Photo By Staff Sgt. Tryphena Mayhugh | Staff Sgt. James Jeter, 86th Medical Support Squadron NCO in charge of the Uniform...... read more read more
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RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – The Airmen from the 86th Medical Support Squadron uniform business office implemented a new process here, March 18, to ensure 86th Medical Group patients with third-party insurance have up-to-date information.
The goal of the procedure is to have medical technicians in secondary clinics, such as pediatrics or optometry, ask patients without Tricare Prime about their Department of Defense Form 2569, Third-Party Collection Program – Record of Other Health Insurance, and update it if needed.
Once the form is completed, the patient will receive a card and present it at subsequent appointments. Patients are required to update the form annually when the card expires.
Prior to this system, the forms were mailed to patients with third-party insurance yearly and had to be mailed back. If the office received a bill for an unknown patient, the uniform business office would seek them out to complete DD Form 2569.
“Sometimes people don’t check their bill during their entire tour here, and we’re sending mail and trying to hand them all the information they need,” said Senior Airman Autumn Lichwa, 86th MDSS third-party collections clerk. “Then they may come to us and say they are moving to a new base in a week, and they have a $2,000 co-pay or $17,000 worth of bills. So it’s good for them to know and to keep updated with their information.”
If a patient owes a large amount of money, he is required to either pay out of pocket or set up a payment plan. Failure to follow through with payments can result in the bill being turned over to a collection agency or it can prevent the individual from completing his permanent change of station.
“With all the clinics being involved, it’s helping to send the message out,” said Lichwa. “More patients are sending us forms, which allow us to start billing insurance companies as soon as possible. We only implemented this last week, and it has provided a huge result of 2569s.”
The form not only provides the resource management team with information needed to bill the patient’s insurance, but also assists them in remaining in contact with patients if they are not paying their share of the bills. Staying on top of the process and knowing exactly how things stand with medical bills can prevent surprises from popping up down the road.
In addition, the office is working on a website, www.pay.gov, which is planned to launch in May. It will allow patients to view and pay their bills online.
The resource management team makes an effort to make the process for the patients as smooth as possible, but the task is often made difficult because critical information to complete the job is missing.
“Our biggest problem was patients not handing in the form,” Lichwa said. “If it isn’t filled out correctly, signed or dated, then we are at a standstill and cannot bill the insurance company.”
Changes in a person’s life, such as an address change, can create a busy schedule causing distractions and many things can be pushed to the back burner. In many cases, patients simply forgot to update the information on the DD Form 2569, causing delays.
“If we don’t have all of their correct information, it lengthens the process,” said Staff Sgt. James Jeter, 86th MDSS noncommissioned officer in charge of the office. He said the office works to reduce the amount of time to process claims, but often can’t reach patients due to an outdated DD Form 2569.
The Air Force thrives when Airmen continually work toward better methods and processes to complete their job. Innovation can be the key to progress, and the Airmen at the uniform business office saw an opportunity to improve how things are done here at Ramstein.
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.02.2015 05:55 |
| Story ID: | 158905 |
| Location: | RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 241 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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