Noridian makes headway on claims backlog
By HME News Staff
Updated Sun March 4, 2007
FARGO, N.D. - The beleaguered Region D MAC, Noridian Administrative Services, cut its gigantic backlog of claims almost in half by the end of February.
Noridian has been plagued by system errors and staffing shortages in addition to typical transition issues since taking over as contractor for the region July 1.
In a March 1 bulletin, the Region D MAC said that as of Feb. 26, the number of claims over 31 days is 38,606, compared to 104,803 in early January. Noridian also halved its inventory of claims on hand, from 22 days in early January to its current 10.91 days.
"As we work to reduce our claims inventory, we give priority to oldest claims," the company stated.
Hopefully, Noridian will stay on top of claims, said Mark Ehlers, owner of Stockton, Calif.-based Ehlers Medical Supply. For the last four to six weeks, Ehlers hasn't filled orders for power wheelchairs for Medicare beneficiaries.
"I've got half-a-dozen orders that I purposely put on hold because I was waiting to get paid for stuff from October and November," said Ehlers. "I needed to get paid to pay the supplier so I could order more product."
Providers are asked not resubmit claims that are aging, and to use the Interactive Voice Response Unit (1-877-320-0390) to check the status of claims.
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