In the world of healthcare, communication is essential. As providers, it is beneficial to communicate with patients, creating a patient/doctor relationship to understand their situation. This also applies with office staff communicating and forming a relationship with their insurance representatives. These representatives are there for a reason and every office or center should be taking advantage of their service.
Have you ever had an issue where you have needed to contact the insurance company for resolution? Do you get the resolution you need? I would say, not always! I was once told by an insurance representative that their customer service people have limited training and a lot of times cannot answer the more complex questions or issues that come up. I wish I had known this some years earlier as it could have saved time and frustration to solve certain issues. This is why these representatives are so important to have in your back pocket, so to speak. You can contact them directly to get faster results and to solve bigger issues, rather than waiting for someone to get back to you through their customer service phone chain. Better yet, they can help set up a contract or resolve any problems you may have with the contract your facility has with that particular insurance. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Please reference the attached health plan directory to find the insurance representative who can be your direct contact as needed. Set up a time for them to come in and meet your staff and providers. Set up quarterly meetings with them to address any issues you may be having and they can also keep you in the loop of any changes that are going to be coming. They are just as important to a health centers success as the providers and the patients themselves.