Read a medical bill and find what's wrong with it

The bill that comes in the mail may only show totals. The government's medical bill rights pages, from CMS, say to ask the provider's billing department for the cost of each item or service you're billed for.

If you have insurance, your insurer also sends an explanation of benefits for each visit, by mail or in its app or website. It shows what the insurer paid and what your share may be. It isn't a bill.

1. Find the billing office's phone number on the bill.
2. Call and ask for an itemized bill, with the code for each charge. Write down who you spoke to and the date. It may take a few days to arrive. Carry on when it does.
3. If you have insurance, find the explanation of benefits for the same visit, on paper or in your insurer's app or website.
4. Check the date, the provider's name and the amount you may owe match the bill. If they don't match, that's your first question for the billing office.

explanation of benefits The statement your insurer sends showing what it paid, what it didn't and what you may owe. It isn't a bill. All words×itemized bill A bill that lists every charge on its own line, with a code and a price. All words×

Claude needs the charges, not who the patient is. Before anything goes into the chat, hide the patient's name, date of birth, address, and every member or account number. Never put a Social Security number or a password into the chat.

A photo can catch more than the bill, like a letter underneath or a pill bottle on the table. Check the whole picture before you send it.

1. Lay each page of the bill flat on a clear table. Do the same with the explanation of benefits.
2. Cover the name, date of birth, address and every member or account number with strips of paper or sticky notes.
3. Take a photo of each page.
4. Look at each photo up close, and zoom in with two fingers. If anything personal shows, cover it and take the photo again.

This prompt has Claude go through the bill line by line in plain words, using only what's on the paper, and turn the charges worth asking about into questions for the billing office. Claude can be wrong about the rules, and it can't see your medical records. Treat what it picks out as questions to ask.

1. Open the Claude app on your phone or laptop and start a new chat.
2. Copy the prompt below.

I'm going to give you an itemized medical bill, and my insurer's explanation of benefits for the same visit if I have one. I've covered the patient's name, date of birth, address and account numbers. Go through the bill line by line, and for each charge say in plain words what it is. Use only what's on the paper. If you can't read something, or the paper doesn't say what a code means, write NOT IN THE PAPER. Don't guess. Then list the charges worth asking about, with the reason for each: the same charge twice, a charge you can't match to anything on the explanation of benefits, or a charge for something I tell you didn't happen. Don't say whether a price is fair, because you don't have price data. End with one short question per charge that I can ask the billing office, and one asking them to review the whole bill for errors. Don't give me legal or medical advice. Here it is: [attach the photos, or type the charges here]. Anything that didn't happen at the visit: [say what, or write NONE]

3. Paste it into the chat. At the end, say anything on the bill that didn't happen at the visit, or write NONE.
4. Attach your photos. In the phone app, tap the button next to the message box for adding photos, then pick your photos. On a laptop, click the + button in the lower-left corner of the message box, then Add files or photos. Or replace the part in square brackets with the charges, typed out.
5. Send it.
6. Write the questions on paper, or copy them into your phone's notes.

prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All words×Claude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All words×

The billing office can see the records behind the bill and fix its own mistakes. If the problem is with what your insurance paid, CMS says your insurer may be able to fix it with the provider. Nonprofit hospitals must have a financial assistance program, the IRS says.

1. Call the billing office with your questions in front of you.
2. Ask each question, then ask them to review the whole bill for errors.
3. Ask whether the hospital has a financial assistance program, sometimes called charity care, and how to apply.
4. Write down who you spoke to, the date, and what they said about each charge.
5. If a question is about what insurance paid, call the number on your insurance card and ask it there.

A letter puts your request in writing. Only include charges the billing office couldn't explain, or that you still think are wrong after the call.

1. Copy the prompt below.

Draft a short, polite letter to the billing office asking them to review these charges: [the charges you still have questions about]. Use only what's on the bill and what I've told you in this chat. Put FILL IN where my name, my account number, the date of the visit and the billing office's address go. I'll fill those in myself. Don't mention any law or rule. Keep it under 200 words.

2. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the part in square brackets with the charges you still have questions about.
3. Send it.
4. Copy the letter out of the chat, then fill in each FILL IN yourself.
5. Send it to the billing office, and keep a copy with the date you sent it.