Joseph Reutter is a sales manager at a medical supply company. His company is one of several that contacted Channel 9 concerned about NCTracks, the state’s new online Medicaid system. Many told Channel 9 they have not been paid since the new system launched earlier this month.
The state said since NCTracks went live on July 1, more than 9.3 million claims have been processed and $351.5 million has been paid to health care professionals.
“We are not getting paid for any of our Medicaid claims whether they are primary or crossover claims it is zero percent,” Reutter said.
A pediatric office out of Boone wrote, “This changeover has been challenging, frustrating, and disastrous for most pediatric offices in the state.”
An employee at a clinic in Lexington, North Carolina said, “Many smaller clinics and independent providers will go out of business. Medicaid recipients will have a hard time finding a provider in a short time.”
The state spent nearly a half billion dollars for the new online Medicaid system. It’s supposed to process claims faster and reduce fraud.
Janet A. Schanzenbach, the executive director of the North Carolina Association of Long Term Care Facilities told Channel 9 about 50 percent of adult care home claims have been paid. Of those denied, she believed 40 percent were the facility’s fault and 60 percent were due to NCTracks problems.
Channel 9 went back to the state for answers. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Ricky Diaz said NCTracks has paid out millions in claims. Diaz said the state has training and a call center to help doctors and companies get reimbursed.
Reutter said there are problems with those resources. Reutter and his staff said wait times for the call center can take at least an hour and online training is often tied up and unavailable as well.
“Some type of fix needs to happen fast,” Reutter said.
The state announced Friday afternoon that the NCTracks Call Center will open an additional day 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 20, to help address provider questions about the state’s new Medicaid billing system. DHHS said the call center is averaging approximately 2,500 calls per day and has experienced longer-than normal call wait times.
In a release sent to our newsroom DHHS Chief Information Officer Joe Cooper said, “We understand the importance of timely reimbursement and are actively working with providers, health care associations and societies alike to provide answers, help and resources. Additionally, we are posting answers to common questions on the website, including how to apply the correct taxonomy codes during the claims submission process and submitting bank account information to enable payment.”
The Call Center telephone number is 1-800-688-6696.
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