In this Jan. 22 article, “Why Employers Should Care About Medical Billing Errors,” Employee Benefits News magazine takes a look at the impact that billing errors make on employers and employees. Unfortunately, medical billing errors are pervasive in the U.S., and complicated for employers and employees to track.
Experts say as many as 80 percent of medical bills in the U.S. contain errors, according to Derek Fitteron, CEO of Medical Cost Advocate, a medical billing review and negotiation firm focused on helping employees navigate the complexity of medical billing. For 25 percent to 30 percent of those bills, the error is a significant amount. In fact, an audit by credit rating agency Equifax found that for hospital bills totaling $10,000 or more, there was an average error of $1,300.
Astonishing, isn’t it? Self-insured employers can be paying thousands of dollars (or more) each year to cover erroneous healthcare claims (which are contained in 80 percent of U.S. medical bills). Employees are hurt too as their deductibles rise, causing an increase in annual out-of-pocket expenses.
One important way to identify errors and overpayments is to get an annual healthcare claims audit. A comprehensive audit, which examines each and every healthcare claim your company paid over a year’s time, is the best way to identify mistakes and fix systemic errors, which will lead to future savings. The money you recover goes straight to your bottom line. The systemic errors that are identified and corrected mean that your employees will be relieved of some of the financial burden that comes with meeting rising deductibles.
The Difference is in Knowing.
Visit Healthcare Horizons today to learn more, or contact us at hhadmin@healthcarehorizons.com to discuss a healthcare claims audit assessment.
Randy King is president of Healthcare Horizons Consulting Group, Inc., which has performed healthcare claims audits since 1999. Trusted partner. Uncompromising accuracy. Superior personal service. Recovering millions of dollars for some of the world’s largest employers.