Guest guest Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 In a message dated 8/6/2003 7:44:30 AM Pacific Standard Time, kchamill writes: Does anyone have a collection form letter that they send to patients for such a situation that they would be willing to share? Has anyone else had this happen? Would it be better/easier to put a lien on the patients' settlement? Have you at least communicated with the patients about the situation asking them to pay the deductible? Seems that racing to a collection letter would be off putting and not likely to foster a good relationship with your patients. Of course, if you have sent them a bill and they have ignored it, more than once, a collection letter would be in order. Maya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 K. Hamil, Your chiropractor associate was correct, the insurance company can legally withhold a deductible from a service provider (doctor). While in managed care insurance the doctor as well as the patient have a contract with the insurance company, in other forms of insurance the contact is between the patient (insured) and the insurance company only. Even if the patient signs a form authorizing the insurance company to pay the doctor directly, they are not legally obligated to unless this is spelled out in their contract (which it never is). This means it is in your best interest to make clear to the patient that while you will bill the insurance company, the patient is ultimately responsible for their bill with you. If the insurance does not pay, the patient owes you the money. Some offices will have insurance patients sign a form which spells this out before beginning treatment. In this way you have a record of the patient acknowledging their responsibility. I think you could find such a form at most medical forms suppliers our could type one up yourself and have your patients sign it. You mentioned these two cases were auto accident injuries. Where you dealing with the auto insurance companies or your patient's health insurance? I am not sure of the laws in New York, but many auto accident policies provide a limited amount (usually $5,000) to pay for injuries sustained in an auto accident. If you billed under the health insurance and your patients are claiming they cant afford to pay you, they may be able to bill under the auto insurance for your fees. Otherwise, I agree with Maya that you should make a less formal request for payment before sending a collection notice. New England Business Solutions (NEBS) as a nice three part form. The first is a friendly reminder that the patient has a balance. When you fill this out it leaves an impression of the date on the second form which says this is a second notice and is more firm. The third shows the date for the first two notices and says if not paid within five (?) days, you will turn over to collections. Hope this helps, Matt Bauer - kchamill Chinese Medicine Wednesday, August 06, 2003 7:42 AM Traditional (TCM) RE: Collection Letter Hi all,I've had a problem occur several times in the past 2 weeks. Theinsurance co. paid 2 separate patients' insurance deductible with myclaim. (These were motor vehicle cases). In other words, both had a$200 deductible which hadn't been met yet by the patient, so the companytook that portion out of the payment I should have received.I've been told by the chiropractor with whom I work that this islegal... I can't see how it would be; and that it is my responsibilityto recover the $200 from the patients. Gotta love how the insurancecompanies do business. (Not to mention that they also arbitrarilydecided that they would only pay me 40% of my regular rate... betweenthat and the $200 reduction to pay the deductible, of my $560 claim Ireceived $30!) Does anyone have a collection form letter that they send to patients forsuch a situation that they would be willing to share?Has anyone else had this happen? Would it be better/easier to put alien on the patients' settlement? If you have a form, perhaps you could post it here (for others) or emailme at kchamill.Thanks,K. Hamill, L.Ac. (NY)For practitioners, students and those interested in Traditional (TCM.). Membership requires that you do not post any commerical, religious, spam messages or flame another member. If you want to change the way you receive email message, i.e. from individual to a daily digest or none then visit the groups’ homepage: Chinese Medicine/ From there, click ‘edit my membership on the right hand side’ and adjust accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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