Holding down the tab
Even if you are lucky enough to have good insurance coverage, chronic or serious illness can impose serious financial pain. Here are some tips to help manage the bills.
Review your insurance contract. You need to know the procedures, treatments, and facilities covered.
Cut drug costs. If a doctor wants to prescribe a medication that isn't in the insurer's list of approved drugs, or formulary, get an explanation. Ask whether generics are available.
Keep good records. That includes notes on each phone contact with your insurance company.
Ask the insurer to assign a case manager. Often a nurse, this person can preauthorize treatment and cut down on hassle, which can be considerable for a chronic or catastrophic illness. If you can't get a case manager but happen on a helpful insurance representative, ask for a full name and extension to use whenever you call.
Enlist your doctor, employer, or hospital social worker as an advocate. The muscle or insight might help, says Diane Blum, executive director of CancerCare, an information and support group.
Tap state regulators. Complain to the state insurance department ( www.naic.org/state_contacts/sid_websites.htm ) if you think you have reason. -Katherine Hobson
This story appears in the November 8, 2004 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.