Reading Your Payer's EOB - Explanation of Benefits

When you decide to take steps to control your health costs, knowing how to read your health insurer's, Medicare or other payer's paperwork, called an EOB, Explanation of Benefits, can be helpful.

There are three pieces of paperwork you'll need to compare.

1. The list of services performed. This is handed to you when you leave the doctor's office or testing site.
   
   
2. The bill the doctor or health facility sends you. It is a list of the services from #1 above, and the charges for each service.
   
   
3. The explanation of benefits -- EOB -- that comes from your payer (insurer, Medicare or other payer). This article describes the information on your EOB.

Among the three pieces of paper, you'll find terminology and codes that will help you be sure you are being billed only for the services that were performed.

First: We'll look at the services listed on the EOB.