Editor’s note: This information was published in the November 2018 issue of Heartfelt Magazine, CHM’s monthly magazine that provides CHM membership-related tips and tricks, medical advice from doctors, testimonies from CHM members, and more. Please refer to the CHM Guidelines and applicable web pages for the most up-to-date information regarding CHM membership, sharing eligibility, and ministry news.
1. Send your medical bills on time.
Medical bills must be received by CHM within six months of the date of service to be eligible for sharing. Please notify our staff before the 6-month deadline if the reason for submission delay is that you’re still awaiting bills from your healthcare providers.
2. Make sure bills are itemized (or submitted with a standardized billing form).
The CHM Guidelines state that medical bills must be itemized to be eligible for sharing.
Itemized bills have five components:
- the patient’s name
- the date of service
- the place of service
- the procedural (CPT) codes
- the charge for each service rendered
Alternatively, CHM can accept standardized billing forms (your provider will know what these are):
- a CMS-1450 or UB-04 from your hospital
- a CMS-1500 (formerly called a HCFA-1500) from your doctor’s office
(Editor’s note: Members with Medicare should only submit itemized bills for prescriptions. For all other charges, please submit your Medicare Summary Notice [MSN] in lieu of itemized bills.)
3. Include the Needs Processing Forms.
Visiting our Forms & documents page to find to the forms you need—or you can get them on the CHM Member Portal.
The forms include:
- Needs Processing Form
- Needs Processing Worksheet
- HIPAA-compliant Medical Release Form
- Letter of Explanation
- Prayer Page Form (only required if you have a pre-existing condition)
Each form contains essential information that enables the CHM staff to process your bills quickly and accurately. (If necessary, we may also request your medical records.)
4. Send your bills even if a discount or financial aid is pending.
Since CHM shares medical expenses in the order bills are received, taking this step begins the sharing “clock.” Please promptly report any discount you receive after submitting medical bills to CHM.
5. Send your maternity prepayment agreement(s) as soon as possible.
Setting up a maternity prepayment agreement prior to a baby’s birth is ideal because, in most cases, expenses can be shared before the birth.
Waiting until after the birth to send bills often means that some charges from earlier in the pregnancy fall outside the 6-month rule for bill submission (see #1 on page 2).
See our online maternity guide for more information.
