President's Letter
Dear Members,
Good faith claims are now live
Yesterday, Alberta Health issued a Bulletin announcing that their billing system has been updated and physicians can now submit eligible ‘good faith’ claims – retroactive to April 1, 2022.
Details are provided in the Bulletin, but essentially this means that Alberta physicians will now be paid for care provided to patients who:
Are not able to provide conventional proof of residency or registration under the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) because they lack the usual identification (e.g., drivers’ licenses, passports, bills showing a fixed address, etc.) when they present to obtain medically required services, but who are very likely “residents” for the purposes of registration and coverage under the AHCIP.
Are from another province or territory of Canada that has a medical reciprocal agreement with Alberta Health and are covered by the health insurance plan of that province or territory, but who have not presented a valid health insurance card.
This is welcome news for physicians who have continued to care for these patients.
Billing information session
The AMA’s Billing Services team will host an information session for members about good faith claims on Friday, February 16, from 12 – 1 p.m.
Members will learn about patient eligibility, how to submit new claims, how to submit for past claims that were rejected because of patient ineligibility, and what steps physicians and their teams will need to take before submitting.
Please click here (member login required) to view a recording of the information session, the presentation slide deck and an anonymized summary of the Q and A.
Regards,
Paul Parks
President, Alberta Medical Association