Why does the doctor's office ask you for your SSN?

[Cat0727]

I did not put mine on the form I filled out and they are calling me all pissy and saying that they need my social in order to complete the insurance claim. This is not true, because I looked on my health insurance's site and no where does it say a social security number is needed to go to the doctor. So I'm wondering why they need it so badly if it's not a requirement?

 

[happygirl]

I would guess it for Id purposes sp? If you leave them with a huge bill. they know who credit report to put it under

 

[princessmom29]

Becuase in order for them to file the claim they have to include your SNN regardless of wether the insurance company website says it or not. No SSN = no claim. My mom does payroll and billing for medical offices.

 

[Snoozan]

I'm sure it's for insurance billing purposes. Most insurance companies still require a SS# to identify you - even if they have another ID# on your ID card. When you have multiple people with same/similiar names, it really does make a difference. Otherwise, the insurance company may not identify you, therefore, they won't pay the bill and YOU will get billed by the dr's office.

 

[JimmyPicker]

Whether it's insurance related or not, I can think of a lot of reasons it would be necessary for a doctors office to have that information.

A social security number is used to identify you. Many people have the same name as someone else in this world. It's good for your current and future doctors to be able to access YOUR medical records instead of someone else's.

Medical files are being computerized now. Again, having your SSN is a sure way to finding YOUR file and not someone else's.

Especially for women. They get married, they change their name. They get divorced, they change it again. Having a SSN to identify you instead of having lost medical records for some person who no longer exists.

Your insurance number can change rather easily. Your SSN is yours and only yours for your entire life.

 

[MELISAZACK]

Actually it is true=- a new medicare law went into effect last year. same goes if you are injured in a MVA - the insurance company will need it to or they can't pay your medical bills on your behalf.

 

[Cat0727]

Everything you all are saying makes sense. But I'm just uneasy because the form she gave me was mad sketch and the receptionist whited out my dad's information when I told her my insurance company changed. I won't be going back to this doctor again for other reasons, and I think once I find one I like & want to stick with I will gladly provide them my SSN.

 

[princessmom29]

Everything you all are saying makes sense. But I'm just uneasy because the form she gave me was mad sketch and the receptionist whited out my dad's information when I told her my insurance company changed. I won't be going back to this doctor again for other reasons, and I think once I find one I like & want to stick with I will gladly provide them my SSN.

If you are that uncomfortable the only real option is to pay the bill out of pocket and find a new doc. They cannot bill insurance without an SSN.

 

[ccgirl]

I am in the insurance eligibility field. The dr's office does indeed need your ss# in order to determine insurance eligibility. If you do not provide it, your claim will be denied and your insurer will give the reason they cannot find you. The dr's office will then need to call the insurer, wait on hold and jump through hoops to determine your eligibility. Your SS# is also needed to distinguish you from another patient should you have the same name and Birthdate.

 

[MinnieTink]

Sorry to hijack this thread but... Yesterday I went to a Dr appointment with my mom and they had her put her Driver's license number on her form...? I've never seen that before on a Drs demographics form. Is that just for ID too?

 

[barkley]

our insurance company gives us the option of opting out of our unique identifier being our ssn's. we can apply to get a special id number assigned in it's place. i have medicare in addition however, and they absolutly use your ssn as your identifier so it would'nt work for me to have 2 different numbers (too confusing for billing and tracking purposes).

that said-the doctor's offices we use make it a condition of affiliation with their group that we provide mine/dh's ssn at least initialy. reason being is kid's insurance is identified based off my ssn (actualy dh's is based off mine too), so they need it for that purpose BUT the greater purpose is like any buisness that extends credit (which is what they are doing when insurance is billed for you) they want those ssn's on file in case insurance and/or we don't pay up so they can use whatever collection practices they have in place. the patients that don't want to provide it are told to seek another practice for their physician needs.

 

[Mermaid02]

We did not provide SS#'s to our docs- our insurance has been covering our expenses just fine. I had 2 surgeries last year and my dh just had one in February- no problems.

edited to add: Call your insurance company and ask them if your ss# is needed for them to pay a claim. Then you will KNOW if the office NEEDS it or wants it. I was a medical secretary until October and our office WANTED the number for I.D. purposes, but they did not actually NEED it- although registration would make it sound VITAL that they get it when they called the patients.

 

[Cat0727]

Called my insurance company and they confirmed you don't need to provide a SSN and it's a privacy violation for those that ask that it is the purpose of having a member id...

 

[ChristmasElf]

Becuase in order for them to file the claim they have to include your SNN regardless of wether the insurance company website says it or not. No SSN = no claim. My mom does payroll and billing for medical offices.

The Dr's office may tell you they need the SS number to file an insurance claim, but they do not.
They want the SS number in the case your insurance company will not pay for the visit, the Drs office will then go after you.
Our insurance company even sent out letters telling us to NOT furnish our SS numbers and to tell the office they would not need it.
The insurance company said all the Dr office needs is the Group # and the Plan #

 

[cepmom]

The Dr's office may tell you they need the SS number to file an insurance claim, but they do not.
They want the SS number in the case your insurance company will not pay for the visit, the Drs office will then go after you.
Our insurance company even sent out letters telling us to NOT furnish our SS numbers and to tell the office they would not need it.
The insurance company said all the Dr office needs is the Group # and the Plan #

I posted a thread about this a few months ago. I went to a PT group and they "required" my SS # even though my insurance does not require for billing purposes (I called my insurance and asked them). This was not a MVA, worker's comp etc. Just a simple knee injury and was going through my regular medical insurance.

I didn't want to give out my SS # so I found a different PT group to go to that did not require it. I think the trend is moving towards using SS#'s to combat identity theft and also to go after the patient in case insurance denies payment but it makes me uneasy. Of course when we get to the age of using Medicare it will be SS#'s anyway but until then, I won't give it out unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Abbie]

We did not provide SS#'s to our docs- our insurance has been covering our expenses just fine. I had 2 surgeries last year and my dh just had one in February- no problems.

Maybe it's a regional thing? Our office has a place for patients to supply their social security numbers but we in no way require it. Some will even ask if they need to add it and we will tell them not if they don't want to. It's not needed to file insurance claims at all.

That said, it is helpful to have it when I need get a procedure authorized for a patient and the insurance company asks for it. They can't always identify a patient with just name and date of birth, but they can always find them with a social.

Medicare is different in that the id number on the medicare card is actually your social security number, no getting around it there.

 

[Sadie Chez]

When I was pregnant with baby #3 there were two other women going to the same doctor with the same name and same birthday with very close due dates to mine, totaly wierd I know. We had to go by our SSN when we were checking in and the office was very dilliengent in keeping us apart they wouldn't even book us on the same day, I never met the other ladies either. Funny story tho one of them was involved in a drunk driving incident a couple of years later with all three kids in the car, it was reported on in the local newspaper, I can't tell you how many people asked me about it. My mom even called and she knows I don't drink. Ugh yeah it sounds so believable someone else has my name and birthday and three kids.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

Our insurance company also sent out notices a few years ago stating that our ID numbers would no longer be our social security numbers (previously a few letters and SS#) and that doctors were no longer allowed to require that we give them our SS# to submit a claim

 

[LisaR]

My kids are 15 and 12 and I have never given out their SS# to any type of medical facility EVER. We have had a few different insurances over the years and all claims were paid without their SS#. I will give out DH since he is the subscriber but I will not give out mine or the kids. They do not need it under any circumstance.

I just took my son to an orthopedic doctor last week. On the phone, the girl told me to make sure and bring his SS#. I filled out the form online and put all one's in for his SS. When I got to the office, the girl said he could not be seen without her making a copy of his card. I said fine and we started to walk out. She called us back and said they could make an exception. I should have just walked out because the doctor truly sucked anyway.

 

[OceanAnnie]

We did not provide SS#'s to our docs- our insurance has been covering our expenses just fine. I had 2 surgeries last year and my dh just had one in February- no problems.

edited to add: Call your insurance company and ask them if your ss# is needed for them to pay a claim. Then you will KNOW if the office NEEDS it or wants it. I was a medical secretary until October and our office WANTED the number for I.D. purposes, but they did not actually NEED it- although registration would make it sound VITAL that they get it when they called the patients.

Same here. Insurance companies give their members numbers. That's what we use.