THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 PROJECT | FROM Page 1 How to Reduce Your Medical Bills Dear Savvy Senior, What tips do you recommend to Medicare benefi ciaries dealing with hefty medical bills? My husband recently had open heart surgery and is recovering slowly, but the medical bills are coming in fast and furious and they’re putting us in medical debt. Struggling in Springfi eld Dear Struggling, I’m sorry to hear about your billing struggles, but medical debt has unfortunately become a chronic problem in this country. According to U.S. Census data 19 percent of Americans households carry medical debt, including 10 percent of households headed by someone 65 or older. Even seniors on Medicare can easily get snagged in a web of complicated billing and coverage problems. To help you slash your medical bills, here are some tips recommended by health care experts that you should try. Double check your bills: Almost half of all medical bills contain at least one error, including duplicate charges or charges for services you never received. If you’re facing a high bill and are on the hook for some portion of it, request itemized invoices from the hospital and other providers that detail everything you were charged for and go through them line by line. If you fi nd something you don’t understand or fi nd fi shy contact the provider for an explanation or a correction. Wait for your EOB: Doctors’ offi ces and hospitals may mail initial bills to you before they even submit them to your health insurer. So, hold off on any payment until you receive an explanation of benefi ts (EOB) from your provider – Medicare, supplemental Medicare, Medicare Advantage, or private insurer. This will show what you owe after your insurance has paid its portion. If your EOB shows that your insurer is refusing to pay for services that you think should be covered, call them to see whether it’s a correctable mistake, such as a coding error for a certain test or treatment. If it’s truly a denial of coverage, you may need to fi le an appeal. For details on how to fi le a Medicare appeal, see Medicare.gov/ claims-appeals/how-do-i-filean-appeal. Ask for a discount: Call the hospital’s accounting offi ce or the billing staff at your doctor’s practice and ask if they can reduce your bill. You’d be surprised how often this works. Or if you have the funds to pay the entire bill, ask the hospital or provider for a “prompt pay” discount which may save you 15 percent or more. If it’s best for you to pay your bills over time, ask the billing offi ce to set up a no-interest payment plan for you. It’s in the provider’s interest to work with you to obtain payment. You can also call the hospital where your husband had his surgery and ask a billing specialist if the facility off ers financial assistance. According to the American Hospital Association, about half of U.S. hospitals are nonprofit. This means they are required to offer free or discounted services in some instances. This is usually reserved for low to moderate income patients who have limited or no health insurance, but requirements vary from hospital to hospital. Get help: If you’ve gotten nowhere on your own, contact the Patient Advocate Foundation (patientadvocate.org, 800532-5274) who can help you understand and negotiate your medical bills, free of charge. Or consider hiring a medical billing professional to negotiate for you but be aware that these services can cost upward of $100 an hour. You can fi nd potential candidates through the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates (advoconnection. com). Be sure to choose someone who is credentialed by the Patient Advocate Certifi cation Board. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. edged that Revere needs and wants a new high school, but they felt that it was important to hear from Revere CFO Richard Viscay on if and how the city can pay for it. As Councillor-at-Large Dan Rizzo put it, “We’re not doing anyone any favors if we put the city into receivership for a new school.” Kelly did not mention any numbers in her update, nor did she explain that councillors were troubled by the project’s budget, which has increased by $120 million over the design phase. She did tell committee members that the Ways and Means Subcommittee would not meet until after the New Year. “That means we will be missing the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s December deadline,” said Kelly. “What we were hoping to submit to the MSBA this month won’t be submitted until April. We won’t have a funding agreement with the MSBA until June, so it pushes the timeline out. Kelly said the building committee was left with two choices. “Do we just let the timeline lapse, which means we will be WIN | FROM Page 12 after the tough loss [against Everett] and we got contributions from across the roster.” In the loss to the Tide, the Patriots battled back from a 13-point defi cit entering the fi - nal quarter. Once again, it was the defense that rose to the occasion by holding Everett to just seven points in the fourth quarter. At the same time, host Revere came alive with 20 points in the fourth to force the contest to an OT period at 57-all. The Tide would outscore Revere 6-3 in the extra session to come away with the 63-60 victory. Senior captain Vincent Nichols led the Patriots with 17 points and nine rebounds, followed by Hincapie with 12 points and fi ve assists, and Boudreau with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Revere played the Kennedy Academy of Health on Thursday (after press deadline) and resumes action when it participates in the David Green Memorial Holiday tourney at Winthrop on Dec. 28-29. Page 21 fi nished with the project a year later, which will have some impact on fi nancing, or do we push through and try to keep the project running with some money from the city?” Kelly asked. Kelly said the building committee can move forward with the project designer and builder, with the Mayor’s Offi ce to clarify the funding and go back to the City Council with specifi c information. “We’re working on it,” said Kelly. “It defi nitely felt like a setback. This was a hurdle we didn’t anticipate but we’ll overcome it.” “We’re a resilient group, our kids are resilient, our city is resilient. No matter what, this is going to be a fantastic school, something we can all be proud of, something our kids will thank us for and something even the City Council will be proud of, onward,” said Kelly. - LEGAL NOTICE - D To all interested persons: A petition for of and of requesting that the Court enter a formal Decree and Order and for such other relief as requested in the Petition. The Petitioner requests that: of and of be appointed as Personal Representative(s) of said estate to serve on the bond in
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