Re: non covered benefits fee template

[Guest guest]

Remind me-- are you taking Medicare or Medicaid? If so, you might be stuck. (Can't treat people unequally!) If not, you should be free to make a financial policy "for the masses" and then make exceptions to your heart's content to give a break to patients you want to keep whom you believe aren't able to afford what your services are worth.Ken

I worry that my seniors will leave -- I actually think it is too low for all I do but maybe managable by most of my patients. I always find that the poorest are the first to pay or to offer services in barter like my disabled family of two living on 9,000 a year total. I just want a nice long list of what I provide in services and that's hard because I would care whether I get paid or not. My patients don't pay me to care they pay for a service. (can't put a price on caring ) I think Ant said it well about why she doesn't do a NCBF. I know I will get defensive when someone challenges "why now?" and "you/ve always" so I'm hoping to get over it here on the list serve and keep moving forward. When I polled people 2 years

ago everyone was up in arms. So I dropped it. But now it's "help me keep this office open" and since the town people recruited me I'm hoping I won't see too many leave since that would be just the opposite of my intent. I also attached my letter to my new patient packet so it's "up front".

Thanks for the support.

To: " " < > Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 4:01 PMSubject: Re: non covered benefits fee template

Myria,

Your message reads as though you feel guilty about taking this step. Now, I don't know what you charge your patients for visits (which could easily change the equation entirely), but if you plan to be providing top of the line patient care and service, I would be more inclined to question whether your fee is too small, not too large. An exception to that would be for your fairly healthy patients whom you aren't really going to be doing very much for either during or between visits. Even for them, however, you might still think of your NCB fee as what allows you to invest in the kind of overall infrastructure and 'maintenance' operations that allow you to maintain excellence without burning yourself out.

Ken

Well, I've just "jumped in" and decided to charge 100/person or 300/family yearly non covered benefits fee. So far the 7 patients I've talked to have received it well with a couple doing some bartering to cover it. I have not called the insurances but would like to have nice letter on my wall explaining it. Does anyone have a template I can use? (I can't figure how to get into the imp.org site -- been too long since I've been there.) Of course the longer I make the list the better sounding, right? I know it covers my 24/7 acess via home and cell phone and same day appointments (but will the insurances squak about that one?) ly I would rather do this than close the office or have to work somewhere else and that decreases my access to my patients. (Don't think the boss

would like me calling my patients on there time if I worked elsewhere part time.) One local doc already works elsewhere to keep his office afloat and that is what his patients complain about. Another sold to a big group and now has to see 30-40 patients a day! Wish me luck! (feels like I did this very impulsively but now I'm gonna run with it

[Guest guest]

Don't barter, as word gets around.

Consider throwing in something else for the fee, like a free yearly flu shot, or

maybe even a discount on something at your office.

Besides your services, patients like to feel a part of the overall practice, so

consider making it good for other things. Perhaps a local gym, trainer, or

massage therapist would give a discount for patients who are part of your

program?

Horvitz

stown, NJ

>

>

>  

> >Well, I've just " jumped in " and decided to charge 100/person or 300/family

yearly non covered benefits fee.  So far the 7 patients I've talked to have

received it well with a couple doing some bartering to cover it. I have not

called the insurances but would like to have nice letter on my wall explaining

it. Does anyone have a template I can use? (I can't figure how to get into the

imp.org site -- been too long since I've been there.) Of course the longer I

make the list the better sounding, right?  I know it covers my 24/7 acess via

home and cell phone and same day appointments (but will the insurances squak

about that one?) ly I would rather do this than close the office or have to

work somewhere else and that decreases my access to my patients. (Don't think

the boss would like me calling my patients on there time if I worked elsewhere

part time.) One local doc already works elsewhere to keep his office afloat and

that is what his patients

> complain about.  Another sold to a big group and now has to see 30-40

patients a day! Wish me luck! (feels like I did this very impulsively but now

I'm gonna run with it

>

[Guest guest]

Myria, you participate with Medicare, right? Especially if that is the case,

you'll actually want the list of services covered by your fee to be SHORT. If

even one of the items is considered a covered service by CMS, then the fee is

clearly not allowed. Being on call and offering timely appointments are

considered covered by Medicare, so your fee agreement should not mention those.

My fee only officially covers filling out forms and management of problems by

phone or e-mail that are not connected to an office visit.

Haresch

>

> Well, I've just " jumped in " and decided to charge 100/person or 300/family

yearly non covered benefits fee.  So far the 7 patients I've talked to have

received it well with a couple doing some bartering to cover it. I have not

called the insurances but would like to have nice letter on my wall explaining

it. Does anyone have a template I can use? (I can't figure how to get into the

imp.org site -- been too long since I've been there.) Of course the longer I

make the list the better sounding, right?  I know it covers my 24/7 acess via

home and cell phone and same day appointments (but will the insurances squak

about that one?) ly I would rather do this than close the office or have to

work somewhere else and that decreases my access to my patients. (Don't think

the boss would like me calling my patients on there time if I worked elsewhere

part time.) One local doc already works elsewhere to keep his office afloat and

that is what his patients

> complain about.  Another sold to a big group and now has to see 30-40

patients a day! Wish me luck! (feels like I did this very impulsively but now

I'm gonna run with it

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks! Those are the pitfalls I don't want to be caught in! Medicare giving me enough grief over home visits! To: Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 9:18 PM

Subject: Re: non covered benefits fee template

Myria, you participate with Medicare, right? Especially if that is the case, you'll actually want the list of services covered by your fee to be SHORT. If even one of the items is considered a covered service by CMS, then the fee is clearly not allowed. Being on call and offering timely appointments are considered covered by Medicare, so your fee agreement should not mention those. My fee only officially covers filling out forms and management of problems by phone or e-mail that are not connected to an office visit.

Haresch

>

> Well, I've just "jumped in" and decided to charge 100/person or 300/family yearly non covered benefits fee. So far the 7 patients I've talked to have received it well with a couple doing some bartering to cover it. I have not called the insurances but would like to have nice letter on my wall explaining it. Does anyone have a template I can use? (I can't figure how to get into the imp.org site -- been too long since I've been there.) Of course the longer I make the list the better sounding, right? I know it covers my 24/7 acess via home and cell phone and same day appointments (but will the insurances squak about that one?) ly I would rather do this than close the office or have to work somewhere else and that decreases my access to my patients. (Don't think the boss would like me calling my patients on there time if I worked elsewhere part time.) One local doc already works

elsewhere to keep his office afloat and that is what his patients

> complain about. Another sold to a big group and now has to see 30-40 patients a day! Wish me luck! (feels like I did this very impulsively but now I'm gonna run with it

>