It's interesting to see you say that. It's outside my experience. For forty years now, a couple of months after my treatment by a doctor, I get a statement from my insurance telling me how much they paid and how much I owe. Like clockwork. It has taken longer, though, to pay for hospital treatment. But I can't tell if that was because the hospital didn't bill timely or if the insurer didn't pay timely.
I think my post was misunderstood.
It depends on the insurer and even the department within an insurer. Medical claims are totally different from hospital claims which are totally different from Mental Health, etc.
In some states, BCBS does a great job, in other states, not as good. And frankly, claims services for Medicare are better in some states than others (since different states use different intermediaries for claim processing).
There are some insurers who will take advantage of every opportunity to stonewall. But by and large they do a reasonable job. If a Medicare claim is routine, they are apt to pay it within 21 days. If there is ANYTHING out of the ordinary, getting your money is a challenge.
Today, 100s of millions in Medicare claims are going unpaid because MC has imposed electronic filing rules without an appropriate phase in. Last year, many providers went extended periods with MC claims being paid because MC totally screwed up the NPI implementation. It is just one train wreck after another. |
