Keeping Up-To-Date Health Insurance Records and Information

Part 1: The Basic Tools, Chapter 3: Developing a Systematic Approach to Dealing with Health Insurance Page 13

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Table 9 is designed for a situation in which an individual is covered by a single insurer. If you have both a primary and a secondary insurer, you'll need to include additional spaces to record information concerning reimbursements from your secondary insurer.

Be sure to also note information in your records about the amount of the deductible that has been met at each point. That will help you maintain up-to-date information in regard to the yearly deductible, so that you'll know when the individual and the family deductible have been met in full.

Review your records periodically. Note those records that have a "no" in the "Completed" field and that are more than five weeks old (many insurance companies process claims in three to four weeks). If there are records in that group that your insurer does not appear to have processed, file the claim again. Include a photocopy of the original bill and a new claim form. Write "Second Request" on the top of the claim form. If you don't receive a response within four weeks, file a formal claim appeal (See Step Five).

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