Chances are you’re paying closer attention to your credit card statements, cell phone bills, and mortgage payment due dates than you used to. And if you or a family member is scheduled for surgery, you’ll want to take some time to make sure the resulting hospital bill is correct.

Doing so could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Verifying the following charges and details is a good place to start.

• Duplicate billing. Check to be sure you haven’t been charged twice for the same medication, service, lab test, or medical supplies.
• Number of days in the hospital. Check that the dates of admission and discharge are correct. Under most plans, you should not be charged for the discharge day.
• Incorrect room charges. Make sure you were not charged for a private room if you were in a semi-private room.
• Operating room time. Operating room rates vary from as little as $1,000 to more than $4,000 per hour. Your anesthesia bill should state when your surgery began and ended. Compare the time the hospital billed you for with the anesthesiologist’s record.
• Upcoding. This refers to the practice of shifting a charge for a lower-cost service or medication to a more costly one, or inflating a patient’s diagnostic code to a more serious condition that requires more costly procedures.

  Here’s an example: A doctor orders a generic drug for a patient, but the hospital lists a charge for a more expensive brand-name medication.

  For help in checking codes, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd9.htm.

• Keystroke error. A data entry operator could accidentally hit the wrong key on the keyboard.

  For example, instead of charging a patient for one chemotherapy treatment at $2,000, a keystroke error could result in the patient being charged for 10 treatments —an $18,000 error.

• Canceled service. Your physician may have ordered an expensive test and then canceled it, but you were charged anyway. Keeping a log of services, lab tests, and the like can help you spot this type of error.
• Incorrect orders for medication, lab work, tests, or room fees. If your bill shows you were charged for several identical lab fees on one day, ask that this be verified.

Making It Right
If you find errors, contact your doctor, the hospital, and your health insurance company. Every hospital should have a patient ombudsman to walk you through your complaint and resolution.

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