Hospitals
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Know your coverage
If you've just learned that you need to schedule surgery or another procedure, your main focus should be on getting the best care possible. But understanding what your medical insurance covers and what it doesn't is also essential to preparing for a planned or unplanned hospital stay. And it may help you avoid some unwelcome surprises when the hospital bills arrive. While some out-of-pocket expenses are inevitable, there's a lot you can do to prevent unnecessary hospital costs and identify billing errors. Call your insurance carrier to verify critical features of your plan, including:
- Which doctors and hospitals are in your plan's network (and be aware that even if a hospital is in the network, doctors who practice there may not be).
- The difference between in-network and out-of-network costs, such as deductibles or coinsurance.
- Whether your procedure requires pre-authorization.
If possible, ask for all this information in writing from your insurer. At a minimum, take notes on all conversations yourself, including date and the name and contact number of the person with whom you spoke. And save all communications you get from your insurer in case you run into a payment dispute later.
