Health Insurance 101 is a series aimed at addressing some of the most frequent questions we hear from members and businesses about their coverage.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is dedicated to simplifying all areas of the health care experience. Part of our efforts include helping people understand their health plan and the key details that often can be overlooked or misunderstood.

In this edition of Health Insurance 101, we break down what an explanation of benefits (EOB) is and how Blue Cross is improving the notification process.

Receiving an explanation of benefits (EOBs) from your health insurer can be confusing and even nerve-wracking. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota wants to make receiving and understanding EOBs easier.

An EOB is a statement showing the health care services you received and total cost of those services. However, an EOB is not a bill.

EOBs help you better understand how your health plan is being used. They show how much a care provider, such as a hospital or clinic, charged you for their services, how much of those charges your health plan covers, the amount your plan paid and what you will eventually owe- including deductibles, copays or coinsurance.

Blue Cross EOBs also include the name of the person who received services, the claim number, group name and number and patient ID. They list the service provider, date of service, summary of how the claim was paid and any additional notes about the process of your claim.

Striving for transparency

“Blue Cross strives to be as transparent as possible when explaining how our health plans and services are used,” says Matt Hunt, vice president, customer experience and chief experience officer at Blue Cross. “EOBs are often the first and easiest way for you to see your benefits in action.”

EOBs give you a quick look into how you use your benefits and how your claims are being processed. To ensure accuracy, you should always compare the EOB to the bill you receive from your health care provider. If the amount you owe does not match the amount on the EOB, you should reach out to a customer service representative by calling the phone number on the back of your Blue Cross MN member ID card or contact your health care provider.

Going paperless

Blue Cross is rolling out an updated paperless EOB option so you can have this important information at your fingertips.

“Paperless EOBs allow you to compare your costs and see your plan in action whenever you want,” says Matt. “Choosing to go paperless is not only environmentally friendly, but also gives you more readily available information about your care.”

Follow the steps below to enroll in paperless EOBs:

• Visit bluecrossmn.com/login to access your member website.
• Scroll down to Tools & Resources and select Go Paperless.

• Contact preferences default to U.S. mail. To change your preference to email:
  • Check the box that states Yes, email me.
  • Select Personal Email as your contact preference in each dropdown.

Your employer may require us to send you information through U.S. Mail or your work email address. We will use your preferences whenever we can. However, there may be times when we will have to send information to you another way.

Once you enroll in the paperless EOB option, you’ll get an email like the one below whenever a new claim is processed. Follow the steps below to see your EOB online.