In Part 1 of this article, we shared with you how your health coach can help you keep expenses low with proactive care plans, clarifying what is medically necessary, and helping you navigate the complex issues of finding quality care for the lowest price. Here are three additional ways a health coach can protect your bank balance while improving your health
Lost in Translation: Health Coaches Makes Sense of All the Medical Jargon
A health coach should be able to help review your medical bills and Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statements. Medical bills are created using American Medical Association’s (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. The CPT is a medical code set that is used to report medical, surgical, and diagnostic procedures and services. These are the tools used to translate that EOB into language that is clear and ensure charges are for treatments and tests that you actually received. However, having access to all this jargon doesn’t mean that you can understand it. Your health coach should be able to help you make sense of these codes and what you were charged to help ensure that you are not overpaying for medical expenses.
Appeal Facilitation: Your Health Coach Can Lead You
A health coach can help to facilitate the appeals process for insurance. If you find that you have been under-covered, been asked to overpay, or if your medical bills are simply outrageously high, your health coach should be able to navigate the appeals process with you. According to the Forbes article “What I Learned From Disputing A Medical Bills”, “Roughly three out of every five bankruptcies are filed due to medical bills. A big part of this is the fact that they are confusing and intimidating, and people rarely dispute them despite many bills being negotiable.”
Let’s Make a Deal: Your Health Coach is Your Secret Weapon in Negotiating Fees
ou should never have to forego making a good choice for your health because the cost of out-of-network care is so exorbitant. Should you choose use out-of-network physicians or facilities or need uninsured care, your health coach may be able to help you negotiate your bills for services both pre and post-care.
According to an article on NBCnews.com, as of Jan.1, 2019 hospitals are now required to publish prices for procedures online. Unfortunately, procedure prices alone don’t equal an accurate picture of hospital bills.
“ ‘Almost no one pays the charges indicated on the price list,’ said Dr. Ira Nash, senior vice president and executive director of Northwell Health Physician Partners in New York. ‘The real prices are the result of negotiations… and those are not published,’ he added.”
Whether it’s your insurance or your health coach, you want someone negotiating these prices for you.
Need a professional to take all this on?
As we said earlier, in these days of the evolution of the health coach, there many more benefits to you and your employees than ever before. Are you interested in learning more about Curus’ HealthCare Management Model and how we can help you and your team be healthier and lower your medical expenses?.
