Making Them Pay: How to Get the Most from Health Insurance and Managed Care [Paperback]

Rhonda Orin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2001

Most people don't understand health insurance, and insurance companies know it. Unfair denials, late payments, and hopeless confusion are the norm. At last there is a solution. In eight easy steps, Making Them Pay gives practical advice about the things that drive people crazy. Like:

-Figuring out what health plans really say
-Understanding what benefits they provide
-Finding, and understanding, the exclusions
-Determining what health plans really cost
-How to talk to customer service, and other painful details
-Easy ways to keep good records
-Laws that can change your life-like the mandatory benefits laws in all fifty states
-How to prepare successful appeals

Along with this useful advice, Making Them Pay offers a much-needed sense of humor. It's filled with cartoons, sidebars, and vignettes that will make you laugh as you learn. Based on Rhonda D. Orin's extensive experience as a litigator, a journalist, and a mother fighting her own family's insurance battles, Making Them Pay is the book your health insurer doesn't want you to read.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this consumer guide to health insurance and managed care programs, lawyer Orin has assembled a compact reference that explains how to read and understand a health plan and how to go toe to toe with insurance companies to get the benefits to which we are entitled. The author outlines the components of typical plans the services covered and the limits and exclusions insurance companies and managed care systems may apply to deny coverage. The chapter on challenging insurance companies over the denial of coverage or other problems is detailed and insightful. Orin emphasizes record keeping and shows readers how to deal with customer service representatives to make sure the problem or complaint is documented. She includes a survey of statutorily required coverage for each state, complete with citations to state laws and lists of state insurance commissioners, attorney generals, and other advocacy groups. This book simplifies a convoluted subject and is recommended for most public libraries. Joan Pedzich, Harris, Beach, & Wilcox, Rochester, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The continuing debate over patients' rights has brought to light any number of cautionary tales and horror stories about health insurance claims that have been denied and medical procedures that have not been approved. Orin is a lawyer with 11 years of experience suing insurance companies on behalf of policyholders; and she lets us in on her eight-step strategy for "saving your time, your money, your sanity-- maybe even your life." She demystifies the insurance policy, explaining meanings behind legalistic and confusing terminology. She shows how to analyze and compare expenses and warns that the cost of premiums is only the tip of the iceberg. Orin also advises that one must factor in customer service, exclusions, and plan options; and she stresses the need for complete and detailed record keeping. Included are a state-by-state listing of mandatory benefits, a sample composite health plan, and contact lists for state insurance commissioners and attorneys general, trade associations, and advocacy groups. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (April 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312267606
• ISBN-13: 978-0312267605
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,398,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book!, May 9, 2001

By 

Karen A. (Wayne, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Them Pay: How to Get the Most from Health Insurance and Managed Care (Paperback)

As an attorney myself who had the rare privilege of working under the expert guidance of Ms. Orin, it is no surprise to me that this book is funny, informative, easy to read, and a terrific reference manual for how to decipher those long, horrendous insurance policies and all the fine print that unfortunately comes with them. This book is and will be a very useful guide for anyone who reads it. I strongly recommend it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAKING THEM PAY ---is worth the price, March 31, 2001

By 

LB Ganek (Bethesda,, MD, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Them Pay: How to Get the Most from Health Insurance and Managed Care (Paperback)

When dealing with explanation of benefits, there are times when I question my own common sense and ability to confront our insurance company. Rhonda Orin's book, MAKING THEM PAY validates what I often think....insurance rules and regulations border on lunacy.

Orin's book is easy to read from cover to cover, and is also a useful reference book. I'll keep it nearby and refer to it when I call to question specific claims.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grateful reader, April 15, 2001

By 

"claraeisen" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Them Pay: How to Get the Most from Health Insurance and Managed Care (Paperback)

Great book! Very helpful. It helped me understand how to get the most out of my insurance coverage. The clever anecdotes made normally dry material come alive. After reading it I evaluated my family's coverage and made changes to fit our "profile". And I finally resolved a dispute in my favor!