For many of us, health insurance is a necessary evil. It pays our medical bills, but it also can be quite a pain to deal with. This is particularly true when a claim is denied. Knowing the following tips, however, can help you maximize your health insurance and make sure you don’t pay for more than you should.

Know Your Policy Inside and Out: The best way to be prepared for dealing with insurance companies is to know your policy inside and out. Read it, study it and pay particular attention to the fine print and exceptions section.

Don’t be Too Surprised When You’re Asked to Pay: So, your insurance policy has a $2,000 out of pocket maximum. This means you won’t have to pay more than two grand in healthcare a year, right? Well, not exactly. Out of pocket maximums apply only to covered services. If you go in for a procedure that isn’t covered, and end up paying your doctor $500, that 500 dollars doesn’t count towards your out of pocket maximum.

Be Prepared to Pay Higher for Services Not Covered: Whenever you go to the doctor, and your visit is covered by your insurance, your doctor is subject to a provider discount. This means that your doctor may charge your insurance company $100 per visit, but the insurance company will only pay $80. However, your doctor isn’t subject to this discount - or any other - when it comes to your pocketbook. If a doctor charges you $100 for a visit, and your insurance won’t cover it, you will be expected to come up with $100.

If You Are Denied, Be Sure it’s Legitimate: Insurance companies are masters at denying claims, even when those claims should legally be paid. Whenever you receive a denial letter, make sure the service should really not be covered. If it should be covered, as per your insurance handbook or policy, then speak up. Don’t pay a claim that your insurance owes.

If Your Insurance is Pending, Don’t Pay: If you have received a denied claim, and know that it should actually have been paid, don’t pay your doctor or your hospital until the insurance situation is resolved. Even if the hospital is continuously calling asking you for money, just be honest. Tell them your insurance company had no business denying the claim and that you are working on remedying the situation.

Make Sure Your Insurance Company is Paying What it Should: Most insurance companies pay a certain percentage of your total claim, for instance 80% to 90%. However, the percentages are usually different depending on whether you go to a provider who is in network or out of network. Typically, insurance companies pay less for out of network providers. Thus, it’s important to make sure your claim is being paid with the right percentage: if your provider is in network, make sure your insurance company isn’t paying them with out of network figures.

Argue, Argue, Argue: Recently, the honesty of insurance companies has been called into question. Use this to your advantage. If you have a denied claim that really should have been paid, appeal. If your insurance company won’t work with you, threaten to sue…and follow up on your threats.

Knowing what to do when a claim is denied is essential to making sure you don’t end up paying money that you don’t owe. Understand your benefits and don’t settle until you are satisfied.