General billing question...work comp

This is not a coding question, but I'm hoping someone can help me. Does anyone know what can be done when you have bad work comp billing information? My understanding is that it's illegal to bill a patient when it is work related and the patient says at the time of service he/she is going to file a work comp claim. But, if claims are returned as a bad address or if you don't get a response at all, can you bill the patient? I mean, how long do you have to hang on to the claims and let it sit in the A/R before it can be released and eventually go to collections? I have some claims that are 2 and 3 years old and I don't know what to do with them. I have sent letters to the patients requesting assistance, but they have not responded. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

re: General billing question...work comp

I have worked with WC for years and have come across many situations. My first advice is to NEVER believe a patient that they are going to file a WC claim. The company has to file the claim, the patient should have that information before the visit. In fact, The physicians office should get the visit authorized with the WC carrier before the visit. Your question is can you bill the patient if you have no information..of course.. because you have insufficient information to file correctly. But from what you have stated, the patient is not helping you with information. If you have the employer name where they were injured, you need to contact them and see if you can get the DOI and the insurance name. They will let you know if the claim is closed. Be sure to let the employer know the situation. I have had employers pay after the fact. If it is state fund, you could possibly fill out a form with the information and they will retro those dates of service. You need to find out if the patient has an attorney, if so, call and get information that way. Sometimes patients will think it is WC, but the employer never reported, in that case it is the patients responsibility. 3 or 4 years old is quite old. Collection companies normally do not collect. Put it on the patients credit. Someday they may want to buy something.. they will call you then...If it is to messy, I would flag the file and get it off of the books.

re: General billing question...work comp

I neglected to mention that this is ER physician billing. When the patient is seen, all they usually know is the name of their employer. And they're in so much pain most of the time, it's hard to get much more out of them. And I don't see the patient at all. I'm totally dependent on the hospital for all billing information. They send what they have when the patient is seen and we do not get any updates after that. I guess I have no choice, but to try and get the information from the employer. This is such a huge practice, there really isn't time to do that, but .....Thanks for your help.