Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Know the coordination of benefits and what each payer pays.If you have questions about primary and secondary payers, our experts have answers -- especially when one of the payers in question is Medicare. Read through these FAQs to maximize your practice's reimbursement and reduce the costs of administering claims for patients covered by more than one payer.Who Is Responsible for Knowing About Primary vs. Secondary?There is no exact, easy answer to this question, but everyone should be aware of which insurance that patient has. "Ideally, the patient should know but that is not usually the case," says Linda Huckaby, CMA (AAMA), with Carolina Medical Rehabilitation in Greenville, S.C. "Everyone -- provider, patient, and payer -- has a responsibility to know," adds coding, billing, and practice management consultant Steven M. Verno, CMBS, CMSCS, CEMCS, CPM-MCS, in Orlando, Fla. "The provider should know because they need to know who the claim is to be sent [...]