{"id":1932,"date":"2015-05-05T13:48:49","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T13:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/?p=1932"},"modified":"2023-03-27T02:00:54","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T07:00:54","slug":"shake-hands-with-your-insurance-rep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/shake-hands-with-your-insurance-rep\/","title":{"rendered":"Building and good rapport with your your Insurance Rep"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Why should you have a strong relationship with your insurance rep<\/span><\/p>\n

One powerful tool in the arsenal of any Medical Biller is the business cards of your insurance representatives.\u00a0 How many of you even know who they are?\u00a0 It\u2019s OK.\u00a0 I do not want to embarrass anyone.\u00a0 We are here for education!<\/p>\n

When I worked as a biller for an Oral Surgeon in PA, I was very involved with the BC\/BS representative.\u00a0 She made personal visits to my office for education and to discuss overdue claims.\u00a0 Once a month she did a lunch and learn about common billing errors. AND\u2026spoiler alert\u2026she was a reference of mine for many years.\u00a0 She admired my ability to hold a claim like a hungry dog with a bone until it was paid or adjusted, whatever the case.<\/p>\n

Download the resources<\/a> on 7 practice management templates which need zero technical skills<\/span><\/p>\n

Know your\u00a0insurance representative!<\/span><\/p>\n

My point here is that you really need to understand who your insurance reps are, YES, for each plan you participate in.\u00a0 You are all assigned to one.\u00a0 Each practice is assigned to a representative.\u00a0 Their main function is to oversee your account and keep the contracts current.\u00a0 HOWEVER, they are also there to answer your questions, assist you with claim analysis and payment and education for your office to assure that you understand the payment policies of that insurance company.<\/p>\n

How to catch your rep<\/span><\/p>\n

If you do not know who your representative is, start small.\u00a0 Call the provider line for the plan in question.\u00a0 Request the name of your representative.\u00a0 Request their direct line.\u00a0 Make time to call them when you have a peaceful time.\u00a0 Usually between 10 am and 11:30 am or 2 pm and 3:30 pm.\u00a0 When you call, if you get their voicemail, leave a short detailed message, include your name, your practice name, your practice insurance participation number (if applicable), and a number you can be reached, repeat the numbers twice in an even cadence.\u00a0 This may sound silly, but research shows that numbers given in this way, can be easily transcribed and more likely to be returned. Then tell them you would like to get more information about the plan.<\/p>\n

If you reach them directly or when they return the call, explain to them that you would like to discuss some of the billing challenges you are having.\u00a0 Have examples ready, we all have them.\u00a0 Running reports with the unpaid claims of each insurance will assist you here.\u00a0 Remember, education is more effective when you have done your homework and know what you need clarified for you.\u00a0 Research, research, research,<\/p>\n

Create an action plan in advance!<\/span><\/p>\n

Have an action plan ready, with the holes to be filled in when the education is received.\u00a0 I had the attention of every representative who visited my office when I presented them with an agenda and the action plan to improve our challenge ready for the meeting.\u00a0 This demonstrated two things.\u00a0 We were researching our challenges and we were accepting our part in the changes.\u00a0 These are important to your credibility and the representative\u2019s cooperation.\u00a0 No one wants a challenge presented without the research.\u00a0\u00a0 Then it just sounds like complaining.<\/p>\n

Where to start<\/span><\/p>\n

If this sounds daunting, don\u2019t let it be.\u00a0 Start with one plan.\u00a0 Pick the one with the most outstanding revenue.\u00a0 YES, this includes Medicare and Medicaid.\u00a0 Dedicate one employee to researching these unpaid claims, or set aside one day a week to allow yourself the time this will need.\u00a0 It will be worth the time when you can see these outstanding amounts get lower.<\/p>\n

I even had two representatives who would take the claims back to the office personally to get them reworked and paid.\u00a0 These relationships are important and do help the bottom line of your office.\u00a0 Starting small and keeping communication open will make a difference in the A\/R.\u00a0 This is a great tool with powerful results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Why should you have a strong relationship with your insurance rep One powerful tool in the arsenal of any Medical Biller is the business cards of your insurance representatives.\u00a0 How many of you even know who they are?\u00a0 It\u2019s OK.\u00a0 I do not want to embarrass anyone.\u00a0 We are here for education! When I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[743],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practice-management"],"modified_by":"Erika Regulsky","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":442353,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932\/revisions\/442353"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}