Insurance Basics: Home

How to Deal with COVID-19 Medical Costs

Thanks to a law passed in the spring of 2020, most Americans can be tested for COVID-19 for free. But that law didn’t make treatment for the virus free. Medical services for COVID-19 can be costly and sometimes run into tens of thousands of dollars. Whether or not you’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19, you can take steps now to understand your protections under the law and manage the costs of your treatment.

How to Deal with COVID-19 Medical Costs
Code Modifiers: How they Affect You

Doctors and insurers use standard codes for each medical service or supply. That helps them communicate about treatments and payments clearly.

Code Modifiers: How they Affect You
Provider Networks

Your plan may contract with doctors, dentists and other healthcare practitioners; hospitals; labs; radiology facilities; pharmacies and other types of providers. These are the providers in your “network”.

Looking Up Costs for Behavioral Health Services

To look up the estimated costs for behavioral health services (including mental health and alcohol and/or drug services), go to our home page, fairhealthconsumer.org, and click on Medical and Hospital Costs.

Estimating Costs for a Hospital Stay

Are you planning a medical procedure that requires an overnight hospital stay? Do you want an idea of how much the stay will cost in your area?

What You Need to Know about Medicare

If you’re 65 or older, figuring out how Medicare works and when to sign up can be challenging. It can be hard to know what kind of coverage you’ll need. There are Part A, Part B, Part D, Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) and Medigap. There also are other complex terms to know. This article will cover the basics of what you need to know about Medicare.