Being the accountant that I am, I keep a spreadsheet showing amount billed, paid by ins and my portion. I log my payments and how (fsa card or out of pocket). This helps at tax time.

My method: I had a binder/notebook to keep track of my medical bills and insurance "explanation of benefits." For me, I usually got the "explanation of benefits" first from the insurance company, and it told me how much the provider could bill me. Then I would receive the medical bill. I would then pay it if it matched my "explanation of benefits," staple the bill to the explanation of benefits, and put it in another section of my binder. If they didn't match, I would call the provider and/or insurance company to figure it out. I maintained all of these in chronological order in the binder. This was a great way to figure out if my bills were paid, if I got double-billed, etc. This was a binder separate from my journal/notebook of doctors' appointments. Hope that helps.

This is also important because you can write off medical out of pocket expenses if they are especially high and you are out of work recovering. Talk to an accountant on how that works. 2005 my insurance was so poor and our income was way down with no disability or medical leave pay for either of us that we were able to use the expenses as a write off. This year will be the same again which is good only because you don't have to pay anything in and may be entitled to a refund, but best to consult a excellent tax advisor for the details.

You should see my list for my primary care doc on Tuesday of next week....so ridiculous, but that way you know you have covered all bases....another thing that helps is carring a list and staying within the network of healthcare providers..that way you don't miss anything and feel more at ease!!!

We do th at, too. Excellent advice, Deb!! You can write off a certain amount if your medical bills are really high. Accountants are the best to ask about this, too.