Understanding a bill that went to collections.
If your doctor's office or hospital works with Mantl Health, the company that contacted you about the bill gave you a link to an account page. Here is what that page shows, and what to do if something doesn't look right.
We work for your provider. Our job is to make this clear and fair.
Mantl Health helps doctors' offices and hospitals with bills that are still unpaid after insurance. We check that your insurance paid what it should. We make sure the companies that contact you explain things clearly and treat you with respect.
You will not get letters or calls from Mantl Health. The letter you received names your provider and the company handling your account. That company's phone number is on the letter and on your account page.
You owe your provider for the care you received. You are also owed a clear explanation, a fair way to pay, and a real person to talk to.
- Open the link on your letter. It goes to your account page.
- Read the breakdown. It shows what your insurance paid and what's left.
- If it looks right, pay or pick a monthly plan.
- If it looks wrong, say so on the page or by phone. Contact pauses while it's checked.
- If you can't pay right now, say so. There are options.
Try it. Nothing here is real.
This is what an account page looks like. The provider, the amounts, and the company are made up. Use the tabs to see each part.
- Your balance shows the cost, what insurance took off, what it paid, and what is left.
- Payment plan lets you spread the balance over a few months.
- Ask a question sends a message to a person.
- This looks wrong pauses contact while your bill is checked.
- Your procedure on March 4
- $1,840.00
- Your plan's discount
- −$722.00
- Your plan paid
- −$804.40
- What's left
- $313.60
Why: this is your deductible. Your plan asks you to pay the first $1,500 of care each year. You've met $1,186 so far.
Spread $313.60 over:
Tell us what looks wrong. We will check it with your insurance, and nobody will ask you to pay while we do.
Six words that explain most bills.
Deductible
The amount you pay for care each year before your insurance starts paying. It resets every January for most plans.
Copay
A set amount you pay for a visit, such as $30, no matter what the visit cost.
Coinsurance
Your share of the cost after you've met your deductible, such as 20%.
Plan discount
The amount your provider agreed to take off because they have a contract with your insurance. You don't owe this part.
Denied
Your insurance decided not to pay. Sometimes that is correct. Sometimes it can be appealed, and we can help.
Explanation of benefits
A letter from your insurance that shows what they paid and why. It is not a bill, but it should match your bill.
Say so. We'll check.
Bills are sometimes wrong. Insurance may not have been billed, or may have been billed in the wrong order, or may have denied something it should have paid.
Tell the company on your letter, or use "This looks wrong" on your account page. Contact about payment pauses while your bill is checked against your insurance.
If your insurance should have paid, you may have the right to appeal. If you're willing to send one, the appeal letter and step-by-step instructions can be prepared for you; you send it to your insurer yourself. It costs you nothing.
There are options.
- A monthly plan. Pick an amount you can keep up with.
- Financial assistance. Many providers reduce or forgive bills for patients under a certain income. Ask, and you will be sent your provider's application.
- More time. If something has changed for you, such as a job loss, say so.
The one thing that doesn't help is silence. A two-minute call or message opens every option above.
Quick answers.
Is this a scam?
It is sensible to ask. Check that the letter names a provider you actually visited. If you're unsure, call your provider's office directly, using the number on their own website, and ask whether they work with the company on your letter.
Will this hurt my credit?
That depends on your provider's policy and on state and federal rules. Ask the company on your letter. Responding and setting up a plan is the surest way to keep a bill from going further.
Why didn't my insurance pay?
The usual reasons are a deductible you haven't met yet, a service your plan doesn't cover, or a mistake in how the claim was sent. Your account page says which one. If it looks like a mistake, tell us.
I never got a bill before this. Why?
Bills go missing, especially after a move. Tell the company your current address and ask for the original statement.
Can I talk to a person?
Yes. The phone number is on your letter and at the top of your account page.