Accomplishing the goal of a claim which processes through to the various insurance plans, the first time its submitted, is my main objective. By performing the process of billing correctly I am able to accurately report an account balance to you, our patient. To achieve this I require information that is the most recent and accurate on your insurance coverage.

Every year we request our patients to update their file. Provide any changes such as address, phone, insurance and also double check that what we have on our records is correct. If you are aware of a change prior to the next time you are requested to update our file, please be sure to let our reception staff know. That way your services will not be denied by insurance and you will not receive a bill for any charges except that which you are responsible for.

Its also important to bring your co-pay with you to the office when you arrive for services. The co-pay was developed to help reduce the cost of your health insurance and the contract that you have with your insurance requires you to pay your co-pay at the time of service. By our office sending out a statement to receive this payment only creates more expenses for the office requiring us to raise our fees.

There are times when a patient may have primary and secondary insurance coverage. When services are performed by a doctor one or both of the plans may send you an inquiry form. The form will ask you to restate the coverage that you have. The reason carriers do this is to verify the relationship between who should pay first on a bill and who should pay second. DON'T ignore this request for information. Without its completion and return to the insurance department, your bill for medical services will not be paid and the doctor will have to send a bill to you for payment.

During 2003 enforcement of the HIPAA, (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) was put in place. As many patients may know from either our office or other doctor offices, it meant receiving a disclosure form which spells out what steps are taken to protect your private health information. This is a very important regulation which we take very seriously. In Dr. Mandel's office I am the HIPAA compliance officer and I am available to assist you with any questions and/or complaints relative to the treatment of your medical records. Please do not hesitate to call me with either a question regarding your bill for medical services or on a issue related to HIPAA. I can be reached at the Mayfield office at 440-449-8277 ext 201.