Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: We have many patients with secondary insurance, some of which have deductibles on the secondary. In these cases, should we write off the amount of the deductible because it's secondary, or do we bill the patient? Virginia Subscriber Answer: Most practices do bill the secondary insurance on behalf of patients, but if the patient has a deductible on the secondary insurance, you can and should bill the patient that amount. You can learn about secondary insurers by asking patients for the information when they first present to your practice and fill out the financial information form. You will need to verify which insurance is primary, so you can bill that payer first. Once you get the EOB from the primary payer, send your claim to the secondary, with a copy of the primary's EOB attached. In most cases, after you've received both payments, you'll take the adjustments from whichever [...]