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Weekly email · October 2026

Five errors I saw constantly from the inside

Hi there,

When you read your own bill, you read it like a patient: the total, a sinking feeling, look away.

Read it like a teacher marking a paper instead. Red pen, line by line. Mark these five:

  1. The duplicate charge. The same item billed twice, often on two dates.
  2. The unbundled procedure. One procedure split into several codes.
  3. The wrong quantity. A decimal in the wrong place turns one into ten.
  4. Billed after discharge. Services dated after the patient went home.
  5. The upcoded visit. A short visit billed as a complex one.

None of these need anyone to be dishonest. They happen when a dozen systems hand work to each other. But they're yours to catch.

One thing to do today: if your bill is a single summary line, ask for the itemized version. Then check it line by line, like this:

How to check your bill

A woman on a sofa frowning at a long medical bill
Photo: Nataliya Vaitkevich / Pexels

P.S. I made our first video. I spent fifteen years inside U.S. healthcare operations, and when my grandma needed care, I realized how much I still didn't know. It's under four minutes: watch it on YouTube.

Stay one question ahead.
Amanda · Rerouted Health

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