Tips for sorting out medical bills

Jeanne Sather, author of The Assertive Cancer Patient, is an outspoken advocate for the cancer patient’s point of view. She has written about taking part in clinical trials, living with incurable cancer, strategies for getting through cancer treatment, and much more. Here she offers five tips for dealing with medical bills.

1. Find a medical billing specialist
Look in the Yellow Pages under "Insurance Claims Processing-Medical" or ask a social worker for a referral. Expect to pay $20 to $50 an hour, depending on where you live.

2. Ask a friend or relative for help
You may know someone who has the right skill set to take this on. Bookkeeping, patience, and persistence are the required talents. Choose someone who can give you several hours a week, at least in the beginning.

3. Expect to find errors
According to Money magazine, as many as eight out of 10 medical bills contain errors, increasing the bill by an average of 25 percent. Don't pay any bill until you are sure it is correct.

4. Expect collection letters
Some cancer centers send these out more quickly than others. Some will send them out even if you are working to resolve a billing problem.
Don't panic, but don't ignore the letter either.
You have 30 days to dispute the bill. Do this by mail, not on the phone--you need to start a paper trail. Then you, or your billing specialist, gain some time to sort out the problem.

5. Focus on getting well
Try not to worry about the bills--I know it's hard, but try. Your job is to get well.

Read Jeanne's article about how she found a billing specialist to help her sort out her stack of bills.

Jeanne Sather is an outspoken advocate for the cancer patient's point of view and writes at The Assertive Cancer Patient.