What is Unbundling of Services?

Unbundling of services is a billing practice where healthcare providers separately charge for procedures or services that are typically billed together as a single comprehensive code. This practice, often considered fraudulent when done intentionally to increase reimbursement, involves breaking down a procedure into its component parts and billing each separately, resulting in higher total charges than if the bundled code were used.

Why unbundling of services matters

• Increases healthcare costs: Results in higher charges than appropriate bundled billing
• Constitutes billing fraud: Can lead to penalties and legal consequences for providers
• Affects patient bills: May result in higher out-of-pocket costs for patients

How Solace can help

A Solace advocate can help you identify potential unbundling on your medical bills, understand appropriate coding practices, and dispute charges that appear to be incorrectly unbundled. Advocates can also assist with reporting suspected fraudulent billing practices to appropriate authorities.