Health Insurance Reimbursement Methods

If you are covered by an Indemnity plan of a Preferred Provider Organization, or PPO, for your health insurance, you may be requested to pay for a visit to the doctor out of pocket, and told to submit a claim for reimbursement to your insurance company. This may occur if you have an appointment with a health care professional who is outside the coverage network of your insurance provider. Or, you might be requested to pay up front because you've received services that are not automatically covered by your insurance provider.

Online

• Many insurance providers offer an online option for submitting your reimbursement claims. Visit your provider's website and download a reimbursement form. Fill out this form on your computer and submit it, along with a scanned copy of all receipts and descriptions of the service you are seeking reimbursement for, to your insurance company. Remember to keep a copy for yourself and to make a follow-up call if you have not heard from your insurance carrier within two weeks.

Mail

• Old-fashioned snail-mail will reliably get your billing information to your insurance company so you can receive a reimbursement.

  To mail your insurance reimbursement claim to your insurance company, print out your completed reimbursement form (which you should be able to download from your insurance company's website). Enclose a photocopy of all receipts and descriptions of the service you are seeking reimbursement for; check the reimbursement form to see what address to send the form to, and to see whether your company requests the original receipt rather than a photocopy.

Fax

• Fax the form, along with copies of all relevant receipts and records you have on hand, to your insurance company. Their fax information should be located on the contact information page of their website, or on paperwork you received when you signed up for insurance with that particular provider. Add a cover sheet indicating your name and the number of pages you intend to fax. You may want to call your insurance company the following day to be sure the fax was fully received.