Learn how to submit your medical bills to CHM
Medical bills must be itemized (please note: a receipt is not an itemized bill) and should show any discounts you’ve obtained and payments you’ve made.
As you receive medical bills from your healthcare providers, please take the following steps to submit them to CHM. Medical bills must be itemized. Some medical bills reflect discounts and patient payments. If this information is not included on your bill, you can list the these amounts on your Medical Bill Worksheet.
1. Send the Sharing Request Packet to CHM
All forms can be downloaded and submitted online via the Member Portal. Simply answer a few questions in your Member Portal or upload printed copies of CHM’s Sharing Request Packet.
The Sharing Request Packet includes the Sharing Request Form, the Medical Bill Worksheet, the Medical Release Information Form, the Letter of Explanation, and the CHM Give (formerly known as Prayer Page) Request Form (the last form should be sent if the treatment was for a maintained pre-existing condition). For maternity needs, fill out the Maternity Verification Form. Or, if you’ve been in an accident, you’ll need to fill out the Accident Verification Form.
Notify CHM if you have a medical bill of $1,000 or more and your provider offers a significant discount with a due date that you are unable to pay out-of-pocket.
2. Along with your forms, submit your itemized bills to CHM as soon as you receive them
An itemized bill contains: 1) the patient’s name; 2) the date of service; 3) the place of service; 4) the procedural (CPT) codes (or description of services rendered); 5) an itemized list of charges.
The sharing clock begins when CHM receives your itemized bills and all of the necessary forms. However, all medical bills must be submitted within 6 months of their date of service to be considered for sharing. Bills are processed in the order they are received by our office. The sooner your submission is received, the sooner you can receive reimbursement for your eligible medical expenses
For members with Medicare only: Please submit your Medicare Summary Notice in lieu of itemized bills. (We also need a copy of the EOB from any health insurance plan you may have). Exception—you will need to submit itemized bills for prescriptions and any bill from non-Medicare participating providers. Please note that, per the CHM Guidelines, CHM can only share for 20% of non-Medicare participating providers.
3. Sharing time can take 95-105 days
After you submit your medical bills, our Member Bill Processing department stamps them with the date of receipt, reviews them thoroughly according to the CHM Guidelines, and enters them into our computer database.
The sharing “clock” begins when CHM receives itemized medical bills and all necessary details surrounding your medical event. The Member Portal updates you on where your medical bills are at in the sharing process. When complete, CHM sends you a check to pay your healthcare providers and reimburse you for payments you’ve already made on eligible expenses.
4. Promptly pay your provider(s) when you receive funds from CHM
If you have made any payments to your provider, you may count that amount of the sharing check as reimbursement to yourself. The remaining amount (or the full amount if you didn’t make any payments) should be sent promptly to your provider.
5. Maternity only: ask your doctor’s office and hospital staff for a prepayment agreement
Obtain and submit a global fee from your OB/GYN as soon as possible. It must include the following itemized information: provider name, description of service or CPT codes, charge amount, and payment due date. Submit the prepayment agreement or flat rate from the hospital, if provided. It must have all of the itemized information listed and specify the length of the hospital stay and whether the newborn charges are included.
How you can help streamline sharing time:
When submitting your bills, there are a few things you can do in the process to help us avoid delays in sharing your medical bills. This includes:
- responding to requests for additional info as soon as possible
- submit completed Sharing Request Forms
- make sure all your bills are itemized
There are a number of items CHM doesn’t need to process your medical bills. The less time CHM staff members spend going through these items, the faster medical bills can be shared. Here are some items we routinely receive from members that actually slow sharing time:
- visit summaries
- discharge instructions
- pre-operation/post-operation care plans
- doctor’s excuse notes (work/school)
- blank paperwork
- non-medical documents (personal memos, hotel/travel receipts, brochures)
- lab/test results
- monthly payment statements
- pictures of membership ID cards
- procedure results/pictures
- collection letters
- bank/credit card statements
- duplicate bills
