How to Manage Medical Bills

Medical bills are notoriously difficult to understand and can be even harder to pay. You'll have to keep track of appointments, paperwork, bills and insurance information in order to stay on top of your bills. There are a few ways to make it easier to manage them.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Calendar
• Folders
• Filing cabinet

Manage Medical Bills

1. Set up a filing cabinet or folder for all of your medical bill information. Try to organize your cabinet so that it's in chronological order, and keep the newest paperwork towards the front. You need to have your medical bills in one central location, so you know exactly where to look when you need them.

2. Create a special calendar to record your due dates. You can use an electronic or paper calendar, but be sure you set it up in a place where you'll see it often.

3. Put aside one day each month to focus entirely on paying your medical bills. Use your calendar to mark the date, and be sure to allocate 2 to 3 business days for mailing your bills.

4. Ask your bank whether it offers health-savings accounts. These accounts are similar to regular savings accounts, but they reduce the taxes and transaction fees on contributions and expenses, as long as you can prove the money was used to pay for health coverage.

5. Look into software to manage your medical bills. The ideal program will allow you to keep track of your finances and appointments, sending deadline reminders to your email address. Check your regular finance software to see whether it can help you with medical bills too.

6. Speak with a financial adviser to help manage your payments. Many firms that employ certified public accountants provide such services. Your adviser should also be able to help you analyze your insurance plan to be sure that it provides the most affordable coverage for your needs.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to break your medical records into time increments and have a separate folder for each month or quarter.
• Your insurance company will provide an Explanation of Benefits whenever it pays your doctor. Remember that this document is not a bill for you to pay.
• Some insurance companies and financial planners offer free consultations to help you plan for medical expenses.
• A financial professional will probably charge you an expensive hourly fee that might be out of your budget, especially if you are already deep in medical bills.

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on 4/28/2008 I have used a software program call Medical Bills Plus to help me manage my bills - http://www.mbplus.cc.