Wrongful Hospital Billing–Have You Been a Victim?

JACKSON, Mississippi. Hospital bills can be incredibly expensive. This is why some people refuse treatment if they believe there’s any chance they don’t need urgent medical care. Yet, some people who have refused treatment have found that hospitals are sending them bills anyway. In addition to hospital billing errors, erroneous bills are another problem that patients face when they suffer minor injuries. According to , some patients visited hospital ERs, they were triaged, but they never received treatment. Despite this, some of them still receive medical bills.

Patients might choose to leave an ER for many reasons. Sometimes patients learn that the doctors at the hospital are not in-network, so they need to go to another facility to receive in-network treatment. Other patients leave when they begin to feel better. In some cases, patients go to the ER to treat head injuries. Head injuries are notoriously difficult to diagnose. Patients could feel fine but the symptoms of traumatic brain injury may not always appear until hour or even days later. Sometimes a patient can feel fine and even have a deadly or life-threatening condition. It is often wise for patients to stay and receive treatment. That said, it can be difficult to rationalize paying high medical expenses especially if you’re feeling better.

But if you’ve suffered a head injury due to the actions of another person or party, it may be wise to receive treatment. Individuals can always seek damages later from negligent parties with the help of a brain injury lawyer, like The Bowling Law Firm in Jackson, Mississippi. A lawyer can also review your medical bills to determine whether there were any billing errors or erroneous charges. In some cases, medical bills are simply high. If you don’t have health insurance, you could face higher charges than someone who does have health insurance. For example, what Medicare pays for a certain procedure will be different than what a commercial health insurance will pay and this will be different than what an individual without health insurance will pay.

Another problem noted that patients were facing was denial of coverage of their ER visits. Some insurance companies reserve the right to deny an ER bill if it determines that the patient’s visit wasn’t an emergency. Unfortunately, this places the onus on the patient to essentially diagnose themselves. If you hit your head, it would be very difficult to know if your injury is serious or minor without seeing a doctor. What these policies essentially do is discourage individuals from seeking care.

Medical costs are expensive. Even if you have health insurance, there is no guarantee you’ll be covered. Victims of car accidents, bike accidents, or individuals hurt in a slip and fall may think they are saving themselves money by skipping the ER, but the consequences can be serious. If you’ve been in a car accident, you should seek medical care. The The Bowling Law Firm are injury lawyers in Jackson, Mississippi who can help you fight for a recovery to cover your medical bills.