How are transplant services billed?
The medical bills can be overwhelming, and are the last thing parents want to deal with when their child is ill. It is important to keep bills organized from the beginning. It is your job to make sure the hospital has current insurance information, so the bills are paid promptly. Be familiar with your insurance coverage and check every Explanation of Benefits (EOB) for accuracy. If you find problems, call your insurance representative immediately to have the inaccuracy corrected. Billing systems vary, so make sure you understand the hospital’s system and the payment policy because you are the person ultimately responsible for payment.
Why do we get so many bills?
About a month after your child has been a patient at Johns Hopkins, you will begin to receive medical bills, and will continue to receive bills from the hospital each time your child is admitted. These bills will come from three places:
- The Hospital: The hospital bills for the room, all supplies used and tests performed while your child is an inpatient.
- The Johns Hopkins University Physicians Service: Bills for the doctors on the medical school staff are sent through the Physicians Service.
- The Outpatient Clinic: Visits will be billed on a regular basis from the outpatient department.
Each bill will have a contact number to call and discuss any questions. There is also a billing coordinator available at (410) 955-8288 to discuss all three bills.
How can I stay organized?
It may seem like an overwhelming task keeping your information organized. Each bill has many important parts: the primary bill showing the total amount; the secondary bill showing what your insurance has or has not paid; insurance confirmation notices of payment or nonpayment (Explanation of Benefits); the final bill which you are responsible for.
To help yourself organize this information, it is best to keep everything in a notebook and reduce the frustration of searching through miscellaneous scraps of paper. Notebooks with pockets arranged by month may be handy for filing your medical expense receipts. Also, you may want to keep extra forms and insurance documents in a pocket. Whether you use multiple folders or a flexible expanding file, organize your receipts so that you can easily find them when you are speaking with your insurance company or financial counselor.
