This post has been shared by the AdvoConnection Blog. It was written with a patient-client audience in mind, but might be useful to you, too.
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Link to the original full length post.
This COVID – Coronavirus Side Effect Could Destroy Your Financial Security
Of course, we usually think of side effects as issues that affect our health, like the result of taking a certain drug (just listen to those TV commercials and their disclaimers!) or the result of lifting a heavy box which causes us to strain our backs…. Today’s topic is focused on another side effect from COVID-19 (coronavirus) treatment, but not one that affects our bodies… Instead, this one can have a horribly negative impact on our wallets. (Of course, there’s a definite case to be made that anything that has that bad an effect on our financial security will have a negative effect on our mental health, too.) The good news is that we are learning is that this side effect may be completely avoidable! It is, at least, partially controllable. In fact, there are very specific, easy, no cost ways to avoid or control it. So – if you want to maintain your financial security, pay attention! The side effects I’m focused on today are the post-virus medical bills that come to you if you must be hospitalized, and especially if you have to be transported to the hospital by EMTs or ambulance. We’ve heard nightmare stories about bills for tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars arriving shortly after a COVID-19 hospitalization. As if it’s not difficult enough to recover, right? (And frankly, I would not be surprised to hear that someone preferred to die over having to manage them.) The length of stay, the sheer numbers of professionals involved in care, the equipment used, and many more factors lead to higher and higher bills. You might survive the virus only to end up losing every penny you have. Scary thought. A couple of alternatives: If you have been hospitalized and have received unaffordable, sky-high medical bills: Don’t even think about trying to manage them on your own. It’s simply not possible! You must call in a professional – a medical billing patient advocate who knows how to find the charges that shouldn’t be there, and negotiate (even force foregiveness) for the rest. You can find the perfect person here: www.AdvoConnection.com The AdvoConnection Directory lists hundreds of people who can help. (And – by the way – don’t worry about whether they are located near you. Medical billing problems do not require proximity.) To completely avoid those unaffordable, sky-high medical bills: Follow the guidelines for keeping yourself healthy! …