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unknown caller

Caller claims to be updating fax number for MultiPlan.  Gave long reference number.  Looking at my phone log, I found a call with same call back number and reference number claiming to be from Aetna.  I've recieved at least two dozen similar calls in the last 18 months.  At one point, I did call back, and left a message that I don't give any info over phone, and they should mail any inquiries.  No response.  I think it's just an elaborate scam.

I think this may be a legit call. I had requested for on of my providers to become participating with Aetna. I wanted them to send me the credentialing packet. They called to confirm my mailing address.

I am the administrator for a counseling practice. I received a call saying an insurance claim we sent to Cigna could not be processed until I gave him our fax #. He gave me the name of the client and dates of service. We have no records of this client. He asked for our tax ID #, which I did not give him. Told him I would get back with him once a researched the company from which he was calling. I can understand if it was a referral, but not an unknown claim. Be cautious.

I got a message  from "Steve" asking about my fax in order to process a claim, gave me a reference number no and  asked to call him back at this phone. Appeared phishy to me, didn't call back. Apparently Intellius has information about this caller. But it is not worth my money.

Got a message from "Amy" with a thick East Indian accent (almost incomprehensible). Claimed to be from Multiplan and wanted me to call back about a patient claim with my name and fax number. She left a reference number. I'm a psychologist who has never done ANY business with Multiplan, so there could be no patient claim. This is a SCAM. Do not give them any of your information.

Also got a call from a lady with a thick East Indian accent. Claimed to be from Aetna and wanted our fax number. She also needed to verify our address that they had on file.  Ask for the name of the person who does the filing etc.  We did not give her any info but our fax #.  Told her that Aetna should have all that info. We believe this is a SCAM. Do not give them any of your information.

We called the phone number on our caller ID.  The same lady with the accent picked up the phone.  We asked her for her name and was given, "Linda Dcruz".  Stated she was with Multiplan.  She asked us for a reference # which we didn't provide.  She said without a ref #, she wasn't able to help us so the call ended.

I have been receiving these calls for months now on my VM, at my small medical practice.  The caller is always a person with an Indian accent, and they always leave this same 1-866 number.  I finally got annoyed and called them back today.  There was no answer but I was able to leave a message, with the reference number they gave me, and I asked them not to call my number anymore.  It is obviously a scam of some sort because I am a provider with only a couple local insurance companies.

Received a call from this number from Justin. He did not leave a message and no one picked up when I called back. I assume it is a scam.

Another call today. "Neal" (Indian accent) claimed to be calling "on behalf of" an insurance carrier (NOT from Multiplan) -- had information about my patient and gave a long claim number that made no sense as well as a reference number. However, he DID have my patient's name and insurance carrier and knew that I was the provider. Caller said he wanted to verify my fax to process the claim. I refused to give any info, hung up, then called the insurance carrier directly. They said they had no information about anyone calling me and were not able to make sense of the claim number or reference number. However, after half an hour of looking into this, they did reveal that they use Multiplan to process and "price claims" for out of network providers, and that Multiplan does have a call center in India.

From other postings, it looks as if Multiplan tries to act as a go-between and negotiate lower fees from providers. If you do agree to a reduced fee with them, you end up locking into that lower fee with any other insurance company with whom they have a contract. Multiplan effectively ends up representing you as a billing intermediary. Do you want that? Do you want to be badgered by repeated calls until you agree?!

I find it troubling that an insurance carrier is releasing patient info to a third party who seems to be conducting business in a way that is unprofessional, misrepresents themselves, and harrasses providers. There is no way for a well-intentioned provider to verify who they are and whether they're legit. I'd recommend you let your patients know about any such calls that have the patients' Protected Health Information -- even though Multiplan may be a legit business partner of the carrier, patients have a right to know how their info is being used.

Got a call from a guy with an Indian accent asking me to call back with a reference number and wanting me to leave HIM  a message with my fax number for a claim.

I don't know how this guy got my number but I do billing.

Read Dr. D post. Is this another way the insurance companies are trying to make more profit off of the providers?

Received call today at home. A woman with a very heavy accent left a message saying she was with Multicare and left a reference number in regards to a patient billing.  My husband is a physician, but has never done business using our home phone number.

I also got the msg. from "Sharon" (also Indian accent) stating from Multiplan....etc. Asking for fax # to process a claim, etc. My husband and I are NOT Dr.'s and she called on our home phone. Bizarre. I'm ignoring it.

The lesson here is not that some of us are interrupted by these callers; it is that filing a mental health treatment claim means your information can be shared by others without your knowledge or that of your doctor.
Dr. D's post of 4 OCT 2010 is closest to my experience with this number and "Julie" with heavy accent. I'm a psychologist and have sometimes served as an out-of-network provider for patients covered by United Behavioral Health. This has resulted in faxed requests from MultiPlan, Inc. of Arlington, TX to accept a discounted fee in return for accelerated processing. Tried it once; it worked as promised; won't do it again. Multiplan apparently contracts with UBH and other companies to secure discounts from providers. Stopped using fax in my practice and then the phone calls began! Party identifies self as from United Health Care and is calling to verify billing address, etc. The calls roll to voice mail and I don't return them. Today she called my office number and my home number. UBH doesn't have my home phone so I surmise that a sub-contractor or subsidiary of MultiPlan is attempting to build a database of practitioners for some business practice similar to MultiPlan.

I have received two calls from this number that were suggesting a patient had an insurance claim Problem. I suspect this is fraudulent.

I, too received two messages from this number, yesterday. From a Sandra with a very thick Indian accent that I could barely understand, leaving a long reference #, wanting my fax #, and leading me to believe that there was some problem with a patient claim. When, I repeatedly called that number, I only got the recording in another type of accent that I could not understand. From these posts, I now realize that it was saying that they were "Multi plan". I left the reference number and phone number. I did not leave my tax ID # as the recording requested, because my tax ID is also my SS#, because I am a very small acupuncture clinic. When, I never got a return call, I surmised that it was some sort of phishing scam and I left a message, back, that I will post a complaint on the internet, would report them to Atty General and to take me off their call list. I am contracted with numerous insurance payers for my patients. If this is, indeed, some sort of discount program, why on earth would I use them and get lower reimbursements? I don't understand the game.

After I posted the previous complaint, that Sandra called back, today and I picked up. I told her that I had left a message on their recording to stop calling me, and that I had read complaints about their number, on the internet. Then, 15 minutes later, the same Sandra, from same number, called me on my private home phone, saying that she was from United and verifying my billing address. I am contracted with United Health Care, but they do not have my private home number. I yelled at her, again, to stop it!  This is getting outrageous when they call me at home, for "regarding my patients".

I found Dr.D and PaJohn's posts to be the most helpful and I agree.  I too was bombarded by Multi Plan.  What Multiplan wants you to do is take their calls and "verify" information.  In my case, I let a few calls go to voicemail.  I thought they  had the wrong number, were a scam, etc.  as these were the thickest Indian accent phone messages with long "reference numbers" that I could not make head or tail of.  When I saw that number come up yet again (they stalk), I took the call.  The caller came right out and said she was with Multiplan and calling on behalf of UBH (so supposedly they are not violating any privacy laws then?) and she needed to verify my practice location.  Fine, I verified it and expressed my discomfort with her call.  Then the faxes started, each increasing with higher levels of urgency that I need to sign right now to get paid in an express manner within 10 days, blah blah.  Well, yeah, maybe they'd pay me fast, but they wanted to pay me a lot LESS than what I was entitled to.  So the "discounted rate" was for express service--wha?!  There were a few more calls but this time from Texas where the accent was not Indian.  Hmm no longer outsourced but still Multiplan.  I did nothing.  I don't appreciate bullying.  I waited it out and contacted UBH.  I told them I wasn't going to sign anything and that I wanted to get paid.  UBH is supposed to process claims 30 days from when you submit and guess what, it hadn't been that long.  I waited it out.  And I got paid the right amount, not some discounted crap.

Did you all know that UBH was subjected to a class action lawsuit by psychologists for low balling of fees?  Looks like they are still at it.  Does APA know?

I own a medical billing company and I get these calls all the time.  They call to confirm our fax number so they can send a proposed payment schedule.  Mulitplan does this for several different insurance companies.  They call when the provider (regardless of specialty) is not currently participating with a specific plan.  When the fax comes it rarely offers more than 60% of billed charges, which for most practices is completely unacceptable..... Not a problem.... just write on the fax the minimum amount you are willing to accept (most of my clients would accept 75-80%) and fax it back (do not sign this one). If a client hasn't specified a preference I never settle for less than 85%.  The benefit of following through with this (sometimes annoying) option is they do pay quickly and it usually requires little or no out of pocket for the patient, which eliminates patient statements.  
My big annoyance with these calls is they start at 7am (pacific time) and they call several times in a row.  They don't leave messages and they don't hang up before the machine beeps so I have 10-15 hang up messages on my voice mail when I get to my office at 9.  On top of that its not always the same 800# and it comes across as Unknown so then I come here to find out who it is.  Finally decided to post on this one just because I hate to see providers take less and get frustrated with what is actually a pretty efficient system.

Thanks Dr D-I thought they were just straight phishing for info to send out false bills to insurance
co's using my info-which I unwisely gave them too much. THey had a client name for me too.
I think it's insane for a US insurance company to be verifying anything through an Indian call center.