Re: Region C relief or lack there of

Re: Region C relief or lack there of

When Hurricane Frances hit my area 1 year ago, my office and most Doctor
offices were without power for at approx. 3 weeks. My county was under a state of
emergency and curfews were in effect. This situation made it not possible to
comply with the 30 day time period to get all the documentation that Medicare
requires for a probe audit. All medical offices were behind after being
closed for weeks, their priorities were not to fax us their notes. On the 8
Audits that were about 15 days late I asked for leniency on the 30 day period b/c
of the delay hurricane Frances had caused. I quoted the Medicare law that
stated that extensions are permitted for certain situations such as national
disasters. My extension requests were denied and I was forced to go through the
long appeal process to get these claims paid and many are still pending.
Medicare should not treat us like the enemy. They won't help us when we are
knocked down only when we are wiped out. This is wrong. See the response
below.

As one of the wiped out I share the same thoughts. I have lost nearly
everything, but I still believe this lifting of the audits is wrong. Every guy out
there doing the right thing is being beat down for the few scamming for that
last bit of retirement cash. I struggle with this problem daily and now that
this disaster is topped off the cake of torment but a bunch of unpaid bills and
outstanding claims. The hurricane is just toss in the can for the O&P world.
We don't rebuild,we divide and betray our own kind. O&P in my area will jet off
to new locations and resume life. I guess the world figures if denials and
audits don't kill us then natural disasters will finish us off. Be careful,this
could happen anywhere and to anyone. I wasn't prepared and now I sit in ruin.
Please don't make the same mistake. Good luck with your payment issues. I hope
it can clear up soon.