Getting It Resolved

• 1). Look up your diagnosis code if you have an idea of what should have been used. Medical billers and coders are office workers who do the same thing daily - and they often make mistakes. It never hurts to be familiar with the codes that probably should be used. These are available for free online.
  
  
• 2). Contact your physician's office, hospital billing office or medical provider who made the mistake. Speak to whoever is in charge of billing and see if you can get the person to make a correction and issue a new bill.
  
  
• 3). Contact your health insurance company if you have insurance and if it's separate from your provider. Let the insurer know of the mistake. If the provider is being difficult, then the insurance company may step in on your behalf. If the provider is issuing a new bill, then the insurance company needs to know so that you aren't held responsible for billing errors.
  
  
• 4). Reach out to your physician or practitioner if the billing people aren't helpful. Usually physicians issue diagnosis codes and have a responsibility to ensure diagnoses are correctly recorded in your file. In some cases, nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians' assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech language pathologists may also issue diagnoses.
  
  
• 5). Follow-up on conversations. If revised bills don't come quickly, it may take more than one conversation with a billing manager to get things properly corrected. Never assume they have as much interest in your issue as you do.
  
  
• 6). Contact your state insurance board if no one else is listening or helping. Most cases will never come to this. But if you are absolutely being neglected, providers and insurers alike listen to insurance boards.