By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Medical Billing: A Paper Blizzard Not Addressed by EHR
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > Medical Billing: A Paper Blizzard Not Addressed by EHR
BusinessFinanceHospital AdministrationMedical Records

Medical Billing: A Paper Blizzard Not Addressed by EHR

Bill Crounse
Bill Crounse
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

Everything we read suggests the day is nearing when all hospitals and doctors will use computers instead of paper to create, store, and share medical billingour medi

Everything we read suggests the day is nearing when all hospitals and doctors will use computers instead of paper to create, store, and share medical billingour medical records. It is something that is long overdue. But despite the progress being made to eliminate paper in hospitals and clinics, there remains an insidious blizzard of paper in the health industry that seems to be only getting worse–medical billing.

Frankly, I’d rather sit down and do my tax return than try to manage the paper trail involved with explanation of benefits and medical bills.  Lately, my wife and I have been trying to help our elderly parents deal with Medicare and secondary insurance carriers following their hospitalizations or illnesses. What a nightmare! Both my wife and I have worked in healthcare, so we know our way around medical terminology and billing codes. But pity the poor civilian who even tries to understand how much they owe and to whom after a hospitalization or major illness. Pity them even more if they are elderly, disabled or slightly demented.

The past few weeks there has been a lot of press about the federal government releasing a “rate card” that details the full price hospitals charge before insurance companies apply discounts for the most common medical services and procedures. No surprise, those prices vary widely. Prices are literally are all over the place. Much is being made of the release of the rate card and the impact it could have on price transparency in healthcare. Pundits say consumers might use this information to shop around.

More Read

Costs Associated with Spinal Disorders and Treatment
Readmissions and Consumer Engagement
Readmissions: Hard to Predict Who it Will Be and Why
Protecting Workers Against Violence is Worth the Cost
End of Life Wishes Simplified with Patient / Physician Agreement

hospital administrationLet me tell you, price transparency is only the tip of the iceberg and probably a minor issue compared to the most predominant source of consumer stress. In this day of electronic billing, why in the world does it take months, and yes sometimes years, for a person to know how much they owe and to whom after electronic medical recordsspending time in a hospital or after having a medical procedure? Not only are the explanation of benefits forms and medical bills inconsistent in how much detail they do, or don’t reveal; the information is mailed to the patient’s home over such a protracted period of time and in such volume that it truly is a paper blizzard. There is no way the average consumer can make heads or tails out of  this. Our elderly parents often just give up and pay for things that are already covered by Medicare or their insurance. Worse yes, they become so confused about what they owe that they neglect to pay bills entirely, and then have to deal with nasty letters and phone calls from collection agencies.

I firmly believe this problem is only going to get worse, and not just for elderly people on Medicare. As more and more employers shift healthcare costs to employees through complicated, high-deductible insurance plans or health savings accounts, nearly every family will increasingly face this potential paper tsunami of healthcare billing. I know for a fact that government and private industry can do a better job. My current employer, Microsoft, has worked closely with our health plan administrator, Premera Blue Cross, and community providers and partners to deliver a fairly seamless, on-line, paper-free way for employees to manage our health savings account, deductibles, and co-pays.  

Surely all government and private insurance plans and others involved in coordinating health benefits and medical billing could do a better job. The current system is costing all of us a fortune. It is absolutely a disgrace that we expect the elderly to endure this onslaught from medical billing, especially at a time when they are already feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable. Why can’t government, insurers, hospitals and clinics, labs, imaging centers, rehab facilities and everyone else involved in delivering care around the country, sort all this out and present the patient with a single, comprehensible account of what they own and to whom within a reasonable period of time ? It is intolerable in this age of “high tech” and electronic records that people are having medical bills still rolling in a year or more after medical services have been performed—intolerable not only for the patient, but for the health industry as a whole.

TAGGED:clinicselderlyElectronic Recordsemployershealth savings accounthigh deductible planshospitalsinsurancemedicalmedical billingMedicareprice transparencystresstechnology
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025
AI in Healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Technology is Transforming the Global Landscape
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
October 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Swimwear for Health and Safety
News
September 30, 2025
sports concussions
Concussion In Sports: How Common They Are And What You Need To Know
Infographics
September 28, 2025

You Might also Like

EHR implementation race
eHealthHealth ReformMedical RecordsPolicy & Law

Small, Solo-Provider Practices Lag in EHR Adoption

May 24, 2013

Box Challenges Developers to Build Apps for Patient Education

October 3, 2013
health data security issues
BusinesseHealthHospital AdministrationMedical RecordsPolicy & LawTechnology

How to Secure Data in Healthcare

October 23, 2014

A Victory for Coverage with Evidence Development

September 8, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?