Medical Billing - SICKO. Uninsured and Counting...

I found an interesting article yesterday at www.billadvocates.com. It gave more information about our current health care status, the costs, and what groups like MBAA are doing to help stay part of the solution of this national crisis. They are continuously fighting to keep healthcare costs down, for CONSUMERS, small businesses and healthcare providers alike.

In November of 2005, LexisNexis announced that it would launch advanced information and data access technology in association with the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA), law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

Conceived as a public service for the healthcare industry, it was created in response to what the company calls a:

"$51 billion issue" and a "crime phenomenon."

The issue they're talking about is healthcare fraud, and it accounts for an estimated 3% of America's $1.7 trillion annual healthcare cost.

Guess who's paying for it?

That's right. You are.

"Health care spending in the U.S. is five times that of defense and three times that of eduction," the article says. "Health care insurers, Medicare and Medicaid, and consumers bear the cost of fraud, which represents an ever-growing burden in the form of increased premiums, taxes, co-pays and deductibles."

Of this $51 billion issue, upwards of $10 billion of it is likely coming from overcharges on medical bills like yours.

Today's complex medical billing system allows fraud and abuse to go undetected. Studies have shown that as many as 9 out of 10 medical bills from hospitals and providers contain errors. Their errors are compounded by the fact that insurance companies are not reimbursing correctly--they just pay the incorrect bills unquestioningly, but deny legitimate charges.

And people wonder why healthcare costs are skyrocketing?

With 61 medical billing advocates across the country, MBAA is fighting to keep healthcare costs down, for consumers, businesses and healthcare providers alike.

MBAA has also developed a self-help workbook, The Medical Bill Workbook, to help individuals counter out-of-control medical costs.

MBAA also provides CONSUMER cost awareness seminars to educate the public about insurance reimbursement and billing practices rampant in the medical profession today that are creating the massive rise in healthcare costs we've all seen first hand.

To learn what you can do as a MEDICAL BILLER, keep watch on a growing group called The Medical Billing Foundation. The members of this foundation are professional medical billers and THEY offer webinas, conference calls, and regional seminars to keep those working as medical billers remain on top of the latest industry changes and upcoming mandates in the industry. Visit www.MedicalBillingFoundation.com regularly as this is an ever-changing site filled with valuable resources. Be patient however, as this is a foundation LONG in the making.