Guest guest Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 Sorry if this comes up twice, but i have been having problems w/. anyway, some wisdom is needed on this one. I have 39yo male, car accident JULY 03. INsurance lapsed during the accident and so he was uninsured. He's still in pain and wishes to seek treatment, his Lawyer is recommending that he be careful because he wants to get the case settled. i just need to know 1st of all whether i should take this case. 2nd, who the heck do i bill? He does have health insurance, but i'm not sure how that would work. a little help from my friends Lost in Litigation doc Joe Medlin PDX OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 I assume the accident was not his fault as he has an attorney. I would bill both the liability carrier for your first work up and x-rays which are the most expensive of the visits return receipt registered mail. Bill his regular insurance and also send a copy of your billings to the attorney. Make sure you have the attorney and the patient sign an assignment letter....the one Mike put together out of the Gatti firm, mail this and fax the letter with a fax report to the attorney. Follow with a letter referring to the letter of assignment which is the patient instructing his attorney to pay you prior to dispersing any funds to the patient. Joe if you don't have this send me a SASE and I'll pop one in the mail for you. Vern Saboe, DC Albany PI question again Sorry if this comes up twice, but i have been having problems w/. anyway, some wisdom is needed on this one. I have 39yo male, car accident JULY 03. INsurance lapsed during the accident and so he was uninsured. He's still in pain and wishes to seek treatment, his Lawyer is recommending that he be careful because he wants to get the case settled. i just need to know 1st of all whether i should take this case. 2nd, who the heck do i bill? He does have health insurance, but i'm not sure how that would work. a little help from my friends Lost in Litigation doc Joe Medlin PDX OROregonDCs rules:1. Keep correspondence professional; the purpose of the listserve is to foster communication and collegiality. No personal attacks on listserve members will be tolerated.2. Always sign your e-mails with your first and last name.3. The listserve is not secure; your e-mail could end up anywhere. However, it is against the rules of the listserve to copy, print, forward, or otherwise distribute correspondence written by another member without his or her consent, unless all personal identifiers have been removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Joe........Regarding your question: Your number one priority should be:1) Does this patient need chiropractic care? The answer to each should be yes or no, not maybe. 2) What is the basic cause of their condition (that you are going to address)? 3) How long is it going to take to get them to a place of stability? 4) How much does this course of care cost? You have to be definite and answer those questions first...and the presence or lack of insurance should not , in any way, change the answer. Once you have firmly answered those questions, you share that with the patient. Then, the patient has a choice of yes, no or maybe. You should have a definite financial policy written down and signed by each and every patient from the beginning that lets them know that they are fully responsible for not only their bills, but for their very health. That being said, this guy is obviously a risk because he has already been irresponsible (in both letting his insurance lapse, and in delaying the addressing of his ongoing health problems for many months.) and how you do anything, is how you everything, so he is likely to be flakey. Since most people in our society are relatively financially irresponsible, it is a good idea for all chiros to have strong financial policies in place that are followed with integrity. Also, it is practical for chiros to offer some variability of payment options available. But don't do what the majority of chiros do...have no set financial policies and offer 50 different deals to 50 different people...this is Monty hall chiropractic and it leads to devaluation of our services. Perhaps have him and his attorney sign the form that Vern mentioned and then make an arrangement for monthly auto-pay out of debit or credit card or post-dated checks such that both he and you have a regular monthly expectation of payment that is even and consistent. Divide the expected cost of care by 12 and auto-debit his account that much each month, this way he does not get hit so hard up front and you will be likely to be mostly paid up by the time the case settles. J. , DC Springbrook Chiropractic & Natural Health Center 1015 N. Springbrook Rd. Newberg, OR 97132 503-538-0618 www.springbrookclinic.com www.HealthyNewberg.com SANITAS INNATUS EST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Kudos to Dr. -great recommendations and the right attitude. Stockton Re: PI question again Joe........Regarding your question:Your number one priority should be:1) Does this patient need chiropractic care? The answer to each should be yes or no, not maybe. 2) What is the basic cause of their condition (that you are going to address)?3) How long is it going to take to get them to a place of stability?4) How much does this course of care cost?You have to be definite and answer those questions first...and the presence or lack of insurance should not , in any way, change the answer.Once you have firmly answered those questions, you share that with the patient.Then, the patient has a choice of yes, no or maybe. You should have a definite financial policy written down and signed by each and every patient from the beginning that lets them know that they are fully responsible for not only their bills, but for their very health.That being said, this guy is obviously a risk because he has already been irresponsible (in both letting his insurance lapse, and in delaying the addressing of his ongoing health problems for many months.) and how you do anything, is how you everything, so he is likely to be flakey.Since most people in our society are relatively financially irresponsible, it is a good idea for all chiros to have strong financial policies in place that are followed with integrity. Also, it is practical for chiros to offer some variability of payment options available. But don't do what the majority of chiros do...have no set financial policies and offer 50 different deals to 50 different people...this is Monty hall chiropractic and it leads to devaluation of our services.Perhaps have him and his attorney sign the form that Vern mentionedand then make an arrangement for monthly auto-pay out of debit or credit card or post-dated checks such that both he and you have a regular monthly expectation of payment that is even and consistent. Divide the expected cost of care by 12 and auto-debit his account that much each month, this way he does not get hit so hard up front and you will be likely to be mostly paid up by the time the case settles. J. , DCSpringbrook Chiropractic & Natural Health Center1015 N. Springbrook Rd.Newberg, OR 97132503-538-0618www.springbrookclinic.comwww.HealthyNewberg.com SANITAS INNATUS ESTOregonDCs rules:1. Keep correspondence professional; the purpose of the listserve is to foster communication and collegiality. No personal attacks on listserve members will be tolerated.2. Always sign your e-mails with your first and last name.3. The listserve is not secure; your e-mail could end up anywhere. However, it is against the rules of the listserve to copy, print, forward, or otherwise distribute correspondence written by another member without his or her consent, unless all personal identifiers have been removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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