Markets In Everything: Medical Billing Advocates

These days, dealing with medical bills and insurance claims makes April 15 look easy. The medical jargon and inscrutable coding on invoices and explanations of benefits are indecipherable for most lay people. Worse, seriously ill patients may simply be too sick or too broke to deal with the mountains of red tape. That can lead to unpaid medical debts and even bankruptcy.

It’s no wonder that a cottage industry has sprung up to fill this void. Known as medical billing advocates, these middlemen and women help patients deal with the paperwork and haggling often associated with medical costs. In general, medical billing advocates help you find errors in your bills, negotiate with your insurer to appeal coverage denials, or negotiate lower fees with your medical care providers.

~New York Times

HT: Moneybagzz

Originally posted at Carpe Diem.