probably a dumb question. my mom works as a nurse at a hospital and she says no one there ever checks up on it.
if i go to my doctor and tell the lady at the desk that i still have insurance will she find out/check on it?
(i'll only attempt this if i get really sick or something. just being curious)
yes. when they try to bill your insurance it will bounce back and they will charge you the full amount of the service.
Your mom has no clue - she should stick to answering questions about nursing only.
There are people who are employed by hospitals and doctor's offices specifically to verify benefits for people. That's their whole job - just verifying insurance benefits.
Most major insurers have online eligibility checks for contracted providers. All the hospital or doctor's office has to do is enter your identifying information, and they can confirm your insurance coverage in seconds. (I use those sites all the time as part of my job, auditing hospital accounts.) If they don't use the online systems, they can call the toll-free number on the back of your insurance card.
Also, even if they don't "catch" you when you have the services done, they will still find out after your former insurance company denies the claim. You'll then be responsible for the whole bill and can be sent to collections.
The hospital will file on the insurance.
The insurance will reject the claim and then will bill you personally.
Since you are going to be held personally responsible anyway...might as well tell the truth when you check in.
The hospital doesn't HAVE to check it, but when the bill doesn't get paid, they'll send it to you.
They'll check it if they feel like it, and they might demand money from you up front.
Umm yea of course they would eventually find out because they have to contact the insurance company to get paid...
Yes, they will find out.