They billed Medicare late for his anesthesia. He went to collections for a $3,000 tab

[Northeast Agent]

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...e-he-got-sent-to-collections-for-3000-dollars

Thomas Greene, 74 , is covered by original Medicare and a Medicare supplement policy sold by Humana.

North American Partners in Anesthesia, or NAPA, pursued Greene to pay for his anesthesia care instead of billing Medicare on time, sending the debt to collections before the couple discovered the problem.

Medicare eventually received the claims from NAPA, months after Bluizer said they started receiving collections letters. But Medicare denied them because they were filed late — nearly 17 months after the surgery. Humana also denied the claims.

 

[somarco]

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...e-he-got-sent-to-collections-for-3000-dollars

Thomas Greene, 74 , is covered by original Medicare and a Medicare supplement policy sold by Humana.

North American Partners in Anesthesia, or NAPA, pursued Greene to pay for his anesthesia care instead of billing Medicare on time, sending the debt to collections before the couple discovered the problem.

Medicare eventually received the claims from NAPA, months after Bluizer said they started receiving collections letters. But Medicare denied them because they were filed late — nearly 17 months after the surgery. Humana also denied the claims.

Medicare claims must be filed no later than 12 months (or 1 full calendar year) after the date when the services were provided. If a claim isn't filed within this time limit, Medicare can't pay its share.

NAPA missed the deadline by 5 months. They are supposed to eat the claim