NEED HELP ASAP

[Guest guest]

Hello all,

I have started a somewhat micro practice here but am using the billing and

practice management staff of another two doctors in town to help me. I am

officially employed by them although I am really running my own primary care

practice solo. They had told me I could bill Medicare under their group number

without changing my information with Medicare. They seemed very averse to

having me change everything with Medicare once I came over b/c it " takes

forever " . However we are now learning that my individual Medicare number must go

on the claims and therefore I must do the change of address/practice location.

Problem is, they seem to know nothing about how to make this happen and are of

the mind set that I should just give up seeing Medicare altogether. I think

they are just lazy and don't want to fool with it. I see that as part of why

I'm paying for a practice manager's assistance - to make this happen. Although

I can see their point re: Medicare pays badly, I also enjoy my Medicare

patients. I don't plan to take new ones but I would like to see the few I have

already and have been doing so since I moved 7/1 but possibly now for free. I

would love your help as I need to know...

1. How do you go about changing your info at Medicare to change practices/info

and

2. How long did it take you to get everything done and start being able to

submit claims?

3. Is it 12 months that you can hold Medicare claims and still submit them?

I am at my wits end with this credentialling/insurance BS and feeling like the

people who I " m paying to be " in the know " really aren't.

Thanks for any help you can give..

Neva

[Guest guest]

Dear Neva, Welcome to the worst part of practice. It will take months to your new medicare number: they "give ourselves 16 weeks to process" and I assure you they take the entire time. also they want a lot of things from you: your new letterhead stationary, for example. Do call them and establishe a relationship with the nice lady they refer you to for new medicare numbers and while you are doing that get her direct line phone number. That way when something goes wrong you can call her up and get it straight. You can hold these bills for 18 months and still get paid.. You problem with the "billing experts" is a different issue. I keep saying that medical billing is the last refuge of the ignorant. Very few really know what is going on, there is

little feedback, and the errors are just forgotten and unpaid too frequently. Even the courses don't always teach accurately. Even your hospital billing center won't be correct in some cases. What works is to learn to bill for your patients, for what you need, and some of this is by trial and error.If your billing center is doing a bad job for you get some other way to have this done. I and several others in this list serve have had some experiences in discovering the billing was way off and needed to be changed in our practices. Joanne Holland DVM/MD Drain, OregonFrom:

edens@... Subject: NEED HELP ASAPTo: Cc: Date: Friday, August 22, 2008, 12:38 PM

Hello all,

I have started a somewhat micro practice here but am using the billing and practice management staff of another two doctors in town to help me. I am officially employed by them although I am really running my own primary care practice solo. They had told me I could bill Medicare under their group number without changing my information with Medicare. They seemed very averse to having me change everything with Medicare once I came over b/c it "takes forever". However we are now learning that my individual Medicare number must go on the claims and therefore I must do the change of address/practice location. Problem is, they seem to know nothing about how to make this happen and are of the mind set that I should just give up seeing Medicare altogether. I think they are just lazy and don't want to fool with it. I see that as part of why I'm paying for a practice manager's assistance - to make this happen. Although I can see their point re: Medicare

pays badly, I also enjoy my Medicare patients. I don't plan to take new ones but I would like to see the few I have already and have been doing so since I moved 7/1 but possibly now for free. I would love your help as I need to know...

1. How do you go about changing your info at Medicare to change practices/info and

2. How long did it take you to get everything done and start being able to submit claims?

3. Is it 12 months that you can hold Medicare claims and still submit them?

I am at my wits end with this credentialling/ insurance BS and feeling like the people who I"m paying to be "in the know" really aren't.

Thanks for any help you can give..

Neva

[Guest guest]

Check with your local Medicare

carrier. They should have stopped taking “legacy” numbers

already, and you the claims would go through with the “group” NPI

number in box 32

and your personal NPI in 24J & 33.

Here’s a list by state of the

Medicare carriers, if you need the contact info: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/downloads/contact_list.pdf

Good luck!

Pratt

Office Manager

Oak Tree Internal Medicine P.C.

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of edens@...

Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008

12:38 PM

To:

Cc:

Subject:

NEED HELP ASAP

Hello all,

I have started a somewhat micro practice here but am using the billing and

practice management staff of another two doctors in town to help me. I am

officially employed by them although I am really running my own primary care

practice solo. They had told me I could bill Medicare under their group number

without changing my information with Medicare. They seemed very averse to

having me change everything with Medicare once I came over b/c it " takes

forever " . However we are now learning that my individual Medicare number

must go on the claims and therefore I must do the change of address/practice

location. Problem is, they seem to know nothing about how to make this happen

and are of the mind set that I should just give up seeing Medicare altogether.

I think they are just lazy and don't want to fool with it. I see that as part

of why I'm paying for a practice manager's assistance - to make this happen.

Although I can see their point re: Medicare pays badly, I also enjoy my

Medicare patients. I don't plan to take new ones but I would like to see the

few I have already and have been doing so since I moved 7/1 but possibly now

for free. I would love your help as I need to know...

1. How do you go about changing your info at Medicare to change practices/info

and

2. How long did it take you to get everything done and start being able to

submit claims?

3. Is it 12 months that you can hold Medicare claims and still submit them?

I am at my wits end with this credentialling/insurance BS and feeling like

the people who I " m paying to be " in the know " really aren't.

Thanks for any help you can give..

Neva