Victoria Caras, founder of Aspen Medical Billing Advocates,
is a nationally-recognized medical billing advocate,
frequently quoted for her expertise.
The New York Times "A Guide Through A Medical Wilderness" Read
The Denver Post "Fictions, Frauds Found to Abound in Medical Bills" Read
In The News
A Guide Through A Medical Wilderness
The New York Times
Patient MoneyAugust 8, 2009
By Walecia Konrad
THESE days, dealing with medical bills and insurance claims makes April 15 look easy. The medical jargon and inscrutable coding on invoices and explanations of benefits are indecipherable for most lay people. Worse, seriously ill patients may simply be too sick or too broke to deal with the mountains of red tape. That can lead to unpaid medical debts and even bankruptcy.
... medical billing advocates help you find errors in your bills, negotiate with your insurer to appeal coverage denials, or negotiate lower fees with your medical care providers ... advocates [may] give the client the ammunition he or she needs to negotiate....
She consulted with Victoria Caras, a medical advocate in Aspen, Colo., who coached her on how best to approach the medical transportation company to lower her bill. With Ms. Caras’s advice, Ms. Redstone was able to negotiate a 25 percent discount in exchange for paying the bill in full.
... choose your advocate as carefully as you choose your doctor. ... “An outsider can take the emotion out of the argument and speak the insurer’s language. We’re not intimidated,” says Ms. Caras, the Colorado advocate.
Fictions, Frauds Found to Abound in Medical Bills
The Denver Post
Business
April 4, 2010
By David Migoya
A medical billing advocate's objective is to whittle down outrageous charges — the list of examples would make even the most conservative businessman roll his eyes — by uncovering errors in bills; negotiating with an insurer who has denied coverage; even haggling for reduced fees with the providers themselves.
Overcharged by $87,000
"It's just egregious, the overcharges by doctors just because they can," said Victoria Caras, owner of Aspen Medical Billing Advocates and a former attorney.
"People get very intimidated when dealing with insurance companies and the appeals process. I don't."
The outcome of an advocate's work can be significant. One of Caras' clients, a leukemia patient, saved $87,000 when the billing advocate found the hospital had overcharged for prescribed drugs by 286 percent.
