How
many of you can locate a 6 year old document
in 15 minutes or less?
Well, in August of 1986,
while I was living in the Washington,
D.C. area, I surprised a colleague by
being able to locate a six-year-old document
in a basement file in less than ten minutes.
My shocked colleague asked
me if I “…always
kept papers in a way in which I could
lay my hands on them years later?”
My response was, “Well,
sure. Don’t you?”
Well, at that moment,
I realized that most people don’t…and
I was made aware of a skill which I never
quite realized I had.
Hence, my first company, “anything
but windows…,”
a generalized organizing business, was
born.
In January, 2003, I developed
my second company, “Piles
of Paper?” which replaced
my first one once I realized that my greatest
joy was walking into a home or small office
in which clutter wasn’t immediately
obvious…until the closet was opened
and seven boxes or bags of unrelated papers
and magazines and catalogues and notices
of performances two years old tumbled
out!
Making
sense out of your paper is simply
what I love to do! |
Beginning in January 2008, Piles of Paper? has added a new element to paper management: organizing and examining with a fine tooth comb all of your medical paperwork to ensure that you, or a family member for whom you might be responsible, haven't paid a cent more than absolutely necessary to a medical provider.
Over the years, I have
found that among the unrelated papers
clients have been saving, at least 30%
consists of bills from medical providers
and Explanations of Benefits (EOB’s)
from insurance companies.
Oftentimes I have discovered,
especially with medical bills concerned
with physical therapy or visits to psychiatrists
or psychologists which have multiple dates
of service submitted at one time, that
the insurance company failed to
pay the provider for a particular
date. The provider then would bill the
family—possibly your family---for
that missing date….
Many of my clients were
so conscientious about paying bills immediately
that they just paid the doctor and never
questioned the charge.
As a result, my
clients paid money out-of-pocket unnecessarily.
One of “Piles
of Paper?” newest services
is that we can re-submit your claims to
your insurance company.
I have also sadly discovered
that those with Medicare and a Medi-gap
policy lose money too.
For example, say your
doctor submits your claim directly to
Medicare or the primary insurance company,
and they pay their share.
Your doctor is then notified
that the patient’s responsibility
(you) is, let’s say, $50.47.
Your doctor bills you,
and you dutifully pay the balance.
But then the Medi-gap
policy, or the secondary insurance, pays
its share directly to your
doctor too, two weeks later.
Your doctor has now been
paid twice: once from you and once from
your secondary insurance.
| Did
you know that some physicians write
a refund check for the overpayment
while others never do? Unless they’re
called…! |
This same
scenario happens even at hospitals.
An example of this is
that you’re told in advance of pre-authorized
surgery that your insurance company says
there will be a $215.00 co-pay, and they
will expect you to pay for it that day
when you check in for surgery which you
do.
Weeks later, the EOB’s
begin pouring in during the time when
you may not be fully recovered.
Simultaneously, the bills
arrive from the providers themselves.
And, like many of us,
you shove it into a pile…or you
pay without looking.
As a result, what you
may have failed to notice is that, in
this scenario, you didn’t
have to pay the $215.00 that
you were charged with at the hospital
the day of your surgery! The Explanation
of Benefits states that you did not
have a co-pay after all.
Will your money be refunded?
If you call the hospital and state that
your EOB says you did not owe a co-pay
of $215.00, they’ll check your file,
agree with you and refund your $215.00.
But if you haven’t checked your
EOB with a fine-tooth comb, you will probably
never see your money again.
Throughout my 22 years
in the organizing business, I have often
been hired to handle many of my clients’
medical expenses.
Since I have been living
here in Tucson, I have developed a nationwide
client base where people mail me their
packets of medical bills, EOB’s
and related correspondence every two weeks….just
throwing it into an envelope and allowing
me to sort through it for the discrepancies
and to set things right.
That is the specialized service which Piles of Paper? can now add to the generalized paper decluttering and organizing we love to do. I invite you to let us support you with this latest addition to our services.
By bringing compassion,
patience and a non-judgmental attitude
to my work, I am proud to provide you
with the following client testimonials:
"Carolyn Sanger, doing business as Piles of Paper?, has assisted us with medical claims submissions to insurance companies, claims appeals and financial recordkeeping since October 2002. She has done a wonderful job. Her efforts consistently have saved us more money than the expense for her services. Both in terms of the absolute amount of money recovered and the amount of time involved, we believe Ms. Sanger's efforts have been wholly cost effective. In addition, we have complete trust in the accuracy and integrity of her work, even though she deals with a wide range of personal, financial and medical information on behalf of our family. Moreover, her work is timely and customer friendly...Indeed, as claims processing and financial recordkeeping have become increasingly complex and time consuming, we count ourselves luck to remain one of her many loyal and happy clients."
"Carolyn Sanger has
been enormously effective in her work
for our family – which has gone
on for over fifteen years! She has sorted
through all of the piles of documents
associated with our medical claims; she
has championed our point of view in her
dealings with our insurance companies;
and she has cut through all the red tape
at those companies like the real pro that
she is. Most importantly, Carolyn has
made sure that we always get the reimbursements
that we deserve, and so she has been enormously
cost-effective. I cannot recommend Carolyn
too highly. She is a wonderful person
who is a joy to deal with, and she is
tremendously good at what she does. If
you even think you need her, believe me
you need her, and you should hire her
immediately."
K.L., Washington,
DC
"I
met Carolyn Sanger after my husband of
22 years died. The house was a mess.
Sea to shining sea papers and junk.
Even the shower stalls were used for storage.
I was an even worse mess. Piece
by piece Carolyn put us both back together.
Better yet, Carolyn created a system so
me-ish that I could sustain it even without
her. She taught me to break things
down to avoid being overwhelmed.
She taught me. Now many, many years
later, my friends call me organized.
They should only know. All credit
is due to Carolyn."
A.A. Chevy Chase, MD
"Just
a quick, but sincere email to you...this
morning I was in a rush to complete the
grant that we had discussed.
I needed a large envelope, a specific
personal blank note card, my stamps/address
labels and tape. I found all in
their correct places and the FIRST time
I looked! We are making progress...I
am grateful."
S.A. Tucson, AZ
"Carolyn
Sanger has the ability to combine both
a professional and caring personality
in a difficult and embarrassing area of
life. We do not know how we would
have managed to dig out of our clutter
and total disorganization without her
help."
T.F. Fairfax, VA
"Carolyn
was incredibly successful in helping me
bring order to what seemed like thousands
of pictures which were shipped to me after
my mother passed. Even though…
I felt helpless about how to even begin
sorting and arranging the photos to make
them accessible to my children and grandchildren.
Carolyn made me aware of several terrific
options in photo storage and we used them
all! I can proudly find the picture
to show my 5-year-old granddaughter what
her mom looked like at the same age!
What a relief!"
L.B. Washington, DC
"It
was so good to talk to you, and I am putting
in writing my permission for you to use
any glowing words of praise of mine that
you wish. I am telling the truth,
every time I walk into my office/media
room, I am so thankful that I called you.
It is wonderful to be able to find anything
I need in less than 3 minutes. I
have all of my office supplies.. And the
best part of all, the expandable file
folders and jackets make a perfect home
for all master tapes, related CD's, DVD's
and information related to a particular
client. I have used the techniques
you taught me to organize my camera bags
so when I go on location I have everything
I need without having to scramble to locate
everything. Or worse yet, arrive
without a vital piece of equipment. I
am referring you to everyone who I think
needs you!"
R.M. Tucson, AZ
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