Elderly, Caregivers Struggle with “Horrendous” Amount of “Hieroglyphic” Medical Paperwork, Consumer Advocate Says

Elderly patients and their family caregivers face numerous difficulties "when it comes to coping with the horrendous amount of medical bills and forms associated with a loved one's illness," Charles Inlander, a consumer advocate and president of the Pennsylvania-based People's Medical Society, noted Sept. 6 in his weekly "Second Opinion" commentary on Public Radio International's "Marketplace." Describing his own experience in caring for his elderly mother, Inlander said, "In my mother's case, I received over 500 statements from Medicare, an equal number from her supplemental health insurer, at least 300 invoices from doctors, hospitals, medical equipment companies, and more than 100 bills from nursing homes, assisted living facilities and a hospice. Frankly, it was impossible to keep up." Compounding the volume of paperwork, translating the statements can be "impossible." Inlander adds that he sometimes caught insurers paying a provider twice for the same service, or paying for year-old services because providers had not submitted invoices in a timely manner. According to Inlander, "It got so bad, I would just throw anything that wasn't a real bill in the trash and not pay anything until I received a third notice of payment due." Although Inlander considers himself "pretty sophisticated" in medical insurance and payment matters, he worries that "most people are not as immersed in this arcane subject, don't have the time, or can make neither hide nor hair of the hieroglyphic insurance statements. As a result, they become confused, intimidated, and scared. Too often they pay for services that insurance is supposed to cover, and some people have told me they have not even bothered applying for assistance a loved one is entitled to, because the paperwork was too much of a hassle." The full report is available in Real Audio online (Inlander, "Marketplace," PRI, 9/6).