Previous columns have described how to reduce the number of medical billing errors you are subjected to, and how to address some of the ones that still occur. Today, I describe multiple errors in one situation, drawn from personal experience, to highlight more ways in which medical billing is error-prone.

We got a call from a supplier of durable medical equipment:  they were no longer an in-network provider for our insurance company, but they would arrange for another company that was still in our network to bring replacement equipment before they took theirs away. 

We asked how they would ensure that we didn’t run into any problems, such as being double-billed for any reason.  They assured us that this change would make no difference to us at all in charges or in the equipment’s functioning.

They were very prompt; new equipment was dropped off and old equipment picked up within half an hour of their first call to us.  We got one driver to sign a document saying that he had picked up the old equipment.  We also kept the delivery ticket for the new equipment from the other driver.

Two months later, I was perplexed to receive a bill for a rental period I was certain I’d already paid for.  In checking my records, I found that I had in fact already paid  – twice!   The old company and the new company had both charged for the same full month’s rental.  I hadn’t noticed the double charge earlier, because the bills were sent from two different companies, and I had failed to scrutinize the rental periods.

Further, despite the fact that I’d paid them both many weeks earlier, they hadn’t credited my payments.  An additional error surfaced when I checked the dates on the delivery and pick-up tickets. The new company had started charging for its equipment a full three weeks before delivering it. 

Eventually, I figured out that the new company and the old company were both subsidiaries of a third company (whose name appeared as the biller in some cases, further muddying the waters).

I called the parent company and laid out all of the data.  The agent promised to investigate.  When I got the next bill, all the errors had been corrected.

In short, it’s essential to keep all the documentation for equipment deliveries and pick-ups, in addition to paperwork proving that bills were paid, to help resolve any billing errors that might arise in the change from one equipment supplier to another.

Next week’s column will offer another type of example of medical billing problems, and conclude with some overall comments about how to defend yourself from these pesky – and potentially very expensive – mistakes in your medical bills.