FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
| Q. Why am I being charged a MEDICARE DEDUCTIBLE? |
| A. On January 1st of every year all Medicare recipients have a $100.00 deductible.
Some supplemental plans cover this, many only cover co-payments. See FRAUD ALERT. |
| Q. I paid my $100.00 Medicare deductible to my "other" doctor, why am I being charged now? |
| A. Deductibles should only be paid to the provider who is rendering service to you. You should
pay ONLY the Medicare approved amount due for the current service and not the full $100.00
(unless the cost of your service exceeds $100.00). |
| Q. I paid my deductible to Medicare, why am I being charged now? |
| A. Medicare does NOT collect deductibles. Deductibles should only be paid to the provider who
is rendering service to you. You should pay ONLY the Medicare approved amount due for the
current service and not the full $100.00 (unless the cost of your service exceeds $100.00). |
| Q. Medicare sent me information stating that I have MET my deductible, what does this mean? |
| A. This means that you have accumulated over $100.00 in charges for the current calendar year.
It does NOT necessarily mean that you have actually paid your deductible. |
| Q. My doctor never used to charge me for co-pays or deductibles, why am I being charged now? |
| A. Providers are required BY LAW to collect co-pays and deductibles. While this was not
enforced in the past it is being vigorously enforced today. See FRAUD ALERT. |
| Q. My doctor participates with my insurance company, why am I being charged? |
| A. When we send you a bill it is a result of information we received from your insurance company
notifying us that you are responsible. If you believe you are being billed in error please
contact your insurance company before you call us. If your insurance company verifies you are
not responsible please insist that they reprocess your claim for payment. See FRAUD ALERT. |
| Q. Why am I being charged a co-pay for a procedure? I thought co-pays only applied to office
visits. |
| A. This varies greatly from plan to plan. Some plans provide for a co-pay for every procedure.
If you believe you are being billed in error please contact your insurance company before you
call us. If your insurance company verifies you are not responsible please insist that they
reprocess your claim for payment. See FRAUD ALERT. |
| Q. I cannot afford to pay my bill, what should I do? |
| A. First and foremost, please don't ignore the bill in the hope it will go away (see FRAUD ALERT).
Call us, many of our provider Clients will allow you to make payment arrangements which fit into
your budget. |
| Q. Who and what is DOCTORS BILLING CLERK? |
| A. We are NOT a collection agency! We process insurance claims for many health care providers.
By utilizing our service your health care provider has decided that he or she would rather focus
on you, the patient. Claims processing has become so complex and time consuming today that it
is better left to people who specialize in it. |
| Q. Why are you billing me? |
| A. Because your insurance company informed us that we should. Our primary goal is to have your
insurance company pay as much of your health care provider's bill as possible. We ONLY bill you
when your insurance company "tells" us to do so. See FRAUD ALERT. |
| Q. Why does my health care provider charge so much? |
| A. Because your provider must have one set fee per procedure that they charge to ALL insurance
companies and since there are a few remaining insurance plans that will pay the total amount
charged your provider wants to capture this where possible. Please DON'T BE ALARMED by this,
if your provider participates with your insurance company (including Medicare) he will only
receive the allowed amount. In the vast majority of cases this will NOT effect your out of
pocket cost. In other words, your provider can charge whatever he or she wants to and your
insurance company (especially Medicare) will only pay what they have pre-determined they are
going to pay for a given procedure. |
| Q. Are you a collection agency? |
| A. NO! See Who and what is DOCTORS BILLING CLERK. |
Q. Who should I make my check payable to?
| A. To your health care provider. Instructions can be found in the message area of the bill you
received (just below the charge area). PLEASE DO NOT MAKE YOUR CHECK OUT TO DOCTORS BILLING
CLERK. | |
| Q. Where should I send my payment? |
| A. DOCTORS BILLING CLERK, 2741 Philmont Avenue, Huntingdon Valley, PA. 19006-5303. Please make
your check payable to your provider, NOT to Doctors Billing Clerk. |
| Q. I don't see my question listed here, what should I do? |
| A. Call us at 215-947-2023 or the number listed in the message area of your bill (just below the
charges). WE ARE HERE TO HELP and SERVE YOU. |
| Q. My other doctor could sure use the services of DOCTORS BILLING CLERK, how can I let him, or
her know about your service? |
| A. Tell them to visit this site and click on HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, or you can go back to our
home page, click on HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, print it out and give it to your provider. Of course
you can always pass along our phone number; 215-947-2023. |
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Doctors
Billing Clerksm
Never forget!