How to File Medical Insurance Claims from Over Seas

Brian was working on finances and medical insurance claims came up because of some of the obscure deposits I hadn't accounted for yet. "How does this match to that?" was the general question...so I told him how I file our medical claims these last four years.

1. First you review all your medical receipts and add your own hand written notes about what things were for and why you saw a doctor and try your best to make their illegible chicken scratches on the junkie receipt understandable. Sometimes you have to write the ENTIRE receipt in besides the final cost and the name of the clinic because that's all they bothered to put on the paper. Oh yeah, and make sure it's all in English please.
2. Then you scan everything into the computer.
3. Email the receipt, a claim form and a bank deposit slip to your claim address and be grateful you no longer have to make photocopies of everything to use snail mail.
4. Congrats! You just filed the claim. But....it's still in a foreign currency.
5. Now the company will input your claim into their magic computers. They line item everything.
6. They convert to USD and DON"T show what it used to be in foreign currency - you must do that yourself for every single item.
7. Then they pay some parts of the claim straight away and deny others and ask for still more information on on others.
8. Next they process three different claims for three different people in the family. They choose to pay some of those line items for each individual - but not all.
9. The company then issues an explanation of benefits and mail it to us.
10. Three to six weeks later we receive the paper form in the mail telling me what was paid and what I need to respond with more information - within 30 days of course. So I'm already late.
11. While you were waiting for the explanation of benefits to see which things you must fight they issue a check for three random, unrelated medical expenses within those claims. You know, like child #1 cavity filling but not the doctor consultation, #3 child doctor consultation but not burning off the wart and #4 child pediatric MMR immunization but not chicken pox because it goes by a different name in your country of residence so they missed that they should have covered it in full.
12. The check is magically sent to your US bank and deposited. Thank the Lord again they don't send you paper checks overseas to wait 2-6 weeks to arrive and 2-4 weeks to go back to the USA for deposit.
13. Now you see on your bank statement a wild number of smallish deposits. You realize that not a single one of those checks has any information about what was paid for with those funds. Now the REAL fun begins.
14. Take each line itemed expense and try to match it to your original receipts in a foreign currency. It pays to be good at currency conversion in your head.
15. Realize you'll never figure it out anyway.
16. Go eat a cookie or two before your driver comes to pick you up to go pick up the kids from school.

And that folks is why I just gave up trying to get it figured perfectly. It's impossible. As long as they approved the expense, I just say a prayer the money ends up in my bank account. Rotten way to do it but it's where I'm at these days with insurance. And for the record, my sweet husband did not tell me I needed to change and do better. I think he is happy to hear I try at all.

 

Mostly I just thank the Lord we still have insurance!