FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (F.A.Q’s)

Q: Can my hospital bills be negotiated?

A: Hospital/Medical and Surgery bill are negotiated under the Federal Fair Credit Billing act. When some one is under-insured or uninsured we at Med-Advocates negotiate the entire medical bill, including surgery, hospital, Anesthesia, laboratory, radiology, chemo therapy, testing, nuclear medicine, medication, etc.

Q: What happens to my Medical Bill while it is being investigated?

A: We recommend that you let the hospital and other parties know that the bill is in dispute. The dispute process allows us to do our analysis and recalculate the bill according to state and federal statutes.

Q: Will my bill affect my credit rating?

A: While a medical bill is in dispute the facility/hospital cannot report the charges to the credit reporting agencies. You may have to pay any charges that are not in dispute. The hospital is not allowed to take legal action while you are in a disputed action. Please check with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act for more information regarding your credit during the disputed event.

Q: What happens if the hospital agrees with the the finding of the disputed charges?

A: We come up with an agreed upon amount that needs to be paid on the medical claim. There are no finance charges, no late charges or any other related charges, only, the agreed amount. At that point, you, the client agree to pay the new adjusted facility/hospital bill. At that point, the bill is paid in full.

Q: Are you able to handle cases in all 50 states?

A: We service all 50 states.

Q: Why use A Medical Advocate?

A: Sometimes you need a trusted helping hand! As a registered nurse and a retired medical profession with educational qualifications and extensive experience with medical business, I do offer  inside knowledge that few other professionals have. I also have access to expert consultants in the legal and accounting fields. One of the advantages of belonging to an organization such as the Medical Billing Advocates of America is that we share our expertise and experience

Q: Can’t I just ask the hospital to review my bill for errors?
A: Yes. Hospital billing departments can and do review patients’ bills upon request. Typically, that review will have a narrow focus, to address the patient’s specific questions, instead of a comprehensive review such as that performed by a medical billing advocate. It is worth noting that the vast majority of hospital billing departments are understaffed, and their workloads are enormous – billing hundreds of patients daily, which involves completing dozens of different forms for dozens of different insurance companies. (This is one of the reasons billing errors occur.) It is possible that your request may not be honored in a timely fashion. Another consideration: most hospital employees who work in the billing department have specialized training in medical coding and billing practices, but not the clinical background  that can be very helpful in identifying billing errors and explaining the bill to the patient.

Q: What does this service cost?
A: Your initial consultation is free. Depending on how complex your problem is, it might take anywhere from one to many hours to srt the problems out and solve them. Usually we bill by the hour and after the initial consultation, an estimate of the time an effort can be given. Very often the fees for the work can be recovered from the savings and refunds we are able to gain for you.

Q: I don’t have health insurance. Can I use this service?
A: Yes. Uninsured individuals are the hardest hit by the high cost of health care, as they are responsible for 100% of their bills. Even if there is insurance, the company only pays up to 80% of the bill after copays and deductibles. This is typically the case for an individual covered by a commercial health insurance policy. When you have to pay 100% of the bill, you need to know that the bill is 100% correct!