One doctor’s list of unpaid claims

Dr. Mehdi Ansarinia, a solo-practice neurologist in Las Vegas, opened his books for a Las Vegas Sun reporter to give an example of how various payers wrongly return about a third of the claims he submits.

The article gives this list of bogus rejections:

Cigna rejected about a dozen claims because they were apparently missing Ansarinia’s taxpayer identification number. The documents show the number clearly listed on each claim.

PacifiCare approved a patient’s migraine treatment for two years but then started denying claims, saying the treatment was experimental.

Sierra Health Services denied a handful of recent claims because the ink tone was too light, even though it was readable to the naked eye.

Sierra had taken bills with the same ink tone before, he said, and other insurance companies accept bills with the same ink.

Records show that a different insurer approved Botox treatments - for pain management, not cosmetic reasons - from May to November 2006, then denied bills from Ansarinia totaling about $2,100 for procedures performed in August.

The article says that this treatment by the insurance companies are leading doctors to think about leaving Las Vegas. Exactly where they are going to go to escape this is anyone’s guess.

Doctor shows why insurers exasperate him [Via Las Vegas Sun]

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From Medical Economics magazine, more on claims ...

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