According to LBL Group, “80% of all medical bills contain errors”?  Strange, right? But it's true. 

How many of you have been to a hospital? We all go to hospitals and the only thing we await is to get good health. We are willing to pay the bill they sent us. Obviously, it is the physician's right to charge us, but the issue begins when this process of treatment becomes a so-called business or carelessness.

Starting from becoming a healthcare professional to treating a patient, healthcare providers from basic to high education are required to go through certain training. Yet, when it comes to billing for those treatments, a medical biller, who is responsible for preparing medical bills is only required to have a high school diploma or 1 year or less medical billing certification program. However, Some hospitals do prefer a medical biller with at least two years of associate's degree. Medical bill codes translate the documentation into standardized codes that let payers know things like a patient's diagnosis, and the medical necessity for treatments, services, procedures, or supplies the patient was given. 

The most common medical bill error is double billing. In other words, they bill you for two procedures, two of the same pill, and you only took one, according to the Healthcare Billing Industry Group. In December 2021, my father had a cardiac arrest. Before 911 even arrived, my father’s heart stopped. They tried for 15-20 minutes to save him and then he was taken to the hospital. After an hour, the doctor came and said, “I AM SORRY, HE DID NOT SURVIVE.” After a week, we received two medical bills. They totaled $6000. We paid both bills at once thinking we were free with medical bill debt but guess what, we received the same bill not once or twice but thrice. When we contacted the hospital, they listed the services they gave to my father in that one hour. After some negotiations, we ended up paying $1600 instead of $3000. We were informed by the Medical billing department that this additional amount was the fee for the doctor’s time. This type of charge clearly seems like robbing patients because if $1600 was for doctor’s time what other $6000 cover in treatment of 1 hour? 

It is very common to charge patients for more than the treatment they are given. Medical billing errors and overcharging are issues that many Americans face. According to Chest Physician,”41 percent of adults in the United States have either experienced a medical error in their own care.” Even some places charge for “NO TREATMENT”. 

It is unethical for the healthcare system to charge the public unnecessary amounts of money. This will leave the public with no choice but to not seek healthcare or keep paying for these unnecessary charges.

To identify billing code errors, be attentive in reviewing medical bills. Start by contacting your doctor directly. Alternatively, seek assistance from a patient's financial advocate. Never ignore a medical bill as it may result in late fees and other complications. Failure to pay medical bills can negatively impact your credit score, lead to wage garnishment, and hinder your financial stability.

Should patients bear the burden of correcting the healthcare system's errors, whether they are genuine mistakes or intentional acts?

It is not the patient’s responsibility to spend hours on the phone for an error that is made by a professional hospital employee. It is the hospital billing department that is responsible for these medical bill errors. How come so many people are having issues with medical bill errors? Most people are not aware of their charges on medical bills. There is a misconception among certain individuals that receiving a hospital bill implies flawless service. Many just pay the bill and keeping this majority of people in mind, the healthcare system takes advantage in the name of error. Then these patients are held responsible for the healthcare system’s errors which can cause negative effects in their life other than losing money, it lowers their credibility.

Individuals who are in power within society and are tasked with operating the healthcare system need to run it with morals and ethics. As this is the behavior that defines true leadership itself. The healthcare system has no right to charge people unnecessarily. The healthcare system needs to mark this issue as important and take necessary responsibility and moral actions for it.