Is anyone else Being Pressured To...

[IAC]

use particular paramedical companies?

We're a group of independents who've joined forces (share resources, help one another, etc.). We've all had bad experiences with the "national" companies so we've been working with independent paramedical examiners because of their service, reliability and professionalism.

But lately, one of the carriers a number of us write for has been pushing us to use the national companies again. To the point of even being a little threatening about it.

Is anyone else seeing this? And if so how are you handling it?

We've been happy with our examiners and don't want to go backwards.

 

[WMG]

use particular paramedical companies?

We're a group of independents who've joined forces (share resources, help one another, etc.). We've all had bad experiences with the "national" companies so we've been working with independent paramedical examiners because of their service, reliability and professionalism.

But lately, one of the carriers a number of us write for has been pushing us to use the national companies again. To the point of even being a little threatening about it.

Is anyone else seeing this? And if so how are you handling it?

We've been happy with our examiners and don't want to go backwards.

I've seen this, regularly, for years. I've seen general agencies do this, the large brokerages, like Crump, and yes, insurance companies as well. I've never been confronted with any "threat" or even an inference, but they give some dog and pony pitch about "we prefer" and "we've had the best results with" and more along those lines.

As far as the carriers -- I deal with many directly, and I think they are looking for economies of scale. They can easily approach a national company and say "we'll give you X number of exams a year, and we need this rate" and they certainly look for the best deal. Like anything the insurance company "purchases" in the marketplace.

My approach would be to have a small group, perhaps a producer advisory group -- that represents all of you -- approach the insurance company and talk to them. Explain your experiences, your goals, likes, etc. Let them know there is a reason why you feel the way you feel. Make it a productive approach and conversation. I think if they look at how much it will cost them -- even more than what they would normally spend -- and based upon your business and production, they may view this as negligible. It always helps if you come from a position of strength as well -- simply put, massive production, LOL. Good luck.

 

[Larry Tew]

If you're using a company that's on the carrier's approved list, what's the problem? Have you asked the company for their reasoning in trying to steer you to a particular service?

 

[IAC]

Our examiners bill the carriers directly because the approved exam companies take 30% or more off the top when examiners go through them. Because of this, they won't do exams for carriers who won't deal with them directly and I can't really say I blame them.

In any event we lose their services for that carrier, if the carrier forces the issue, and we don't want that to happen. We've been getting great service. They keep their appointments, they show up on time, they rarely reschedule and they've never no showed any of our clients. A far cry from the nationals.

WMG - Great advice! Thank you.
Unfortunately we don't have "massive production" so our voice is weak. About all we can do is push the products of the carriers who allow us to choose for ourselves.

 

[WMG]

Our examiners bill the carriers directly because the approved exam companies take 30% or more off the top when examiners go through them. Because of this, they won't do exams for carriers who won't deal with them directly and I can't really say I blame them.

In any event we lose their services for that carrier, if the carrier forces the issue, and we don't want that to happen. We've been getting great service. They keep their appointments, they show up on time, they rarely reschedule and they've never no showed any of our clients. A far cry from the nationals.

WMG - Great advice! Thank you.
Unfortunately we don't have "massive production" so our voice is weak. About all we can do is push the products of the carriers who allow us to choose for ourselves.

Even without massive production, I still think the same approach should be taken. My tongue in cheek joke was more that "it always helps as well" if you have that type of production, LOL. Absent that -- same approach. Try to frame this as you are looking to partner with them, although carriers are moving further and further away from this mindset. However, be positive and approach them.

Open a dialogue with them, let them know, find out their thinking, etc.

 

[sirherbie]

What does an insurance company pay a paramed company for a basic paramed ,blood and urine?What does a paramed company pay the examiner?

 

[Medicine Man]

What does an insurance company pay a paramed company for a basic paramed ,blood and urine?What does a paramed company pay the examiner?

On average, most carriers pay somewhere in the vicinity of $70 for a paramed blood urine.
That amount is based on what the exam companies say the carriers are paying them.

The exam companies typically pay their examiners 25-35%, so of that $70 for a paramed-blood-urine they get anywhere from $17-$28. Whenever possible the exam companies assign the work to noobies. Noobies don't know the business and, because of that, will frequently work for less than experienced examiners.

It usually takes 3 - 6 months to get to know and understand the business, which is the point at which many leave the business, leading to high turnover.

On average it takes about 2 hours to complete an exam (taking in the order, calls to client to schedule appointment, statusing, driving to and from the exam, doing the exam, processing paperwork, processing specimens, processing shipping, etc.).

Because the pay is low, there are no benefits and the amount of work is inconsistent, 90-95% of examiners do this part-time.

 

[IAC]

Well that's an eye opener.

None of us knew that. We just assumed examiners got paid pretty well.
It surely explains why the service we got from the nationals was terrible.

We did get our situation resolved. We followed WMG's advice and approached the carrier, as a group, and explained our concerns. They relented and said we could continue to use our examiners and they would accept direct billing from them.

Looks like some volume is better than no volume.

Thanks to all for responding.

 

[SusieQ2]

Just had one done and they had the client sit instead of lie down for EKG. Made the results a little off, enough to make them standard instead of super preferred.

Client, at his own expense, went and had one done by his doctor, results were great. Insurance company then gave them super preferred.

Originally, the client thought the insurance company was trying to just get more money, made me unhappy as well. I realize it was probably just one person but I won't be using them again.

 

[IAC]

Just curious. Was the exam company one of the nationals?