Category: Medical Insurance

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Medicare Is Tricky

Why is there mass confusion when it comes to Medicare? Even when you think you have a handle on it and understand your Medicare plan it can backfire on you.

I needed to go to the emergency room a few months ago for a minor problem with slivers of wood in my foot, but I needed to have this visit. The doctor spent ten minutes with me and I was fine.

I expected an emergency room copay of $85.00. That was supposed to be the only charge.

I received the bill and didn’t think anything about it. Then I received a bill for over a thousand dollars. What was this bill for?

This bill was for the physician’s bill which was sent from a separate billing service. I began to hyperventilate. The date of service which is what is the most important thing on the bill was missing. I called the phone number and found out the bill had never been billed to my medical insurance they didn’t have that information.

If you have read my book Medicare and Other Health Insurances it talks about this. After being on hold forever both at the billing company and my insurance company the bill will be sent to my medical insurance. But are they going to pay all of it? Will there be a co-pay left for me to pay?

When I talked to my medical insurance, I asked the question of why this bill when I was only supposed to pay for the ER visit.

  1. I thought it was an error.
  2. I thought I might have gone to a hospital that was not contracted to with my medical insurance. (I was told that I could go to any hospital for an ER visit. If admitted I needed to go to a specific hospital.)

When I asked my insurance company If this hospital was contracted with them? I didn’t get an answer. I will have to wait and see if it is paid or denied on my explanation of benefits and for what reason.

3. They didn’t have my medical insurance information.

Thank you for reading my article. Copyright 2021 Linda Meckler

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Medicare and Other Insurance Plans

Do you understand Medicare?

If you have Medicare, do you understand it?

Do you understand how Medicare works?

Do you know what parts A, B, C, and D mean?

If you do not understand this you do not understand Medicare.

Medicare is complicated. 

I don’t know why it is this way.

Do you?

Maybe it could be simplified.

Maybe it could be easier to understand.

What do you think?

What do you not understand?

Thank you for reading my article.

Copyright Linda Meckler 2021

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Red Hot Medical Bills

Believe it or not, you are not the only one who has medical bills. They seem endless and never-ending. You can get them from medical providers you have never heard of or thought of. Where did all these bills come from? If you have been in the hospital for a long-term stay expect a huge bill.

First, you have to break it down. What Date of Service (DOS) was billed and what was paid and what wasn’t paid and why – line by line.?

Let’s break it down. When you are admitted to the hospital for a scheduled surgery there is a facility fee. The doctors which are treating you have their fees. When tests are performed such as x-ray, MRI’s, lab, or any medication there are fees for these.

While in surgery there is an assistant surgeon and last but not least the Anthologist.  These are all the normal fees but of course, there could be other fees for your special needs.

Wow! these fees add up and your bill could be at least 30 pages long. When you have medical insurance your insurance company is billed. The insurance company whatever it is will usually pay 80% of the allowable. The allowable is determined from the contract your medical provider (the hospital) has with your insurance company. This is written off in a contractual agreement. It can be a different amount for different insurance plans. After the insurance has paid you are billed the balance of the bill if you do not have a 2nd insurance to apply it to.

If you have 10 bills from different Medical Providers this can get confusing and expensive.

Medical Bills are billed from the Date of Service (DOS) you were seen by a Medical Provider or in patient in a Hospital, etc.

There are all kinds of problems that can crop up which your medical insurance company will bring to your attention. This is where medical appeals come in.

Also, you must have some kind of understanding of how your insurance company works if you want to protect yourself and your family.

Now with people entering hospitals and are there for long or longer stays the medical bills are going to be astronomical.

Now you have to look at every Explanation of Benefits (EOB) line by line.

You have to make sure everything was billed from each individual medical provider. 

This is going to be complicated.

My book Medicare and Other Health Insurances will help you understand what the next step will be needed to get your bills paid.

Thank you for reading my article. Please feel free to read any of my numerous articles on various subjects.

Linda Meckler copyright 2009 updated 2021

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Holding Public Office President Biden

Holding Public Office

I would not want to be the President of the United States. There is so much chaos going on in the world and in the United States. Every time a discussion or decision has to be made on some huge problem there are too many ideas to solve that particular problem.

How does anything get done?

Look at Afghanistan President Biden decided to pull the troops out of that country and look what happened. All hell broke loose.

Who is right and who is wrong?

If you listen to this news station the president is right.

If you listen to another news station the president is wrong.

The buck stops with the president and I would not want to be in his shoes at this time In history.

The world is complicated and it gets more complicated each day. I hope the people, our elected officials, can stop bickering like toddlers and help the president make the correct decisions to keep our great country great.

Thank you for reading my article.

Linda Meckler

Copyright 2021

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Medicare and Other Health Insurances

Over the years I have had to choose the best Medicare Plan for me.

I did, but I found that the plan that I thought was for me has changed and changed drastically this past year.

I have an HMO this means I have a Medical Group and the Medical Group runs my medical show.

I’ve had to use my medical insurance much more than I have in other years and I found that my Medicare HMO has changed without my knowing it.

Maybe, this happened to you. You were using your HMO or PPO and were happy with it and then it changed without any warning.

Now medical things are starting to cost money. Copays are getting higher and now are being attached to medical things you didn’t have to pay before.

On November 15 of this year, you can start changing your Medicare plan. Make sure when you pick out the plan for you, you know what the hidden charges are.

Does it cover my prescriptions?

What copays do I have to pay?

How much are the copays?

Get the picture.

Good luck with choosing your Medicare plan.

Thank you for reading my article.

Copyright Linda Meckler

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Linda Meckler’s Books

Four books in the Christy and Brad Adventure Series from ages 8 to adult

*Ghost Kids Trilogy

*Bear Thriller

*Shoot Out In Niagara Falls

The Horse Ranch Mystery

Fiction

*A Basketball Adventure

The Invitation

Adult Fiction

The Shoe Murder and Mystery Series

*The Bloody Knife

*The Bloody Mafia

*The Bloody Violin

Adult Fiction

*The Reluctant Royal

Science Fiction

Space Station Mars

Out of Hell

Non-Fiction

*Fight Your Medical Insurance Nightmares!! Let me how you how.

Appeal and Collection Letters for Medical Providers

Photos of San Diego

An autobiography Outline

Outline for Special Needs Children

Outline for parents of special needs children

Relationships

Questions for Lovers

People Make Relationships

Make Over Your Self-Confidence

Food Wars

Non-Fiction

*Writers How to Publish Free

*Editing Fiction Mistakes

TTY Communication Book

Sleep Apnea and Sleep Study with CPAP Machine

Thank you for reading my books. They are all available at www.amazon.com

They are all e-books but the one with a star in front of the book title is a paperback book.

My website is www.lindameckler-author-artist.com

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Social Security, Disability, and Unemployment

Social Security Disability SSI and Unemployment

When you received SSI payments every month it means you have some sort of disability either physical or mental.

If you are one of the lucky few who can maintain some sort of employment part time, you must submit your original pay stubs to the SSI office. This way the amount of money you receive monthly is correctly calibrated.

These check stubs must be turned in each month either in person at the Social Security Office or through the mail. Always keep a copy of your check stubs. Paperwork can always get misplaced.

The easiest and safest way to receive your SSI checks is in your checking or savings account. This way you do not have to worry about your check being lost or stolen.

If you do not turn in your pay stubs you are probably have an SSI overpayment. This means in simple terms you are in deep trouble. SSI wants their money back. They will start recouping their money every month. They will come up with an amount which will be removed before you receive your money. Or you may lose your SSI altogether.

If by some slim chance you are receiving unemployment while you are receiving SSI you must report your earnings to the unemployment office. This is done by including the amount of money earned on the unemployment form you feel out when you receive your checks. Then let us take it one step further. You must give SSI a copy of every unemployment check stub.

The SSI money comes from one government plan and the unemployment money comes from another plan. If you think that it is government money and your income will be automatically adjusted by the computer, you are mistaken.

When your unemployment has ended you must supply the SSI or Social Security office with the copy of the unemployment. Then and only then can your account be adjusted properly.

Over payments are easy to do. Be smart. If you are receiving SSI monthly payments make sure you make sure it is reported to SSI.

You can fill out a waiver form so you can appeal your claim. When you are on SSI you must be able to be able to receive enough money to survive. Meaning home and food.

Thank you for reading my article. Please feel free to read any of my numerous articles on various subjects.

Copyright  Linda E. Meckler updated 2021

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Relucant Royality

My newest book. A murder mystery. I’ve been watching on television like everyone else what changes are going on in England. From the passing of Queen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Phillip and this astounding completely fictional story took root in my brain. It takes place in a fictional country and the language spoken is German and English. Jennifer the owner of Jennifer’s Real Estate was working in her home office and waiting for her seven-year-old daughter Carol to come home from school. One knock on the door her friend and neighbor Emily. The second knock on the door has her going rigid and fainting on the living room floor. Life has changed for Jennifer. She has new challenges and can she take a country out of the dark ages into the 21st century. It is really an intriguing murder mystery.

Thank you for reading my book.

Copyright Linda Meckler 2021

www.lindameckler-author.artist.com

My newest book. I’ve been watching on television like everyone else what changes are going on in England. From the passing of Queen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Phillip and this astounding completely fictional story took root in my brain. It takes place in a fictional country and the language spoken is German and English. Jennifer the owner of Jennifer’s Real Estate was working in her home office and waiting for her seven-year-old daughter Carol to come home from school. One knock on the door her friend and neighbor Emily. The second knock on the door has her going rigid and fainting on the living room floor. Life has changed for Jennifer. She has new challenges and can she take a country out of the dark ages into the 21st century. It is really an intriguing murder mystery.

Thank you for reading my book.

Copyright Linda Meckler 2021

www.lindameckler-author.artist.com