SOS: Speaking of Seniors - Don’t Worry Baby

Recently, I met with some friends at a restaurant in Griffith, Indiana.

“Woody, my sister has a problem. Maybe you can help,” one of my friends said.

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

“She’s really worried. She’s supposed to deliver her baby in a few weeks but the hospital that she wants to use won’t take her insurance,” he told me.

“Are you sure about that?” I inquired.

“A big ad in the local newspaper said that the hospital and her insurance company couldn’t agree on a contract. She called her insurance company and they said that she is covered for a delivery at that hospital. But, she called the hospital and was told the same thing as in the ad – it has no agreement with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. She’s worried and stressed. Can you help her, Woody?” my friend asked.

“Does she have her insurance through her work or her husband’s work?”

“Yeah, it’s through her husband’s job.”

“Where does he work? I mean, what is the location where he works and in which town does she live?”

“Lansing (Illinois).”

“Lansing?”

“Yeah. Does that make a difference?”

“Yes,” I told my friend. “The closest hospital is in Indiana. That hospital advertised that there was a problem with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. She lives in Illinois. She probably has insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. She probably has no reason to worry. The two companies are separate business entities that are licensed to use the Blue Cross Blue Shield trademark. I’ll bet this is a case of your sister not knowing the correct questions to ask. She should call her insurance company and the hospital to ask about this possible mix up. If I am correct and she is covered, her worry and stress will go away. Then she and the baby won’t worry,” I explained to my friend.

Two days later, my friend phoned me to tell me that I was absolutely correct. It was just a mix up. His sister did have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and was covered for a delivery at the closest hospital to her which was in Indiana. He told me that his sister felt much better now. He thanked me profusely. I was glad to help.

Don’t feel bad if you were unaware of this. Experienced medical billers in Illinois and Medicare get the two “Blue Cross Blue Shield” companies mixed up in medical billing quite a bit. I work on correcting such medical billing errors often for the senior citizen clients of the insurance agency where I work. It is just one of the many problems that I work to solve to save our clients money – lots of money.

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Woodrow Wilcox is the senior medical bill problem solver at Senior Care Insurance Services in Merrillville, Indiana. That is the largest senior citizen oriented insurance agency in the Midwest. For over six years, Woodrow Wilcox has helped senior citizens with medical bill problems with Medicare and VA clinics. He has saved senior citizens over $1 million in wrongful charges. For more health care articles by Wilcox, visit www.medicareproblems.net or www.woodrowwilcox.com. © 2013 Woodrow Wilcox. Re-published here with the permission of the author.

Woodrow Wilcox

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