Kill Your T.V.

by Jason Parker

So let's talk about all kinds of stuff this month. www.winmx.com Try it, you like it. You like it a lot. It's the next big file-sharing program and it kicks Kazaa's rear. Do you like this informal email style column? I hope so because that's the way it is going to be this month. Lol.

A few issues back I mentioned the scam that is pulled on many of those who undergo medical treatment. A while back my wife underwent some procedures that were supposed to be covered by her glorious insurance company. The key to stopping insurance companies and medical practices from screwing you is to SAVE EVERYTHING. Each week we get like 4 letters from the glorious insurance company saying that they are still reviewing some of the claims. This is normal given the state of medical billing vs. medical insurance these days.

At the same time, medical practices who are fully aware of how long the insurance process takes, send us bills for the procedures. This it to make you think that you have to pay it and that for some reason the glorious insurance company denied coverage. That way they get their money as soon as possible. But there if you save everything you will have a piece of paper that looks kind of like an itemized bill. On that statement called Explanation of Benefits, you'll see something that says either "Insurance Responsibility" or "Providers Responsibility".

Many times you'll notice that the "Providers Responsibility" looks like the same amount as your bill. This means that the medical practice realizes they goofed up by not doing some standard procedures. A lot of times what happens is that the medical practice forgot some key steps, like pre-certification of the procedure. Realizing they screwed up and that they have to eat the loss by law I might add, they make an attempt to get you to pay the bill. We've caught 3 such medical practices doing so, and when we made them aware that we had statements showing they screwed up, all of them said "Please disregard your bill, thanks and have a great day".

Just remember to SAVE EVERYTHING when it comes to medical insurance and bills and pay attention to every letter or statement you get. And don't be afraid to call the insurance customer service line. Thanks to people who run to the emergency room every time they get a cough you're paying ridiculous premiums for it anyway.