My mom is visiting me in the US. She suddenly lost consciousness one day and was feeling very weak and had to go to the emergency room (in-network) where they conducted some tests on her and gave her IV saline. All her tests came back normal. She is insured under SafeTravels Trawick International health insurance - First Health PPO. According to the policy document, everything should have been covered for her ER visit except the $200 deductible (which applies when one is not hospitalized after an ER visit).
We have not yet formally received her hospital bill but I checked the bill on their online portal and it says there that the insurance company has paid about 1/3 of the bill and the rest is "pending insurance". It says on the bill that based on how the insurance company replies, I might end up having to pay the entire 2/3 of the remaining bill, which is huge ($4500+). I’m an international grad student and only earn ~$25k a year, and I can’t afford to pay so much. We don't have any other source of income too.
I called the insurance claims department today and they said that I need to submit a claims form. In this form, they ask for any medicines or vitamins my mom was/is taking. She has been taking vitamin supplements regularly (well below maximum safe dosage limits) since a long time without the prescription of a doctor. During the ER visit, the doctor asked me about any medications that she was taking and I told him that she was just taking some vitamins.
My question/concern is if telling the insurance company that she was taking vitamin supplements will have any impact on the outcome of the claim. Can they somehow blame her vitamin supplements for her sudden illness and pass it off under ‘pre-existing conditions’ and get away with not covering their part? If I don’t tell them about the supplements, would they come to know from any other source, i.e., the ER physician's notes? If yes, will I be able to amend or submit a new claim if they reject this one on the basis of incomplete/false information that I provided in the claim form (assuming I leave out the supplements part)? It would be very helpful if someone could suggest what to do in this situation. Thanks a lot!
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