Emergency Dental Care USA Creates Guide to Make it Easier to Review an Explanation of Benefits

Omaha, NE (PRWEB) October 26, 2012

Reading an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) form sent by a health insurance company doesn't have to be a confusing process. By learning the main parts of an EOB and where the vital information is listed, most patients will be able to understand the form.

"Patients very frequently do not understand how to follow the details of an EOB," said Michael Obeng, DDS, of Emergency Dental Care USA. "But once we sit down and guide them through all the columns of information, they understand the process much better."

In recognition of Health Literacy Month in October, Dr. Obeng and the Emergency Dental Care USA staff have created a six-page guide that will make it easier to review an EOB. The guide breaks down the EOB into six main parts, and highlights the most important information to review in the document.

An Explanation of Benefits form is a summary sent by a health insurance company every time a patient receives treatment from a medical professional, Obeng said. It outlines the dates and types of treatment received, and the costs the insurance company will pay.

"An EOB is not your bill," Obeng explained. "It's just a statement that gives details about what you can expect your insurance company to pay for your treatment, and what your portion of the payment will be."

It's important for patients to review their EOBs and check them for accuracy. The 2011 National Health Insurer Report Card, complied by the American Medical Association, found that on average, 19.3% of all EOBs contain errors.

Accuracy rates among the top seven health insurers ranged from 90.23% for United HealthCare, to 61.05% for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.

"There's as much as a 40 percent chance that your EOB has errors," Obeng pointed out. "That's why you need to look at these documents and make sure everything is correct."

Patients should keep their EOBs on file until they have received all their medical bills relating to a treatment or procedure. Then they should make sure the service codes, dates and billing amounts on the documents are the same, Obeng said.

In addition to highlighting the important parts of an EOB, the guide also gives information about:
-- How to seek help with your medical bills.
-- Why you should appeal an insurance company's refusal to pay for a claim or cost.
-- Types of errors to watch for when you're reviewing EOBs and bills.
-- Resources for more information and assistance.
-- Examples of humorous billing errors.

The guide can be downloaded and saved in PDF format for printing and/or future reference. It is available on the Emergency Dental Care USA website:

http://www.emergencydental.com/resources/how-to-read-an-eob/

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/10/prweb10059172.htm