Lane --
Funny, after discussing "opting out" and "private contracts" the other day, I had a conversation with a customer today who does just this. I have been only remotely involved with her business in the past but we were talking about some systems problems she's having and got to discussing her breakdown of claims.
She said, "Oh, I only take BCBS, no other insurance". Now, that's weird. She said, "Occasionally I'll take something like United or Cigna, but basically only BCBS. No Medicare at all".
So, we got to talking and she said she had opted out of Medicare from the outset, and whenever a Medicare patient calls they tell them they don't accept ANY Medicare, and work only under a private contract. She's an internist and seemed quite pleased with the arrangement, although I was trying to understand why she only took BCBS since there are a few other payers who pay better. She finally said, "Well, if you can handle the electronic claims I guess I should".
Anyway, I though it was funny because I really hadn't dealt commonly with clinics who made this decision, but she wasn't about to touch Medicare. She also doesn't take any Medicaid. |
