When you are planning for upcoming hip replacement surgery, one of the first things you should do is find out whether your health insurance covers this operation. For many people, insurance plans do cover hip replacement surgery when needed, but pre-approval for the procedure is often required, sometimes weeks in advance.
Instructions
Know Your Health Insurance Coverage
1. Begin by consulting your health insurance coverage contract. You should have a plan booklet that outlines the plan and tells you what it covers. If you can't find your copy, call your insurance provider and ask that a copy be re-sent to you.
2. Call your health insurance provider to go over your program terms and conditions. Be sure to ask about your surgery deductible (when applicable), the coverage provided for in-hospital care, outpatient and in-home benefits and allowance limits for physical therapy visits.
3. Talk to your provider about the process and create a checklist prior to surgery. If you need to get pre-approval paperwork completed, find out exactly what you need to do and by what date.
4. Confirm with your surgeon and primary care physician's billing departments the terms of your health insurance coverage. Find out exactly what you will be billed for and double-check this against your notes from your insurance company.
5. Decide whether you will require any post-operative care, such as home nurse visits and physical therapist aid. If this is necessary, be sure to have the surgeon or doctor authorize these treatments so that your health insurance company will cover them fully.
6. Create a balance sheet of your expenses versus what your health insurance covers for your hip replacement procedure. Under most tax laws, these expenses can be deducted at the end of the year against your income.
7. Keep all of your health insurance papers in a safe and organized place so that you can refer back to them as needed. Keep any bills or notices of coverage here as well so that you can monitor your coverage after surgery.
