
Reporting Unclaimed Property in Indiana
The November 1 deadline is approaching once again for Hoosier businesses to report and relinquish unclaimed property to the Indiana Attorney General’s Unclaimed Property Division. READ MORE
The November 1 deadline is approaching once again for Hoosier businesses to report and relinquish unclaimed property to the Indiana Attorney General’s Unclaimed Property Division. READ MORE
The controversial 90-day grace period mandated by the Affordable Care Act and recently highlighted by physician advocacy groups and national media outlets continues to plague providers, leaving them in the lurch for unpaid claims.
The grace period allows subscribers receiving Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTC) to avoid cancellation of their health exchange policies for up to 90 days without paying premiums. In the first 30 days of the grace period, services rendered will be processed and paid by the insurer to the provider as usual. Payment for services rendered between days 31 and 90, however, will be pended. If premiums are paid in full before 90 days, the payments will be reprocessed and paid by the insurer. If the premiums remain unpaid, however, the policy will be cancelled, the claims will be denied, and providers must then collect balances directly from patients.
This provision raises many practical, financial, and ethical questions for physicians and their practices. Dozens of national and state physician advocacy groups recently sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) urging them to tighten requirements regarding insurer notification and to alleviate the financial burden for physicians.
In the meantime, here are a few things you can do to begin addressing this issue in your practice.
1. Talk to insurers.
2. Talk to patients.
The American Medical Association (AMA) also has several free resources to help physicians and their practices understand and address this issue. With a free login, you can download the following from the AMA:
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