Posted on 10/20/2010 6:59:04 AM PDT by Blue Turtle
"After nearly 10 years at Aetna and with the company performing well, it is time to step aside. The passage of major health-care reform legislation has underscored the need for market-based solutions to address quality and affordability challenges in health care, and the next few years will present another opportunity for Aetna to lead," Williams said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
He’s getting out while the getting is still good.
About once a month I have to argue with Aetna to get them to pay a claim they’ve denied.
Many insurance companies have policies to refuse a certain percentage of claims. Not because there is a legitimate reason to refuse. Because many times the patient will pay rather than fight with the insurance company.
This came from a director of billing for a major insurance company.
Aetna required me to get a yearly physical. Part of that physical was lab work totalling over $2,000. Of course this is way more than the insurance company will ever pay. I get a bill from Quest Diagnostics showing the bill was “contracted” at a little over $300. However, the insurance company didn’t pay it so they billed me. It made no sense. The lab company was saying “We’ll accept $300 as payment in full from the insurance company but we’ll bill the patient.” I objected and wrote a letter to Aetna. I got a bill yesterday from Quest for $24.00. You should always watch those payments very closely. I’ve no idea how much I’ve paid over the years by not paying attention.
These insurance companies pay a small percentage as paid in full and the providers accept it. I had a hospital bill of almost $3,000. That was my co-pay. I wrote a check for $1,000 and on the memo wrote “Paid in Full”. The accounting department called me and said “We can’t accept that little amount.” I ended up paying 60%. Of course a few months later I get a phone call about the balance and I gave them the check number and told them I’d mail them a copy showing it as paid. They said never mind and let it go. They were still trying to get money out of me. Always put “paid in full” on the checks.
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