Billing FAQ

A list of the frequently asked questions regarding Billing topics

Can I keep my current clearinghouse?

Yes; AngelTrack is not married to one particular clearinghouse.

Our automatic clearinghouse uploader/downloader supports many different clearinghouses.

Which clearinghouse do you recommend?

AngelTrack LLC recommends Office Ally, and enjoys a good working relationship with them.

If you wish to migrate from your current clearinghouse to Office Ally, AngelTrack Support personnel will walk you through it. Don't be intimidated by the thought of switching clearinghouses; we help EMS companies do it all the time.

Can I keep my current billing agency?

Yes.

If you wish to integrate your billing agency into your AngelTrack system, create "biller" user accounts for the billing agency's employees. They can then login from their office and service whichever billing queues you desire. They can even do your QA reviews, prior authorizations, and invoices if you so direct. Read the Outsourcing QA and Billing Guide in the online help for more details.

If you do NOT wish to integrate your billing agency, then you will continue doing what you've always done: bundle up run reports as .PDFs or as NEMSIS 3 .XMLs... whichever format the billing agency prefers. AngelTrack will zip them up for you, so you can send them via email or FTP. To learn more, read the Detached Biller Guide.

NEMSIS 3 .XMLs can be easily imported into modern EMS billing software. Some billing software can also import 837P documents.

Bundling of run reports is trivially easy to do using the Insurance Filing Queue's exporter, or the Master Billing Queue's data-offloading features. Later, the billing agency will send back EOBs, which you input back into AngelTrack as Payment Events. If your billing agency can send you electronic (X12.835) EOBs, then AngelTrack can import them in bulk. If all you can get is paper EOBs, then you must input them by hand, a process which takes about about 1 minute per claim.

What is NEMSIS?

NEMSIS is the National EMS Information Systems committee, which regulates the format of data files used by EMS software to exchange data. The NEMSIS specification requires certain data to be included in a certain way, so that a dispatch application can talk to a PCR application can talk to a billing application.

NEMSIS version 3 is the data format that your state trauma registry uses If using an external billing application instead of AngelTrack's billing system, AngelTrack can bulk transfer your run reports into it using the NEMSIS 3 format... assuming the billing application is capable of importing data in that format.

NEMSIS version 2, aka NEMSIS "gold", is the obsolete version.

NEMSIS version 3 is the current specification. AngelTrack is certified compliant with NEMSIS 3.

If using an external billing application instead of AngelTrack's billing system, AngelTrack can bulk transfer your run reports into it using the NEMSIS 3 format... assuming the billing application is capable of importing data in that format.

You can select which NEMSIS version AngelTrack uses for your exported data, by visiting the Preferences item on the Settings page.

Can my outside biller do my facility and patient invoices?

Yes.

He can integrate with AngelTrack and then use AngelTrack's invoices for that task, in order to enjoy the advantage of a unified system for tracking every receivable regardless of whether it went to insurance first. For example, your uninsured stretcher transports and all of your wheelchair services will never go through insurance claims, but should all be included on a facility's or patient's invoice. AngelTrack handles that automatically, and there is every reason to let your outside biller make use of that feature.

Or he can remain independent, and just send back copies of paid invoices. You must then record those paid invoices as Payment Events in AngelTrack. (Or you can just ignore the rest of AngelTrack's billing workflow, trusting that the billing agency will not miss any receivables.)

How do I respond when my state's Department of Health asks where my documents are stored?

Your documents are accessible from anywhere in America, as you know. But the state is surely looking for a specific answer, so you should reply "All documents are stored at [my head office]". From that location you can use a browser to retrieve whatever documents your state requires.

All documents in AngelTrack are stored as long as the Data Lifetime Rules specify, so long as you maintain an active AngelTrack license.

Can I submit claims directly to my MAC?

Maybe.

MACs and individual insurers have non-standard expectations for the 837P document and non-standard contents in the 999, 277CA, and 835 reply documents. So, it is not possible to generate a single 837P document that is guaranteed to satisfy every MAC or every insurer. It is the job of the clearinghouse to understand those expectations and adjust each 837P to meet them.

AngelTrack does not wish to fight that battle, so we guarantee compatibility only with the Office Ally clearinghouse and with the Noridian MAC.

If you use a different clearinghouse, speak with your AngelTrack integrator. He or she will review your clearinghouse's 837P Companion Guide and give you a time estimate on when compatibility can be guaranteed. It usually takes just two weeks.

Can I print a claim as an old-fashioned paper CMS-1500?

Yes.

The insurance queues offer to export any dispatch as a filled-out CMS-1500 .PDF. When you view the .PDF on your screen, you will see the CMS-1500 red form, and all the claim data filled in to the form's editable fields. You can perform additional edits as necessary, right in your browser or .PDF editor.

When you print the .PDF, only the data will be printed: the red boxes will not be included because you must use pre-printed CMS-1500 forms that already have the red boxes.

If you use AngelTrack's clearinghouse uploader but are batching some claims specifically for CMS-1500, and thus you don't want AngelTrack to upload them to your clearinghouse, be sure to choose the "Claim batch (no upload)" option for batching.

To learn more, please refer to the Insurance Paper Claims Guide.

Why doesn't it print the mailing address at the top of the CMS-1500 form?

AngelTrack will print the carrier's mailing address at the top of the CMS-1500 only if a mailing address is on file for that carrier's payor ID.

To view your list of payor IDs, and to add mailing addresses and telephone numbers to them, select Insurance Payor ID List from the Billing Home page's sidebar. If your clearinghouse includes mailing addresses and/or phone numbers in its payor ID list, then AngelTrack can import them in bulk, via the Import Payor ID List feature available from the aforementioned page.

Unfortunately, most payor ID lists provided by clearinghouses do not include mailing addresses. You'll be lucky if you even get phone numbers.

To learn more, look at the Insurance Payor ID List Guide.

The coding page shows me 837P loop numbers, can I see CMS-1500 box numbers instead?

Refer to AngelTrack's CMS-1500 Crosswalk document.

Can I buy just the billing features in AngelTrack?

Yes.

Your PCR must be able to export its data in the NEMSIS XML format, which AngelTrack can import automatically or manually.

To learn more, please visit the NEMSIS XML Import Guide.

As for licensing, the billing system nevertheless requires the EMS core, so you will still have a CAD and a PCR if you want to run some trips natively in AngelTrack instead of in the PCR. You might do this if you have a contract that requires some of your trips to be performed in a certain third-party PCR, while your other trips (perhaps your wheelchair-van division) can be run in your own system.

Can AngelTrack calculate my salespeople's' commissions?

Yes.

To learn more about calculating commissions in AngelTrack, read the Commission Reports Guide.

How do I view the denial EOB that I imported earlier?

When importing an EOB, AngelTrack creates a payment event record for each claim in the EOB. The payment event record summarizes the action taken by the insurer, and includes the claim's 835 content. Using the "Payment Event Edit" page, you can view the 835's original content (the section of the 835 that pertains to the claim in question). You can also view it decoded into neat tables, showing each service line, adjustment, reason code, and explanation.

(This feature is only available if you use AngelTrack's EOB importer to digest the electronic EOBs (i.e. the X12.835 documents) returned by your clearinghouse. The feature is not available if you create your payment event records manually.)

The "Insurance Appeal Queue" offers a direct link to the latest payment event record for the dispatch. Just click the "Last EOB" link to view the decoded response from the insurer. You can keep that page open in a separate tab while you are filling out your appeal.

How do I claim oxygen (A0422), ECG (93041/93005), and DMS (A0382/A0398) against a secondary when Medicare is the primary?

When claiming the above service codes against Medicare, AngelTrack will automatically add the GY modifier to those service lines, since Medicare will not ever pay for them. Medicare will then remove the GY modifier when forwarding the claim to any secondary carrier, who might cover those services.

See this CMS bulletin and also this one for details.

If you don't want AngelTrack to automatically add the GY modifier in these situations, you can disable the feature by vising the Preferences page under Settings.

What about the Novitas secondary diagnosis code requirements?

AngelTrack's coding page already knows about the requirement and will offer you a choice of the five allowed codes.

That requirement -- called LCD L35162 -- was sunsetted on 2023-02-09. AngelTrack will enforce it only for calls with dates of service prior to that date.

Why did it create two batches of claims instead of just one?

If you select a mixture of original and replacement claims, or a mixture of chargeable and non-chargeable (encounter) claims, AngelTrack must divide them into separate batches, owing to how the BHT segment works in the 837P specification. BHT02 communicates whether the claims in the transaction batch are originals, and BHT05 communicates whether they are chargeable.

Why can't billers modify the retail price schema?

It used to work that way.

Then one day a customer's biller accidentally modified the retail price schema, thinking he was modifying a facility contract price. These contract prices (far below retail) were then claimed against insurance, causing a significant loss of revenue and a big hassle.

Then it happened at a second customer site.

That's when we decided to lock down the retail prices, consistent with our motto:

One mistake is the customer's fault, two mistakes is the software's fault.

Thus, today, only the ★ Principal Employee is permitted to modify the retail prices, and only AngelTrack Headquarters tech support can designate or redesignate the principal employee.

I offer two different levels of wheelchair service, can the software charge two different prices?

Yes.

The "Gurney" service level works just like wheelchair. Most states do not recognize gurney service, so you can enable gurney service level and use it as your premium wheelchair service, with its own separate price schema.

To learn how to enable the gurney service level, read the Gurney Service Guide.

Why is the GM modifier being automatically selected?

If you are coding and see that the ☑ GM modifier has been checked, it is because AngelTrack checked it for you. It does this when the transport times (beginning transport → arrived at destination) for the current dispatch overlap those of another dispatch in the same vehicle, indicating that two patients were being transported simultaneously.

Usually this is due to incorrect recordkeeping: either sloppy progress button presses by the crew, or sloppy followup data from the attending. Send the call back to QA with notes to check the transport times against the vehicle's other calls that day.

Why are all these dispatches in the Special Handling Queue?

Open each dispatch by clicking its run ID. Switch to the "Billing" tab. Find the "Workflow location" field. It will give the reason why the dispatch was sent for special handling.

Can I get a custom report?

AngelTrack may already have the report you need; if it does, we'll show you where it is.

If the report doesn't exist yet, you may be able to create it using the Report Builder.

If that isn't feasible, then you can use the Data Hub (under Billing Home) to export the raw data to Excel, and then instrument your report from there.

If still no luck, then we may elect to add it to AngelTrack, though there might be an implementation fee depending on its difficulty and how many other customers would benefit from it.

How is billable mileage calculated?

For every transport, AngelTrack collects and verifies the vehicle's actual odometer readings. AngelTrack also calculates the normal mileage using a "moving average" statistical system. The statistical system is seeded with data from Google Maps™. After seeding, the data grows using odometer readings input by crews.

When filing an insurance claim, AngelTrack by default uses the actual odometer readings, although the biller can choose to claim the calculated normal mileage instead, as he or she sees fit.

When generating invoices, AngelTrack uses the calculated normal mileage, because it is more fair to both parties. To learn how the moving average works, and why it is more fair to all concerned, read the Mileages guide. You can opt out of the normal mileage system, and use plain odometer readings in invoices, by visiting the Preferences page.

How are standby minutes calculated? When are they billable?

See here: Pricing and Price Quotes

Is there a report showing how much work each of my billers is doing?

Yes.

The Billing Activity Visualizer shows all billing activity, broken down by type of task. You can filter by specific billers and specific date ranges, to see exactly what tasks each employee did on any given day.

Remember: some billing tasks are much harder than others, so it isn't necessarily fair to say, "You did 20 tasks while your coworker did 40." You must weigh the tasks appropriately before comparing one employee against another.

If there is serious doubt about an employee's activity, you can download the raw webserver logs from the Support page. The webserver logs show every raw request made from every user, including date, time, IP address, and browser type.

What's the difference between the activation date, the date received, and the bookkeeping date?

Those three dates are separate and independent. Every payment event in AngelTrack has all three. To learn more about them, read the Critical Dates for Accounting explainer.

How do I add additional service codes to a claim?

If you are filing a claim against a private carrier who pays for non-standard service lines (e.g. A0999), you can add these service lines to your claim right on the Coding page.

Scroll down to the section where you specify additional services like oxygen and ECGs. Click the link which reads "Add non-standard service codes", then click the plus sign to add as many as you wish.

Be advised: private carriers who pay for non-standard service lines usually require a few explanatory words in the "Note" field.

Can it create electronic secondary claims if the primary claim's EOB was paper (input manually)?

Yes.

When you are recording the primary claim's adjudication from a paper EOB, you must include the chart of adjustment codes. AngelTrack collects those in order to pass them to the secondary carrier. To learn more, read the Payment Events Piecemeal guide.

If I deactivate a "Patient Rate" price schema, what happens to its attached patients?

Deactivated patient rates remain in effect for all attached patients. Deactivation simply means that no new patients can be attached to the rate.

Why don't the monthly totals from the Payment Event Finder data match those of the Revenue Accrual Report?

Those two reports differ because the Revenue Accrual Report is only allowed to show you the monetary amounts associated with dispatches which are 1) marked billable, 2) not marked “cancelled”, and 3) which have price quotes (or prices adjudicated by insurance) on file. It does this so that its monetary amounts are suitable for accounting and tax purposes.

Whereas the Payment Event Finder shows the raw data which is used to drive all other reports. Thus the Payment Event Finder will bring back some monetary data which is not yet included in the accrual report – i.e. not yet reportable on the company’s books.

In other words, the Payment Event Finder is not subject to the accrual report’s filters, or those of other reports as the case may be. To override this, tick the various ☑ Hide items... checkboxes at the bottom of the block of filters.

In any event, all of AngelTrack’s reports are driven from the same SQL tables (payment events, etc.) and so they cannot differ in their results except according to their filters.

Why don't the monthly totals from the Payment Event Finder data match those of the Billing Activity Visualizer?

Explained here: Commission Reports

In short, the Payment Event Finder is not subject to the Billing Activity Visualizer’s filters, and the aforementioned help document explains why. To override this, tick the various ☑ Hide items... checkboxes at the bottom of the block of filters.

Why is UHC complaining about a missing taxonomy code?

UnitedHealthCare updated their systems on 2019 September 1, and the new system checks whether the provider's taxonomy code is correct.

AngelTrack sends the correct taxonomy code for an EMS claim... provided it has not been incorrectly configured under the "Billing Configuration" tab under Settings. However, UHC will reject it if the provider is not correctly enrolled as an EMS provider.

Call the carrier and check the provider's enrollment.

It may also be necessary to switch the taxonomy qualifier from 'PT' to 'BI'; do this "Billing Configuration" tab under Settings.

How do I integrate my fixed- or rotary-wing service?

See here: Air Medical Dispatching and Billing

Where is the insurance eligibility checker?

AngelTrack integrates with NSure to offer one-click queries for eligibility, demographic corrections, and insurance discovery. Refer to the NSure Guide to learn how to switch it on and make use of it.

How do I split the mileage on a claim, because some was unnecessary (A0888)?

On the Coding page there is an ☑ A0888 Unnecessary Mileage checkbox, and a field where you can input the number of miles that were unnecessary. When you then emit the claim, AngelTrack will include that quantity as an A0888 service line, and claim the remaining miles normally.

Is there an API for me to download billing data into a third-party system?

Yes, AngelTrack has a webservice named Postprocess, by which your biller can download trips that have reached the billing office (i.e. trips that have passed QA), as well as move them forward and back in the postprocess workflow.

To learn more, visit the Postprocess Workflow API Guide.

Do I need to invoice a call in order for it to be reported as revenue?

No.

AngelTrack's revenue reports are informed by payment events, not invoices. Invoices are simply a quick way to create large numbers of payment events: when an invoice is closed as "paid", the payment is applied to all items in the invoice, being recorded as a payment event for each.

Keep in mind, you always have the option of recording payment events by hand. And in fact that is exactly what you'll do when recording a cash payment, as would arrive at the billing office in an envelope filled out by the driver who collected it.

How do I delete an invoice?

Remember you can add and remove calls piecemeal from an invoice, as you see fit.

In any case, invoices are removed from play by marking them "cancelled". Do so by clicking the "Close" link in the Invoices list, and then select "Cancelled" as the method of closure.

What if I create duplicate invoices?

No problem.

You can create and cancel as many invoices as you wish, even duplicates, forever protected from over- or under-billing. AngelTrack keeps track of what's payed and what's owed for each dispatch, and it does so totally independent of any invoices that include the dispatch.

It is impossible to lose a receivable, no matter what you do with your invoices.

In fact it is normal for a dispatch to be invoiced multiple times. Suppose you invoice a nursing home for 300 calls, and they only pay half. AngelTrack will use the payment to pay off and "finish" 150 calls, while the other 150 remain unpaid and go for another round of invoicing. They will keep popping up for re-invoicing until they are paid in full.

They will also pop up for re-invoicing if they are overpaid.

How do I send an invoice over email?

AngelTrack can download an invoice to you in PDF format, suitable for attaching to an email, or burning to a CD or thumb drive.

You have the option of having AngelTrack automatically email the PDF invoice for you at the moment you click the "Commit" button. For this, the patient's, affiliate's, or facility's email address must be on file. A checkbox will then appear just below the "Commit" button.

You can also have AngelTrack email the PDF invoice to the counterparty by clicking the envelope icon from the Invoice Edit page... though this is only available if the counterparty's email address is on-file.

How do I pay an invoice using only the customer's ledger balance?

Simple, just pay (i.e. close) the invoice while specifying a payment received of zero dollars. AngelTrack will then apply all of the ledger balance as necessary.

Why do my facility invoices show the percentage versus Medicare rates?

Facility invoices include the calculation of what percentage of Medicare rates the customer is actually paying. This is done in order to qualify your EMS company for the Regulatory Discount Safe Harbor 42 C.F.R. § 1001.952(h). To learn more about the safe harbor and the Anti-Kickback Statute, and what AngelTrack does to protect you, read the Anti-Kickback Statute guide.

If the customer's effective prices are equal to or greater than Medicare rates for the respective service in the same ZIP code, then no calculation is shown, because the Anti-Kickback Statute does not apply.

Invoices for your patients and for your affiliates are not subject to the AKS or the safe harbor, and so do not include the calculated percentage.

How do I print mailing labels?

From the Invoices list you can select multiple invoices for bulk printing. Right underneath the bulk print option is an option to print matching address labels, which will print right from your browser. Similar options are available in the Express Invoicer when it finishes a batch.

The address labels are sized and arranged for standard Avery 5160 labels, 30 per sheet.

AngelTrack can also export you the invoices' address data as a .CSV file for use in a mail merge, if you prefer to generate your address labels that way.

Can I use windowed envelopes instead?

Yes.

When you bulk print your invoices from your browser, the first page of each invoice will be automatically rotated to portrait mode, so that the TO: and FROM: addresses are correctly positioned for the envelope's window(s). The other pages of the invoice will print in landscape mode as usual.

This feature is not available if you export your invoices to .PDF and then print the .PDF from a reader program.

Can I get my company logo on my invoices?

Yes.

Visit the Settings page and click on the Business Information item. Select the "Online Resources" tab. Input the URL to a small (100ish x 100ish) logo image.

For invoicing purposes, AngelTrack must load the logo image from a secure (https:) connection. If you do not have your logo image on a publicly-accessible webserver that offers secure (https:) connections, then email the URL to AngelTrack Support. We will retrieve the image, resize it if necessary, and then upload it right to your cloud server. AngelTrack's invoices will then include it from there.

How do I remove the URL and page numbers at the top and bottom of the printout?

Your web browser is adding the URL to the top of each page as a page header, and the page numbers to the bottom as a page footer.

Look through your browser's "Print" menu, or "Print Options" or "Page Setup" or "Page Layout" menu, to find the header/footer settings. Remove any header and footer content, and then reprint.

I'm required to invoice a patient three times before I sell to collections...

Yes, AngelTrack will keep track of the number of times each receivable has been invoiced, so that you can be certain it is time to sell it to collections.

In the Invoices List, the number of times invoiced is displayed as one of the columns. The number represents the minimum number of times that any item in the invoice has been invoiced. For example, if an invoice contains one dispatch that was invoiced 3 times previously, plus another dispatch that was invoiced 5 times previously, then the number 3 will be displayed, because all of the receivables have been invoiced at least 3 times.

To increment the number, you must close the invoice as "Unpaid" after 30 days, then create a new invoice, and repeat. By closing an invoice as "Unpaid", the underlying receivables automatically return to "Billing office" where they will be picked up in the next round of invoices. So the whole process is easy to do; just be systematic about it, by doing it once a month every month until the numbers hit 3.

To learn more, read the Weekly/Monthly Reinvoicing Guide.

To learn more about selling receivables to collections, read the Taxes, Collections, and Writeoffs Guide.

Can I print my patient invoices in the traditional style of a patient statement?

Yes, use the "Compact Invoice" format.

How do I put patient copays on a facility invoice? It keeps deleting the adjudicated prices.

Don't do it. The facility will be guilty of kickbacks if they offer to pay their patients' copays.

How do I print a separate invoice for each trip?

Make a single combined invoice as usual, then use "Print as singletons" to print it.

How do I reprint a cancelled invoice?

You can print it normally, at any time, regardless of whether it is marked "cancelled".

I can't get a certain dispatch to show up in the invoicer?

By default, the invoice generators only do the prior month. To include trips from the current month, you must change the cutoff date.

How do I create a patient statement showing a zero balance?

From the patient's record, choose the "Receivables" tab, then click one of the statement icons at the upper-right corner of the grid.

How do I add late charges to an invoice?

There are many places where late charges can be added to an invoice:

  • You can add them to an individual invoice by opening the Invoice Edit page, switching to the "Add Charges and Discounts" tab, and filling out the form.
  • You can add them to an individual invoice while you are recording a payment against it, via the Invoice Close page.
  • You can add them to many invoices while you are bulk closing them as 'Unpaid' or as 'Sold', using the bulk-operations popover in the Invoices List, or in the "Invoices" tab of a facility record, affiliate record, or patient record.
  • You can add them to many invoices while you are bulk closing them as 'Unpaid' using the Express Invoicer.

Why doesn't it place an underpayment on the ledger?

When closing an invoice, an overpayment can be placed on the ledger, but not an underpayment. This is because an underpayment leaves a balance due, and a balance due is best kept on the relevant dispatch, rather than paying off the dispatch and then throwing the balance due onto the ledger. (Ledger balances do not have the the rich tracking features that dispatches have.)

Note: If a ledger contains a credit balance, that credit will be automatically used to cover an underpayment.

How can I see a list of dispatches whose most recent invoices were unpaid?

The Report Builder dataset Dispatches-Financial has a column named “Number of Recent Unpaid Invoices", which will be non-zero for the trips in question.

Remember that the Data Hub can combine data-sets for you, so that you can pull in more columns for the purpose of filtering.

The same column is also present in the dataset named “Postprocess” which is automatically filtered to include everything not marked “Finished”.

How do I accept credit cards from customers who want to pay their invoices?

You can offer your customers a self-pay online portal, in which they can pay via credit card or bank EFT or other payment methods. To learn more, look at the Customer Self-Pay Portal Guide.

Your dispatchers and billers can also accept credit card payments over the phone. To learn more, look at the Stripe Virtual Terminal Guide.

How do I record a PAN that is valid for all destinations?

Every PAN in AngelTrack must have a destination, as we know. If you obtain an PAN good for any destination, then upload it and choose the patient's residence as the destination. (You may need to create a facility record for the residence.) Once that's done, AngelTrack will match the patient's residence as the origin or destination of any transport, and apply the PAN appropriately.

The only situation where this workaround fails is a three-legged trip: home to dialysis to doctor to home. The trip from dialysis to doctor will not be tagged by the PAN assigned to the home. The PAN must be manually attached to that trip.

Can I record a PAN without attaching a page scan?

Yes.

You can create a PAN document with no page scans, and just specify the prior authorization number in the "Comments" field. The document will then show up in all relevant run reports, displaying the contents of the "Comments" field.

In fact that is exactly what happens when a dispatcher records a prior authorization number during call-taking: a PAN document record is created, with no scanned attachment, and the authorization number is placed in the "Comments" field.

Later, when your biller is coding your claims, the authorization number from the "Comments" field will be automatically presented to the biller for inclusion in the insurance claim (loop 2300 REF*G101).

What about Medicare's new PAN requirement?

There is a preference setting you can choose, on the day your state gets included in the Medicare non-emergent PAN program. When the setting is enabled, AngelTrack will report all non-emergent stretcher calls for Medicare patients as needing both a PAN and an PCS, rather than just a PCS.

Can you explain the PCS rules to me?

Alas no, that would be giving legal advice for which we are not qualified.

Instead, we recommend you contact the law firm of Page, Wolfberg, and Wirth, and sign up for their training and consulting services.

Can I block my crews from submitting their reports without a signed PCS?

Yes.

Under Settings, in the Preferences item, you can set the "PCS Completion Mode" to ☑ Required. Read the aforementioned guide to learn more about the PCS settings.

You will then have to be patient with your crews, because sometimes they will be unable to obtain a PCS during a pickup, necessitating a return trip later on to get one signed.

My state Medicaid program now requires a PCS-like certification form...?

AngelTrack is ready for that, with a built-in electronic certification form that it calls a McPAN.

Enable the McPAN form by visiting Preferences under Settings. AngelTrack will then automatically prompt the crews to get one when a patient has Medicaid insurance, and other reports and features will become available for you to track these forms and verify their coverage dates.

If I change a trip's destination, will the already-signed PCS form detach?

The PCS form will detach only when all of the following are true:

  1. It is a multi-day (physician-signed) PCS, which -- for that reason -- must attach to the patient rather than to the trip; and
  2. The destination facility record attached to the trip gets detached and replaced by a different record, rather than edited in-place.

But even if the PCS did detach, it is not lost; it will be attached to the patient record, where it can be retrieved with the Librarian, screenshotted, and then re-attached to the trip as a separate document.

When I print an invoice, why does the URL print along the side of the page?

Your browser is doing that. To turn it off, dig through the print options for header/footer settings, and remove the directive to include the current page URL.

My carrier is complaining about the provider address not matching...?

AngelTrack has the ability to emit a separate pay-to address (loop 2010AB) than the billing/rendering address (loop 2010AA). However, if a carrier is complaining about the provider's address not matching, then the pay-to address probably will not fix the problem.

You must call the carrier and verify the provider's enrolled address, and then adjust the billing/rendering address in AngelTrack's billing configuration.

Why did the invoicer calculate very different prices for the outbound and return trips of a round-trip call?

That can happen if you are using Medicare auto-pricing and the outbound trip's origin ZIP code pays a different Medicare reimbursement rate than the return trip's origin ZIP code. Remember that Medicare reimburses based on the pickup ZIP code, and rural ZIP codes pay a lot more.

It could also happen if the return trip took a different route than the outbound trip and therefore incurred more mileage.

Why are there EOBs in the Insurance Transmission Queue marked "Awaiting manual import"? Why didn't AngelTrack auto-import them?

AngelTrack refrains from auto-importing any EOB if it contains issues that call for review by a biller -- such as denials, CARCs that indicate a documentation problem, calls already sold to collections, and so on. To learn more, look at the Clearinghouse Uploader/Downloader Guide.

Why is the QA Review form, or the Coding page, suggesting A0429/A0427 for a non-emergent trip?

AngelTrack considers all of the following when deciding whether a trip counts as emergent:

  • Whether the "Priority" datafield set by the dispatcher is "Emergent" or "Critical";
  • Whether the "Enroute driving" datafield in the Followup is "Emergent" or "Non-emergent upgrade to emergent"; and
  • Whether the "Transport driving" datafield in the Followup is "Emergent" or "Non-emergent upgraded to emergent".

Why are my coding batches sitting in the "Outgoing" folder of the Insurance Transmission Queue?

If AngelTrack's clearinghouse uploader is disabled, then your batches are waiting for you to mark them as "transmitted", which you'll do after you manually upload them to your clearinghouse. After you do that, the batches will remain in the queue -- still marked "Transmitted" -- until you import an X12.999 acknowledgement from your clearinghouse which will mark the batch as "Accepted" or "Rejected". 

Whereas if the clearinghouse uploader is active, then your batches will sit for about a minute while the uploader is busy sending them to the clearinghouse. When it finishes doing that, it marks them "Transmitted". They will then remain in the queue until the clearinghouse replies with an X12.999 acknowledgement. AngelTrack checks for that acknowledgement once every 15 minutes, and it might take even longer for your clearinghouse to reply, so your batch might sit for up to an hour before finally getting marked "Accepted" or "Rejected" and exiting the queue. 

Whether or not you use AngelTrack's clearinghouse uploader, if you are already certain that your batch was accepted, and you don't want to bother with the 999 acknowledgement, then you can manually tell AngelTrack that the batch was accepted by clicking the "unneeded" button Add.unneeded-2.

To learn more about X12.999 batch acknowledgements, and how AngelTrack communicates with your clearinghouse, take a look at the EDI Primer.

I need to change my retail price schema, how do I see which user has permission to do that?

Only the ★Principal employee can modify the retail price schema.

Usually that is the owner. If you're not sure who is the principal, then:

  • If you have Dispatcher, Supervisor, HR, or Administrator permission, then visit the Employees List item under Supervisor Home, and find the employee record that has a star in the left-hand column.
  • If you don't have those permissions, then call your dispatch office or supervisor and ask them to check.

If the ★Principal employee designation is no longer on the correct employee record, i.e. if you've had a change of management, then you must contact AngelTrack Support to change the designation.

Is there a report to pull every trip in every invoice, including the billing notes and invoice notes?

Yes, go to the Data Hub and select the "Invoices-CommittedItems" category.

If you have a Report Builder license, you can then load the data into a grid and group the rows by invoice ID or by dispatch ID, depending on how you would like to arrange the parent/child relationships.

How can I look up the Medicare price for a certain facility, or for a certain ZIP code?

There are two places in AngelTrack where you can get a Medicare price:

  • You can book a test trip for a pickup at the desired location, without saving; the Medicare prices for that ZIP code and service level will appear just beneath the map.
  • You can visit the Medicare Rate Browser which is available from the Billing Home Page.

AngelTrack will give you the Medicare price effective for the current year.

Can I accept credit cards using AngelTrack?

Yes.

You can offer a self-pay portal, allowing your customers to pay their invoices online. To learn how, refer to the Stripe Integration Guide.

Once you've enabled Stripe integration, you can optionally accept credit cards over the phone,  during call intake or later in the billing office. This is called a virtual terminal, also known as MOTO -- "mail order / telephone order". AngelTrack has it built right in. To learn how, refer to the Virtual Terminal Guide.

How can I keep the same invoice number for a customer who makes a partial payment each month?

If your customers want their invoice IDs to never change, then you cannot take advantage of AngelTrack's reinvoicing workflow which tracks the number of times each receivable was invoiced, for the sake of collections-agency rules.

Instead you must keep your invoices open, and just reprint them each month, until paid in full.

In this situation, AngelTrack's Invoices List will not be able to show you how many times you've reinvoiced the customer; however it will still keep track of each invoice's age. You can use the invoices' ages to decide when to transfer them to your collections agency.

If your collections agency requires you to prove when and how many times you invoiced the customer, the best AngelTrack can offer is the notations in each invoice's journal which show the times it was printed. But take heed: This is not proof that the invoice was mailed; only that it was printed.

How can one dispatch end up on multiple open invoices?

Here are all the situations where this can happen:

  • A biller generates a "Complete" invoice and forces the inclusion of dispatches that are marked Awaiting payment because they're already on another invoice.
  • A biller manually attaches a dispatch to a second open invoice.
  • A biller manually moves a dispatch from Awaiting payment back to Billing office even though its invoice is still open, thus causing the dispatch to be included by the next Differential invoice.
  • A dispatch that was already invoiced gets pulled back into the insurance workflow for further adjudication, then later gets returned to invoicing by a biller using the Simple/Classic billing workflow.

Normally AngelTrack will automatically prevent this situation from occurring, because the Invoice Generators default to "Differential" mode where they only pull dispatches that are at Billing office, which only happens when a dispatch has never been invoiced or when its current invoice is closed.

How do I print a patient statement showing all of their invoices?

For this purpose you will want to print a Quick Statement, rather than reprinting any invoices.

Quick Statements can be printed from the following places:

  • From the relevant Patient Edit page, click the statement icon Receipt.medium or the PDF version Receipt.medium.pdf if you prefer.
  • From the "Patients with a Balance" report on the Billing Home page, find the patient you want, and click the statement icon Receipt.medium or the PDF version Receipt.medium.pdf if you prefer.

The same Quick Statement functionality is also available for Facilities and for your Affiliates.

Why does this invoice show a balance owed when payment in full was already made?

That happens when your server is configured to show the original invoiced balance when reprinting old invoices.

If you want a reprinted invoice to show the current balance, visit the Preferences page under Settings and change the "Invoice reprint option".