Attention

I bring this up in an insurance publication because that’s my theory on what many insurance carriers and hospitals do as well. My wife is a carrier for the BRCA1 mutation, and underwent a double mastectomy and reconstruction. For seven consecutive bills, under three different insurance carriers, we’ve found a “mistake” that was easily cleared up. Seven.

Sometimes the procedure was misclassified. Sometimes something was added to the bill that never happened. Sometimes the coverage rates were wrong.

Our tradition has become checking the bill, calling the insurance company (or the hospital, depending on who made the error), waiting on hold, and getting it cleared up. Each bill should come with a Sudoku, so we have something to do while on hold.

If you are a consumer, I hope my little tale helps you carefully check your bill every time. After all – you might be charged for parking (when you didn’t park a car).