Medical Codes on ships

[k9x8]

I received a letter from NCL stating their foreign flagged ships don't use medical codes, and won't give me what I need. My primary insurances says the codes are international.

 

Has anyone else had this problem? I'm going into my 4th month bouncing around. This is a $2000 bill!

 

I'm putting the blame squarely on NCL. If what they claim is true, they don't have to provide information, how the heck does anyone get reimbursed for shipboard treatment?

 

My hospital stay in Italy was completely covered, with no need to go through my primary insurance. I didn't even have to give a credit card number!

[6rugrats]

So, NCL won't provide a bill with CPT codes? These codes are universal, and it is absolutely ridiculous that you are getting this run around. I would though also question why, if your primary insurance has the copy of your billing and chart notes, they can't code this themselves.

 

Good luck.

[k9x8]

Thank you. I have learned about the universal codes. My insurance company doesn't know what to do with this. All they have is my bill from the medical center.

 

Maybe they will code it. For some reason they won't simply write me a letter of denial.

 

My insurance provider has always been great. I place this squarely on NCL. When I was referred to the medical department, the gal was rather brusque. I asked, "Don't you want to know what I'm calling about?"

 

"You need the codes, right? You'll have something by the end of the day."

 

What I got was the memo from the legal department. No codes, no chart notes.

 

I'll give it a few more days, then I'm blasting NCL on here. Once I was in the ambulance and my husband in a taxi, we didn't get the promised assistance from the port agent or follow up of any kind.

[runawaysoul]

There's a company that specializes in billing issues called bill advocates. Maybe they can help. The website is billadvocates.com

[6rugrats]

What does, "I'm blasting NCL in here" mean? If you mean complaining in this forum, I don't know how it would help. I think NCL has truly horrible customer service, and that's one reason I'd never sail them. Not sure they care what anyone writes.

 

I don't know who you want a letter of denial from. Your primary medical insurance? Did you have a separate travel insurance policy? If so, this is a good illustration of why it's easier to get a travel insurance that's the primary payer.

[GeezerCouple]

I received a letter from NCL stating their foreign flagged ships don't use medical codes, and won't give me what I need. My primary insurances says the codes are international.

 

Has anyone else had this problem? I'm going into my 4th month bouncing around. This is a $2000 bill!

 

I'm putting the blame squarely on NCL. If what they claim is true, they don't have to provide information, how the heck does anyone get reimbursed for shipboard treatment?

 

My hospital stay in Italy was completely covered, with no need to go through my primary insurance. I didn't even have to give a credit card number!

 

We had a medical center bill from NCL, and also an ambulance & land-based hospital bill.

But getting paid by Employer's insurance payor was a nightmare.

It ended up getting too, too close to the cut-off time to submit for our travel insurance to cover, but we didn't even have a denial to send them.

Employer self-insures, and we ended up contacting the head of Human Relations, and we actually had to threaten to sue (NOT a nice thing to say to *employer*!).

It was paid promptly at that point, but still... it would then have been too late to submit to the insurer if something had gone sideways.

 

But at no point did anyone demand "code" information. It was obvious what services/meds/etc., were provided.

 

What does, "I'm blasting NCL in here" mean? If you mean complaining in this forum, I don't know how it would help. I think NCL has truly horrible customer service, and that's one reason I'd never sail them. Not sure they care what anyone writes.

 

I don't know who you want a letter of denial from. Your primary medical insurance? Did you have a separate travel insurance policy? If so, this is a good illustration of why it's easier to get a travel insurance that's the primary payer.

 

Yup, and given the experience above, we now always add the very modest fee for "primary" coverage from the travel insurer.

It was definitely NOT worth spending hours and hours and weeks and months (!??) to get that bill paid.

On the other hand, at no time did they need anything other than "whatever papers" the NCL med center handed us (to take to the local hospital).

 

We did return to ship (it was a multi-day stay in a single port), and then NCL gathered all of their forces to ask how they could help us, and they made a few changes to make sure we'd be comfortable and safe.

 

Apparently the company that handles Employer's insurance just doesn't see much from out of the country, and they kept handing the claim from person to person and office to office, until Admin came crashing down on them (or so we understand).

 

BTW, separately, we also had a hospital bill in Italy, and we were stunned that they would not accept one cent. Said they had NO way to process a payment.

(We felt badly, as we did have travel insurance - primary this time! - and we certainly didn't feel entitled to free care in another country.)

[6rugrats]

If you can't get a denial from your health insurance, try filing a complaint with your state's Department of Insurance.

[k9x8]

What does, "I'm blasting NCL in here" mean? If you mean complaining in this forum, I don't know how it would help. I think NCL has truly horrible customer service, and that's one reason I'd never sail them. Not sure they care what anyone writes.

 

I don't know who you want a letter of denial from. Your primary medical insurance? Did you have a separate travel insurance policy? If so, this is a good illustration of why it's easier to get a travel insurance that's the primary payer.

 

It would make me feel better. :)

I will always pay a little extra to have primary care from now on. The travel insurance has been great on everything else. I like my private insurance company, and I trust this will be resolved. I've been with them since 1976! Point is, there would be no problem had NCL provided the information their CSRs said was no problem.

 

The hospital in Livorno asked about insurance. Once my husband called, everything was handled for us. The insurance company concierge kept in close contact and would have arranged lodging, transportation back to Rome or back home.

 

Our one night on NCL is our last. It took 90 days to have our dining package refunded.

 

Thanks all for the suggestions. I don't want to throw Prudential under the bus after 40 years of excellence, but they might need a nudge.

[knittinggirl]

I'm having the same problem w/ our insurance company. They want the ten digit code, but the cruise line shows a nine digit code. I cant get them to even send me a reject form. The weird thing is that it's out of network, and they would pay nothing anyway. I need it to prove I submitted to them first.

[k9x8]

I'm having the same problem w/ our insurance company. They want the ten digit code, but the cruise line shows a nine digit code. I cant get them to even send me a reject form. The weird thing is that it's out of network, and they would pay nothing anyway. I need it to prove I submitted to them first.

 

Exactly! I don't get the problem with sending that reject. It's not as if they have to pay. Same with getting information from NCL- I'm not asking for money!

 

My Allianz claim form asks if I submitted to my primary, if not, why? Seems like you could simply say it's out of network. Go figure.

 

Ironically, my policy has no network restrictions, and would have covered my hospital bill. The overseas division never asked about private insurance.

[k9x8]

Prudential lived up to my trust in them and came through. They pieced together the codes and the check/paperwork will be here soon. Now I can move on!

 

Thank you all. This has truly been educational: pay a little more for primary coverage.

[knittinggirl]

They don't want both insurance companies paying the bill. Why not?

 

I pay two premiums! Why not two payments!

 

This whole red tape issue is really stupid! All the man hours for a claim paying zero! No wonder our premiums are so high.

Edited March 11, 2016 by knittinggirl

[k9x8]

They don't want both insurance companies paying the bill. Why not?

 

I pay two premiums! Why not two payments!

 

This whole red tape issue is really stupid! All the man hours for a claim paying zero! No wonder our premiums are so high.

 

Double insurance falls under unjust enrichment. The insurance companies are going to make damn sure you don't collect twice. The travel insurance stipulates submitting the claim first to primary insurance, and I didn't read the fine print. Remember, the insurance industry has more clout than the NRA.

 

It will take both policies to make me whole. I have a higher copayment because mine is a major medical policy like people used to have, but my premium is less per year than my husband's Blue Cross is per month.

 

I absolutely agree. Two women spent hours on my claim all because NCL won't do codes. They even called NCL, and she hinted that it was not pleasant.

 

My NCL bill was computer generated. They have a medical department, and I find it ridiculous that they don't program the codes into their billing system.

 

I still plan to write a review, or should I call it a warning.

[6rugrats]

I'm having the same problem w/ our insurance company. They want the ten digit code, but the cruise line shows a nine digit code. I cant get them to even send me a reject form. The weird thing is that it's out of network, and they would pay nothing anyway. I need it to prove I submitted to them first.

 

I am a little confused by "ten digit code". If you are talking about CPT codes, which are the codes that describe what service was performed, these are only five digits.

 

Even the diagnosis codes, ICD-9 or ICD-10 (depends when service was provided) aren't nine or ten digits.

[knittinggirl]

Maybe if insurance companies didn't change the rules so much, we'd have more patience with them.

 

I enrolled in late 2014 for the whole year of 2015. But in October, I learned they'd removed some of our benefits. I'd call that breach of contract, since we got the packet of plan information w/ benefits in 2014 along with the requirement to sign the enrollment form.

 

Insurance companies make their own rules.