Physicians Practice - March 2008 - (Page 56)

ASK THE EXPERTS Most contracts don’t allow you to charge patients for services already covered under their insurance. In the payers’ eyes, you are asking patients to pay twice. DOUBLE DIP Basically, if you control how and when the person works, she is an employee. If you plan to bill incidentto, which implies you are controlling how the PA works, it makes rational sense that she is an employee. Your malpractice carrier might also have questions. If you are not controlling how the person works — if she is a contractor for IRS purposes — then you have greater risk from a malpractice perspective. CHARGING FOR BLOOD DRAWS bursement was so low. We have patients sign a form stating they have a choice between paying the $20 for blood draw in ofﬁce or being referred to the lab. Response from patients has been enthusiastic; they like the convenience. But a colleague recently pointed out that this may be in violation of our health plan contracts. What do you say? Our small physical space prevents us from having the lab provide a phlebotomist for us. In the payers’ eyes, you are asking patients to pay twice — once in the form of the insurance premium and again in cash to your practice. Remember that if it is a convenience to your patients, providing the service without charging them may be worthwhile despite the low reimbursement from payers. Take a look at your actual costs to make this decision. BILLING FOR MEDICAL DAYCARE Q How should we bill medical daycare (MDC) for nursing home orders given over the phone? The doctor will not be visiting the facility. A Sheri Bernard of the American Academy of Professional Coders supplied the following response: MDC programs provide daycare for persons with disabilities associated with activities of daily living. Plans of care are developed by the care center in conjunction with the patient’s physician. According to the Q We recently started charging patients $20 for blood draws in our ofﬁce rather than billing the health plan, because reim- A You’ll have to read your contracts to know for sure, but yes, it could be a problem. Most contracts don’t allow you to charge patients for services already covered under their insurance. 56 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | MARCH 2008 WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM http://phonetree.com/happy http://phonetree.com/happy http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - March 2008

Physicians Practice - March 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Try a Little Tenderness Second Opinion Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: The Value of First Impressions Noteworthy Cover Story: Your Complete Guide to Patient Service Billings & Collections: Rules to Code By The Administrators Desk: Selecting an EMR Technology: Learn to Love Your Nerd Ask The Experts Coding The Guide The Tech Doctor: All About Blogs The Great Practice Makeover: When Bad Things Happen to Good Practices Start It Up - NEW! The Law: Audits 101 In Practice: Do As I Say... Pretty Please? Healthonomics: Handling the Changes Wrought by Medicare D Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - March 2008

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