Need help with understanding the bill/insurance company responsibilities
Hello! I’m an international student and I’m absolutely new to the healthcare system in US. I was dumb enough to go to ER, thinking that my healthcare provider (UHC) covers 80% of the fees associated with my visit. Recently I got two insane bills: One bill has been processed and the insurance company paid only 380$ out of 6608$. I don’t see any options to pay on my profile and I just wonder what does it mean? Like, does it mean I have to pay the rest myself? Because frankly speaking I knew it won’t be cheap but based on my insurance brochure I thought that the emergency room visits are 80% covered after the co-pay (that what they say there: 80% after co-pay for medical emergency). Additionally, I looked into procedure codes and the prices for some of the procedures are way higher than the average in my area according to the FairHealth. Does it mean I should email the ER and negotiate the bill? Another bill I have received is for 10k which I can’t even see yet because it’s currently under the review but I don’t really understand what else can they charge me for because all the procedures were mentioned in that first bill I have received. However, my question is, if the bill is under review, does it mean that the insurance is still trying to decide which part of the bill they will cover?
Additionally, I have noticed other smaller claims which are not fully paid by my insurance (like 100$ but paid 15$) while I was insured that all these will be covered and it been a long time since these bills were added but I didn’t get any payment instructions. Why? If they only covered 15$ it means I should cover the rest but I can’t see any options to pay.
Overall, I would love any help with this because if I actually have to pay these crazy bills myself, I don’t think I can finish my last year of education and probably will have to go back home where I can work to pay all these bills off.
submitted by /u/miseryglittery
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