So I came into the office the other day at 1:00, full of energy and good intentions. I had a lot to do -- scads of files to be scanned and saved onto our network drive, billing statements that haven't been done since we started up, some promoting of our Health Olympics, and little things like getting new signs made... instead, I have been on the phone now for almost an hour now trying to figure out why one $132 claim hasn't been paid. A combination of waiting on hold just to find out I was waiting for the wrong person, and then finally getting only a voice message box to leave my patient's information and what I'm calling about has made this ordeal quite frustrating. Having left the information, I can only hope I'll get a call back -- and that I'll get the answer to my question.
But on the whole, the problems haven't been that bad. Now that we're credentialed with most of our insurance companies, as long as I have our patient information, and the EOB (Explanation of Benefits) handy, I can usually get problems resolved. One of the big frustrations, however, is trying to figure out who to talk to. Because payers are usually managed by great big companies, just because a patient has, say, a CareFirst card, doesn't mean a simple phone call to the phone number on the back of the insurance card. Oh no. When you get the automated voice, you're asked to choose between 4 options -- none of which sound like what you're looking at on the card. So what I usually do is just punch a number on the phone at random. This usually works after awhile. I used to be careful about this, and listened with rapt attention to the robotic voice on the other end of the line. But as my eyes started to cross and my brain twisted into irretrievable little rivers of sweat, I figured out what plan I wanted to reference and pressed the correct key on the phone. After waiting for 15 minutes to talk to a live human being, I recited the patient's ID number, only to be told that I was speaking to a customer service representative of Carefirst's National Plan -- not the plan that my patient had. So I figured it doesn't really make any difference.
Today we got our first sizeable insurance check. That almost made all of this seem worthwhile. Real pay day will come the day we can bill for Medicare, and we actually get a check. I think we'll all go out for a big happy hour that day!
Matt and Marilyn had a nice article in the Martinsburg Journal about how they're using Oxbow. Unfortunately, it's not linked for some reason. So I'm going to upload a JPG of the article -- not the best, but until I can get it on the hahnandnelson.com website, that's what I've got....
Our friend Russell Mokhiber appeared on the Greta Van Susteren's show on Fox Cable News last night to talk about his rally today against the Whole Foods CEO who has come out against Obama's healthcare reform plan. Russell, of course, is the organizer of Single Payer Action. Things got pretty heated... this woman is a barracude and I don't think Russell realized what he was in for. At any rate, they disagreed to put it mildly. We talked to Russell today, and he told us that not only had he received 500 hate emails, his family received threatening phone calls. Classy, right? I don't care if you disagree with someone, but you don't call up a guy's kids and act like a caveman. It reminds me of those Neanderthals that are showing up at healthcare town halls with their shotguns. What's that about? I get that you're against healthcare, but acting like you're going to kill someone is a bit out there!
I had my own little moment of fame last Friday when myself and 4 friends decided to make a show of support for Healthcare Reform. Our US Representative, Shelley Moore Capito, was in town for a celebration of our town's Streetscape project.
Alright that's enough rabble rousing for one day. More later!
No comments:
Post a Comment