Other common questions involve health insurance company policies and basic elements of a health insurance plan, such as a deductible, annual or lifetime maximum, and other value or cost elements. With retail locations, some enrolled members may be able to attain a faster answer for these sorts of questions. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

We are seeing more evidence of consumers like you becoming more frugal about the health care you receive - and it's not just because of the down economy. We battle all sorts of extreme challenges in just keeping health care affordable, from the sky-high price of medical services in general, to blizzards of confusion over out-of-network charges, insurance denials for the insured, and much more like nonsensical medical bill errors. Now, there are online healthcare pricing comparison sites that you may want to explore and use to comparison shop for more affordable health care, before you step foot in your doctor's office. Many are free for consumers, allowing you to browse for nearly any kind of health care or dental services, from regular family practice to specialist offices, in much the same way that you do for, say, hotels or other goods and services. How It Works This kind of 'match-making' site works on this principle: doctors like to anticipate costs, as well. They can do this by compiling groups of single new patients and pricing the incoming visitors in bulk: that means that uninsured patients who need to pay out of pocket can enjoy some of the same price benefits as those whose insurance companies have an existing contractual arrangement with a provider. Online comparison sites assist to fulfill the void of "service transparency," the idea that patients should know ahead of time what they will be paying or can expect in their general geographical area. In a world where providers typically bill insurers first and shift costs to patients later, too many patients just don't have any real clue about the final 'invoice total' that they will see in a mailed medical bill. As we often point out, this kind of 'mystery pricing' would never be tolerated in any other industry, and it should be part of our medical industry either. By bringing the power of the Internet to medical shopping, these third party sites are helping to change the cumbersome and often unequal relationship between patient and provider. Need Dental Work? Another demand is for price transparency in dental services, before you visit and receive the estimate of an anticipated procedure. Many of the thousands of individuals who would either go without care or wait for annual 'free dental clinics' where they are available, can now choose a third option: seeing up-front prices for a cleaning or other visit. Sites such as these provide a valuable service for its users. We'll continue to keep an eye out for other resources that will surface. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

More and more consumer advocates are sharing with American families new trends in the U.S. health care industry. There is a growing awareness that who owns your doctor's practice can have an impact on what you pay. It's a good idea to look closer into how this phenomenon can affect your wallet. Changing the 'Place of Service': What's in a Name? In many cases, patient interactions that happen in a doctor's office don't change when that office gets bought out by a hospital or other care network. The same doctors are still there, and they operate the same way. What changes, though, is the way that services are billed, first to the health insurer or entitlement program, and then to you. New reports have found that both government entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and many private insurers, are simply willing to pay more for services provided by large medical networks than they are for the work of single doctors' offices. Consumers aren't the only ones who see this as a little unfair; doctors who have worked hard to maintain independence can also get pretty bitter about the fact that a reimbursement amount can change based on what kind of medical business is doing the billing. Intuitively, it would seem that this difference in incentive will continue to cause many doctors to sell out their practices to medical networks, maybe even under duress in some cases. At the Front Desk: Checking Your Patient Financial Responsibility Some of those who counsel individual patients on their rights would recommend simply asking the practice staff what you will have to pay, for example, when a medical business changes hands. But in many cases, this isn't enough because the change isn't always apparent or staff members may inadvertently neglect to advise you. For instance, your doctor's office is now owned by an outpatient hospital campus. Prior to this, you received a bill only for your doctor's fees. After the changeover, however, you also incurred a bill for a facility fee. While it appears medical and office staff do their best to inform patients of increased or additional fees before and after a place of service changeover, some do not. For example, you ask your doctor's office if your upcoming procedure will be covered under your normal co-pay. Yes, it is. Then, you receive a bill that is up to ten times what you were quoted plus not just one but multiple bills. To the objective eye, this looks like deceptive pricing, and no other industry would permit this - costs that double or triple in the blink of an eye. Much of the problem, however, has to do with the lack of information available to the public, and the way that third-party payers almost always stand in between the doctor and the patient. It's important you become educated, not just about changing place of service status, but on issues like timely filing, health insurance denials, and all of the other complicated issues that can cause providers to simply push through revised medical bills with big red numbers at the bottom, and your name on the envelope. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

Some battles over consumer free speech are having a dramatic effect on the law around medical privacy, at least in America, where thorny, complicated legislation raises all sorts of questions about what a doctor, a patient or an insurer can say in public. The latest scrutiny of laws like HIPAA relates to the simple practice of a patient posting something that they liked, or didn't like, about a doctor's office, online. Careful What You Sign In many cases, the source of these legal challenges are the forms that you sign when waiting for service at your doctor's office. Hidden in some of these forms, often in fine print, are legalese rules governing 'disclosure' or, in other words, effectively muzzling you on what you can and can't say as it relates to your medical visit experience. These agreements aren't a big deal unless you decide you want to submit an online review. When a negative review goes out, you may encounter an unexpected retaliation. In some shocking cases, providers have been known to threaten to sue patients with some going a few steps further as recently aired in the media. The charge? Breach of contract. Patients Fight Back Patients who see 'fees' attached to their bills for public reviews that they have posted are not likely to pay up, and it seems that many of these cases are going straight to court, often in the form of counter-suits against a provider. It's likely that local courts will look favorably on the patient's right to express thoughts about providers with little regard for restrictive prior agreements on paper, especially since there's a good case to be made that these forms are signed under a specific kind of duress. But the issues do raise further challenges, about who can say what, and when. Now there's the question, batted around in law offices and other venues around the country, about whether a provider's response to one of these reviews might also violate medical privacy laws. The eventual result is a situation where people just aren't sure what's allowed and what's not. And free speech experiences are fundamentally squashed. Read the fine print in any contract or consent form that a doctor's office wants you to sign. If you don't understand or don't agree with any portion, talk with your doctor before your exam. Continue to communicate proactively with your medical provider so that you will receive the care and service you deserve. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

It's no secret that most Americans pay a lot for nearly any kind of medical care, but a close look at factors that are driving higher health care prices in the U.S. reveals more about why medical care is so expensive these days. One factor that you may not think about is protecting yourself from health care fraud and how it impacts you. The Cost of Fraud Reports from health care experts show that Americans may be paying up to $80 billion per year because of health care fraud. That's out of 2 trillion dollars spent annually, including a federal Medicare program that is estimated to be worth about $450 billion, with 44 million beneficiaries on the books. Government entitlement programs contribute quite a bit to the problem - not necessarily because of the programs themselves but because of the abuse by disreputable providers. Because of the unique reimbursement rules for these programs, many dishonest providers are able to simply bill Medicare and another government entitlement program, Medicaid, for services and goods that were never actually provided to patients. What is the Government's Response? Even though the government has been prosecuting more medical companies and practices, and has recovered over $10 billion for Medicare since 2009, it continues to be a huge problem. With all of the loopholes and opportunities for fraud in the current system, this issue is not going away anytime soon. As the federal government and state governments scramble to identify health care fraud and convict fraudulent operators, it's important that consumers get involved in the struggle as well. What Can You Do to Protect Yourself? One action under your control is to carefully read and review your medical bills. It's important that you know what services your medical bills are representing and why each item costs as much as it does. Surveys have found that one in five patients don't understand the descriptions of procedures on a medical bill, and many never question these kinds of charges. As a result, health care fraud remains rampant. Always take the time to go over the details listed and call providers if anything on your bill is less than clear. Don't settle for a non-itemized bill: demand that providers show in clear terms what charges represent and why they were billed. This kind of vigilance not only helps your financial bottom line, but it also protects the community at large from a greater threat of systematic health care fraud. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

Studies show that anywhere from 30% to 80% of medical bill charges could be erroneous. So, it is crucial that healthcare consumers know the foundation of how medical billing and reimbursements work. This will root out the errors and increase the savings to the employer as well as the patient giving peace of mind and control costs. The Problems of Offering Health Care Coverage For those who are self insured, healthcare expenses are usually about 40% to 60% of the profit of the company. Most TPAs (Third Party Administrators) do not have the incentive, inclination or the time to scrutinize every claim submitted on behalf of the company. The TPA gets paid no matter how big or small the bill is. For small or medium size businesses, you may be struggling to provide health care coverage for your employees. As the prices for healthcare insurance increase, it may even become impossible for you to offer coverage at all. Or if you can, you might have to decrease benefit coverages, drop or decrease retiree benefits or increase how much your employees have to pay for the healthcare insurance plan. A Way to Contain Costs The reason healthcare premiums go up each year is because the medical expenses of your employees increase. To keep those expenses down, you can install a defense against medical billing errors, overcharges and even fraud. In fact, healthcare fraud (according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services or CMS) is estimated at 3% to 10% making the money lost this way a truly staggering sum. The defense you can install is to have a medical bill advocate on call to review the bills of your employees. Medical bill advocates are trained to decipher what can be incredibly confusing medical and hospital bills. For example, overcharges can include duplicate services, fees for procedures that were not necessary and gross overcharges for services. The difference in what hospitals charge can be staggering. In fact, one study done in Northern California dramatically illustrates this issue. In the study, bills for patients who had undergone appendectomies within a certain time period were studied. The study was careful to make sure similar treatments including the length of the hospital stay, were in the focus group of medical bills. The price charged for appendectomies in the same part of the country ranged from $1,500 to over $180,000. The average cost was about $33,000. Offering the benefit of reviewing the medical bills of your employees prior to paying them will help contain medical costs and help your employees as well. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

If you are one of the thousands of American patients owing huge sums of money to a hospital or your doctor, add another kind of problem to the list: reports from communities around the country show that it can often be extremely difficult to get your money back if you are due a refund on your medical bill from your doctor's office or other healthcare provider. Did I say "overpay"? How does this happen? Medical bill overpayment, like many other kinds of clerical errors, can often be attributed to the unnecessary complex 'triangular' billing arrangement between a provider, a patient, and that patient's health care insurer. Over the years, most American consumers have become convinced that getting insured is the right way to go to avoid high health care costs and risks of medical bankruptcy. Paying out of pocket for medical care has become impossible for the vast majority of Americans, and so, many of us, by various means, have lined up to sign onto a policy from a health care insurer in our state of residence. With consumer directed health care plans and high deductibles, though, that is no longer the case. In many cases, consumers overpay on medical debt because they get an obsolete bill from their provider. The bill that they got from the provider does not show submission to the insurance company, which may have happened in the interim. Nor does it show any payment. However, in many cases, the provider billed late, or the insurer paid late, or both. Patients who don't understand the complicated dance of health care finance often open their wallets before questioning a bill, only to find that money tied up in red tape when they iron the issue out. Another example is when your provider does not verify your insurance benefits prior to your visit. You arrive to your appointment and may be expected to pay your deductible and or co-pay, at the time of service. The medical office's staff may ask you if you have a co-pay. You don't know exactly and hand over your card. There may be an amount listed on your card but it may not apply for the physician type you are visiting. The staff person may then take that amount and tell you if it is less, you will receive a refund. The foolproof way is to actually verify the benefits with your insurance carrier. While forward thinking practices are doing this, many are not. Making Overpayments Right It can be great news to get an updated letter from your health care provider stating that, in fact, your insurance has paid your bill for you. The trick can be getting back that money that you already paid to your doctor's office. One big problem is the use of inferior billing services. Providers may sign up for automated accounts receivable and accounts payable finance without asking the tough questions about how they are represented by this specialized office. In some cases, the finance company doesn't treat accounts payable with the same care that they do the other side of the operation. Companies can be aggressive in collecting money from patients but very slow to dole it back out if there has been a mistake. Stories of patients waiting months to get medical refunds often show up in the news when these discouraged 'creditors' turn to their local media for help. When the news reporters have to show up to get a check in the mail, there's something wrong. What can you do to protect yourself? Consumer advocates suggest always checking the explanation of benefits form or EOB from your insurer and make sure that it matches the bills that you got from a provider. And, know what your co-pay, deductible and coverage is before you show up at your doctor's office. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

Media, consumer advocates and others talk a lot about how many of us are facing absurdly high costs for medical treatments. We know that these charges range significantly from location to location and that many times you may be hit with the majority of the balance. Not everyone, though, is talking about actual, practical ways to protect yourself from excessive costs when you obtain care at a local doctor's office, hospital or other facility. Asking the Right Questions Almost all of the practical strategies for "consumer cost control" in medical offices focus on getting answers from medical providers. Asking relevant questions before, during and after a visit can help you avoid some of the most ridiculous charges that show up on medical bills. One tip is to ask for an itemized list of charges. Itemization of a medical bill will show you whether any costs for a particular procedure have been padded or exaggerated, for example, in bills for supplies and related expenses. Some doctors have begun to bill different aspects of consultation separately and this is another area where an itemized bill can come in handy. Look At the Medical Codes Medical consultants are now advising to look at the CPT codes that show up on your medical bills. CPT codes represent specific procedures and treatments, and you can use these to help find a fair price online. It is becoming increasingly common for individuals to look for these kinds of "blue book values" for medical procedures when negotiating with a provider. Experts also recommend checking out the government's reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid to see if your doctor is charging you too much for a specific procedure. Look for Alternatives Another way to lower overall medical costs is to decline some of the more expensive and less necessary treatments that your doctor may suggest. Lots of medical advocates tell patients to always apply the "BRAIN" ( benefits, risks, alternatives, intuition, nothing) principle to their questions in the doctor's office. This involves looking at the pros and cons of procedures, as well as what lower-priced alternatives may be available, as well as checking your intuition or "gut feeling" about a suggested treatment. Then, evaluate the consequence of delaying treatment for a health condition. One reason that consumer advocates suggest this kind of questioning is that a doctor's suggested treatments are not always the only course of action for any given health condition, and sometimes, a practical approach can reveal perfectly good alternatives that can come with a much lower price tag. Look for Discounts and Other Payment Options Another great tip is to look for payment plans and other options from your local medical providers. Many providers have begun to offer these options to patients. Some patients who are facing high-dollar bills can even qualify for charity, especially if their insurer declined huge portions of their bill. Make sure that you keep all of these strategies handy for dealing with medical bills that threaten to ruin your financial health. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

Experienced consumer advocates and third-party financial consultants know that there are many ways for American families to be threatened by medical bankruptcy because of high medical bills. There are a lot of situations in which even those with medical insurance coverage can still rack up extremely high bills totaling thousands and thousands of dollars, much more than most families can afford to pay, even over a number of years. But it's not always the actual cost of medical care that drives households into medical debt. In a lot of cases, the bills aren't even correct. They may have been denied by health insurance companies for suspicious reasons or they may even include services that were never provided in the first place. Common Problems with Incorrect Medical Bills You may have experienced a pattern of harassing activity with a debt collector contacting you to collect on a bill that you actually did not owe. In some cases, there's a simple clerical error regarding the former patient's name, Social Security number or other identifying information. In other cases, the former patient has already negotiated or paid off the debt, but this doesn't get updated in the debt collector's database. Then there are many other situations where bad customer service systems block a consumer's efforts to set the record straight on medical debt, and the right information never gets to the provider. Some medical offices are notorious for requiring "physical authorization" to release records, which can help trap families in limbo over sky-high medical bills. Don't Pay Incorrect Medical Bills If you experience some of these common problems, don't rush to pay a bill until you can verify that it is legitimate. Send a letter of appeal by certified mail to your health insurance company and your provider. Some consumers have testified that it also helps to contact your local government about devious or illegal practices, especially when debt collectors are going after you for services that you did not receive. It also helps to be straight with debt collectors and talk to them fairly aggressively about your rights under federal and state laws. In some situations, proactive customer service departments will eventually get the message about the liabilities they could face for deceptive or overly aggressive debt collection. Don't be afraid to ask an outside party for help with your medical debt. Third party consumer advocates know how to help American families to pay only what they can on a medical debt and to help them avoid getting trapped in bad credit situations. Document all of your activity around medical debts thoroughly and bring this information into consultation with a legitimate, well experienced consumer advocate to build your case against a collections firm or provider. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

The costs of medical and health care services have been rising steadily for many years, and American consumers are feeling the pinch in a big way. Many American individuals and families are now facing extremely high medical debts, some of them for fairly routine or minor health care procedures or treatments. With the private insurance system looking to offset costs, and very little in the way of a safety net for consumers, medical bankruptcy threatens many thousands of families each year. One step you can take is to compare healthcare costs prior to undergoing treatment. Now, medical advocates are telling American patients to go a step further than many of them are accustomed to: new guidelines from experts in the industry suggest that consumers should be asking medical providers about how much a certain procedure, treatment or even a consultation may cost before they ever step in the door of the medical office. Barriers to Asking Questions About Healthcare Services In prior times, most patients were not used to asking their doctors what something would cost - there was a kind of intuitive understanding that since medical care is something that nobody wants to skimp on, it's not a situation where prices can be negotiated. Over time, that led up to a system where insurance plans, largely those provided by group employers, covered major costs, leaving a patient with a straightforward co-pay or deductible that would represent their total financial responsibility. These days, even a group plan doesn't protect the average consumer from receiving extremely expensive medical bills after getting nearly any kind of health care service. Larger co-pays, larger deductibles and co-insurance mean looming costs for many Americans as medical costs continue to skyrocket and other issues like deceptive out of network charging leave many patients with much more debt than they thought they were going to incur when they arrived at a hospital or other facility. Can Americans Shop for Health Care? What new reports are showing is that the best way to shop around for health care is to ask your insurance company. Most of the efforts at cataloging the various rates that different providers charge for services are done by big insurers like CIGNA, Anthem Blue Cross, and other multi-state insurance companies. Patients can also ask their insurance company which providers have a contractual plan that forces them to charge a certain set price for a given medical service. Over time, this trend will probably continue, to the point where American patients routinely ask their insurance company to help them shop. For most enrolled members, the insurance company has a vested interest in that person getting the cheapest medical care possible. While these kinds of partnerships between private insurers and individual patients can help both parties to rack up less medical debt for the same kinds of treatments and procedures, there's also a great need for more patient education, where consumer advocates are standing in for states and the federal government when it comes to providing fixes for a problem that is challenging the majority of American families today. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

When you go to the doctor, do you think about the kind of customer service you're giving to your medical provider? As patients, we often expect our doctors to provide us with excellent care, but it's equally important that we give excellent customer service. You can enhance your medical and billing experience by ensuring your doctor and their staff feel appreciated by taking ownership of supplying excellent customer service. Here are five practical ways that patients can give their medical doctors excellent customer service while strengthening the healthcare provider-patient relationship. 1. Be Prepared for your Appointments: One of the best ways to give your medical doctor excellent customer service is to be prepared for your appointments. This means arriving on time, bringing your insurance card, ID, a list of your symptoms, medications, and questions you have for your doctor. If you are unsure what information you need, call the medical office, and ask for help. By doing this, you're making the most of your time with your doctor and helping them provide you with the best possible clinical and financial care. 2. Be Honest with your Doctor: Another way to give excellent customer service to your medical provider is to communicate honestly with them about your health or billing issues. Be transparent, telling them exactly how you feel. This means sharing any symptoms you've been experiencing, even if they're embarrassing or uncomfortable. It also means telling your doctor if you've missed any medications or have been struggling with your treatment plan. Sharing concerns with the financial team about your bill can help alleviate post appointment stress. By being honest in your interactions with the medical office, you're giving them the information they need to provide you with an accurate diagnosis, effective medical treatment and financial peace of mind. Remember, effective communication is a two-way process and oftentimes ends misunderstandings or assumptions. 3. Be Respectful of Your Doctor's Time: Doctors have busy schedules just like us, and it's important to be respectful of their time. This means being on time for your appointments and not taking up more time than necessary. Consider leaving your house earlier than usual to guarantee you arrive at your appointment on time. If you are running late, make sure you call the medical office to inform them. This helps them to keep things running on time for other patients. If you can't make an appointment, make sure to cancel well in advance, so they have enough time to fill that slot with another patient. While your doctor would also like to provide you with advance cancellation notice, it may not be possible when an emergency arises shortly before or during your appointment. Be understanding and don’t take it out on the front office scheduling team. By respecting your doctor's time, you're showing them that you value their expertise and understand the demands of their job. 4. Follow Your Treatment Plan: Another essential way to give excellent customer service to your medical doctor is by following your treatment plan. This means taking your medication as prescribed, attending follow-up appointments, and making any necessary lifestyle changes recommended by your doctor. Following the doctor's instructions will improve your chances of a quick recovery and allow your doctor to check your progress. If you don't understand the treatment plan instructions or subsequent billing invoices, ask for clarification so there is no confusion or miscommunication. 5. Supply Feedback: Lastly, supplying feedback for your medical doctor and their staff is an excellent way to give them excellent customer service. This means telling them if you've had a positive experience and offering constructive feedback if you have any concerns. By offering kind, but honest feedback, you’ll help your doctor’s practice continue improvement in delivering quality holistic care. In addition to acknowledging a pleasant experience in person consider posting a positive review online. This small gesture will not only make your doctor feel appreciated but also motivate them to continue supplying excellent medical care to other patients in the community. At the end of the day, you know how you feel when recognized – well, your doctor is human too. In conclusion, giving excellent customer service to your medical doctor is an essential part of building a stronger doctor-patient relationship. You're not only benefiting your health, but you're also becoming a better patient who is more valued and trusted by your healthcare provider. You are taking the initiative to create a positive interaction between yourself and your medical provider’s office. Remember, your medical doctor is your partner in your health, and by working together, you can achieve the best possible outcomes. . Need help with resolving a medical or dental bill issue? Contact your area's local patient advocate or reach out to MBCR today!

By Medical Bill & Claim Resolution (MBCR) | Submitted On June 03, 2012 We've previously reported on many different kinds of situations where the average American patient can receive hugely inflated medical bills in the mail. Some of the most egregious examples are related to simple screening procedures that can easily get out of hand in terms of the total cost to the patient. Some of these have been covered extensively by nationally known senior advocate organizations and other groups that look out for the financial well-being of America's older consumers. Others affect all ages of patients equally. All of them are creating enormous pressure on the average family, as medical costs continue to represent one of the biggest financial challenges, and one of the most present threats of bankruptcy, for the majority of American households. Routine Colonoscopy and Anesthesia One prime example of this hidden cost is a colonoscopy procedure that helps screen for colon cancer. Many Americans agree to undergo this procedure as they age, in order to protect themselves from a disease that can often go unrecognized. However, one of the problems with the colonoscopy procedure is the way that sedation care typically works. In a clinical sense, there's nothing wrong with the system. Doctors allow patients to elect the type of anesthesia that they want for this procedure, including twilight sedation or full general anesthesia. The problem comes in, as it usually does, when outside anesthesiologists show up on the scene. Typically, an anesthesiologist has a contracting agreement with a hospital or doctor's office. This doesn't mean that the patient's insurance will cover this provider. It's rare that a patient takes the time to ask about these financial relationships while he or she is receiving care. However, very few providers will volunteer this information up front. That leads to a flood of out-of-network bills for anesthesia procedures that get sent out to American homes each year. Vigilance in Health Care Costs These kinds of problems are endemic in the American healthcare system. Essentially, there's no one looking out for the average consumer, and there doesn't seem to be much of a consolidated, national political will to really put procedures in place to guard against surprise medical bills. Until the nation as a whole comes to its senses about how to approach private healthcare insurance and its role in the "medical market," third-party medical consumer advocates will continue to play a larger role in helping American families, not just to deal with huge medical bills, but to avoid these kinds of financial heartaches in the first place. Minimize your risk by asking questions and getting the details of your procedure before receiving treatment. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.