Doctor My Eyes

Pretty crazy title, don't you think?  Good song, though.  Anyway, Miss MoneyPenny has been dealing with doctor bills and insurance forms and thought that it would be a good topic, but not a good title.

This is how it went.  In January I had my eye exam and ordered new and stronger glasses.  The doctor has been following some suspicious spots and thought that a laser thingy was necessary to figure out what they were, which I had.  Okay, that was a visit for the exam, a visit to pick up new glasses, and a visit for the laser which was covered 100% by my insurance.

Somehow I ended up with a bill close to $500 and no way could I make sense out of it.  The nice ladies in the office couldn't figure it out either.  Luckily my insurance forms showed up at the Post Office, so I went right back and they made copies.  Of course, the person who figures these things out left for the weekend, so will wait for Monday, but it looks like they charged me twice for something and the insurance company denied it.

Now this was most likely an honest mistake, but it shows how important it is to match up your insurance forms with your doctor bills because this kind of thing happens all the time.  This little practice has saved me some serious money.  I usually get insurance benefit statements before the bill and I keep them in a folder.  When the doctor bill comes I match them up before I pay them.  Once they are paid I staple them together with the date and check number, etc. and file them because sometimes you need proof of payment.

If I did not have insurance I would still have a folder for the bills and I would go over them with a fine tooth comb.  If there are issues, take all of your paperwork with you and be nice.  I like to pull out the old debit card and set it on the counter, letting them know I plan to pay...just not what I don't owe.

Correction:

An alert reader (the guy from Seattle) noticed that in my last post that I wrote "crackpot" instead of "crockpot."  Miss MoneyPenny has been known to BE a crackpot at times, but never cooks her pork roast in one.  Spell checker is not really your friend.