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 Benefits
Always take time to review your EOB. “My what?” The Explanation of Benefits that comes to you in the mail after you have submitted a health insurance claim. The EOB explains what part of the expenses submitted are paid by the insurance company, what were not paid, and why. There are a couple of important reasons to pay attention to this information. First, the EOB will likely be the first notification of what expenses you will need to pay yourself, so you’ll be able to budget for them and not be caught off guard when the bill comes. Second, even insurance companies make mistakes, and you certainly don’t want to pay more than you have to.
In order to use the EOB most effectively:
- Keep copies of all medical invoices, then compare them to the EOB when it arrives.
- Know what your annual deductible is, and how much of it you have already fulfilled year-to-date.
- Know what co-payments are dictated by your policy.
Charges for medical services you received may also exceed the maximum allowed by the insurance company. If you see an indication of that on your EOB, you may certainly call the service provider and attempt to negotiate an adjustment of the charges.
Having health insurance doesn’t mean you can submit a claim and forget about it. As with anything else you invest in, knowing what you have will allow you to make better use of it. |
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