By MATTHEW HOLT
To hitch in the fun I am having with Blue Shield of California & Brown & Toland Physicians IPA being unable to tell me why I have a $34.94 bill for lab work (see picture) that ought to both be covered as preventable under the ACA, or have co-pay of $50 (see picture of the BS of CA screenshot for the $50), I known as Labcorp.
After 6 minutes I bought a really confused particular person. BTW there’s NO technique to talk with Labcorp on the web site, and should you put your bill quantity into their IVR system there’s NO technique to get a human. The one method to do this is to hold up and begin once more, NOT put in your bill quantity and hit 0. Then wait on maintain with muzak to get a human. They then ask your DOB and telephone quantity. The decision heart is within the Philippines BTW.
I defined that I needed data on which check was not lined below the ACA. Brown and Toland/Blue Protect’s EOB says I’ve a $0 co-pay (see picture).
The Labcorp rep instructed me that of the 5 checks finished (with CPT code and worth), 3 weren’t lined. The Lipid (85027 $107.10), the A1C (80061 – $81.90) Uric Acid (84550 $43.05). 2 of these 3 clearly are lined below the ACA. The Uric Acid one might not be in response to my studying of the CMS website. Labcorp submitted that invoice to Blue Protect. The rep persistently instructed me the declare was despatched to Blue Cross Blue Protect of CA, which doesn’t exist.
At that time — quarter-hour in — the decision dropped. I don’t know if they only hung up however that they had requested for my telephone quantity. They didn’t name me again.
However I’m a ache within the ass, and I known as them again. After roughly 4 minutes on maintain, I bought one other rep. She instructed me ALL of the CPT codes/lab checks had been topic to copay. She instructed me that Blue Protect (NOT Brown & Toland Physicians) has bundled all of those codes and there’s a co pay for all of them. Which is what the invoice says.
So the one factor I can do is to ship an e mail with the screenshot of the EOB, which is from the IPA not Blue Protect. So I did that and should get a response in 3-5 enterprise days.
I do know you might be on tenterhooks. Let’s see what occurs subsequent however the full absence of something resembling shopper transparency or entry to the related data makes a mockery of all the pieces Paul Markovich says on stage.
Matthew Holt is the founder and writer of THCB
