GREENSBORO, N.C. — You go to the doctor for a visit, maybe you have a procedure and you get a bill in the mail. It's how the system works. This is why the consumer advocates say, don't pay that bill. Really.
"When you get a bill, something that looks like a bill, don't pay it, if you have insurance, do not pay it. Often they will send you a bill before it is submitted to your insurance company," said Lisa Gill of Consumer Reports.
If you pay the bill before it's submitted to insurance and you find out you didn't owe that much money, chances are the doctor's office will not issue you a refund. More often than not, they give you a credit to use toward the next visit, which leaves you without the cash in your pocket.
"It's showing you here's the total and now we're going to send it to the insurance company. Don't pay that. Wait. What you're waiting for is for your insurance company to send you the Explanation of Benefits which shows the amount they will pay and the amount you're on the hook for," said Gill.
The Explanation of Benefits, the EOB, could take a few weeks to come to you. You can get a jumpstart on knowing what's covered by going online. Your insurance company posts all your EOBs and claim statuses before they are mailed out.
WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER PUT MEDICAL BILLS ON A CREDIT CARD
When it comes to medical expenses, you may have heard that medical debt is not factored into your credit report and score. While that's true, if you use a credit card to pay your medical expenses, that protection is thrown out.
"Once something goes on your credit card, the type of debt it is, the purchase type is irrelevant to credit bureaus. The credit bureaus will not look and say, 'Oh it's a medical expense so we'll just ignore it or forgive it'. If it's on a credit card, that's not going to happen," said Caporal.
He said a medical emergency can become a financial emergency if you use your credit card for a medical expense. The best bet for medical expenses is to set up a payment plan with the doctor's office or hospital.