Medical billing, explained without the jargon
Everything we've learned reviewing medical bills: how to find errors, how to appeal a denial, how to read an EOB, and how to get a hospital bill reduced.
How to appeal a medical bill (step by step)
A practical, step-by-step process for appealing a denied claim or an incorrect medical bill: what to request, what to write, deadlines, and what happens next.
Read guideThe 9 most common medical billing errors
Duplicate charges, upcoding, unbundling, and six more errors that inflate hospital bills — with the exact signs to look for on your itemized statement.
Read guideEOB vs. medical bill: how to read both
What each column on your Explanation of Benefits means, how it maps to the hospital bill, and what to do when the two documents disagree.
Read guideHow to negotiate a hospital bill down
Charity care, prompt-pay discounts, and reference pricing: the three levers that actually reduce hospital bills, plus what to say on the phone.
Read guideSurprise bills and the No Surprises Act
When an out-of-network bill is illegal, what your cost sharing should be, and how to dispute a surprise bill under the No Surprises Act.
Read guideWhat happens if you don't pay medical bills
The real timeline of an unpaid medical bill — statements, collections, credit reporting rules, lawsuits, and the exact points where you can still stop it.
Read guideHow to dispute a medical bill in collections
A medical bill in collections can still be disputed, validated, reduced, or removed. The exact letters, deadlines, and rights that make collectors prove the debt.
Read guideCharity care: how to get hospital bills reduced or forgiven
Nonprofit hospitals must offer financial assistance — and many forgive bills entirely. Who qualifies, how to apply, and what to do if you're denied.
Read guideMedical bills and your credit report: what actually counts
Which medical debts can appear on a credit report, the rules that keep most of them off, and how to remove an entry that shouldn't be there.
Read guideOut-of-network medical bills: how to fight them
Why out-of-network charges are so high, when you're protected by law, and the exact arguments that get these bills reduced or reprocessed in-network.
Read guidePrior authorization denials: how to overturn them
Why prior authorization denials happen, how peer-to-peer review works, and the appeal structure that gets denials reversed — including expedited appeals.
Read guideHospital price transparency: how to find what a procedure really costs
Hospitals must publish their prices. Here's how to find the machine-readable file, read the cash and negotiated rates, and use them before and after a bill arrives.
Read guideHow to read an itemized hospital bill line by line
Decode revenue codes, CPT/HCPCS codes, units and modifiers on an itemized hospital bill, and learn which lines are most likely to be wrong.
Read guideHigh-deductible plans: how to control what you actually pay
With an HDHP you pay the negotiated rate until the deductible is met. Here's how to verify the rate you were charged, use your HSA correctly, and time care.
Read guideOntario medical bills: what OHIP doesn't cover
OHIP covers most hospital and physician care in Ontario, but not everything. Here's what you can legally be billed for, what you can't, and how to challenge a charge.
Read guideCanada vs. US medical billing: why the bills look so different
Why Americans get itemized CPT-coded bills and Canadians usually get none — plus what happens when a Canadian is treated in the US, or an American in Canada.
Read guideRather have it done for you?
Upload your bill and EOB. BillCheck explains every line, flags likely errors, and drafts the appeal letter for you.
Check your bill freeInformational tool — not legal, medical, or financial advice.