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Meeting with an Attorney for contract/compliance plan

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TxJFP:
I have read at least 5 of your books (if I may say they have been extremely helpful  ;) ] BUT the main concern is that I do not want to spend someone that may have gone to law school 200.00/hr to type something that is just a rough draft. Now if it were a hard copy with me not having to re-read and trusting they know what to inlcude, ok then, I wouldn't mind paying that much. I included to my lawyer the percentage pricing, the only thing she mentioned was, "Now I'm going by your expertise and background so I trust that using a percentage per month is valid...?" Ok, why didn't she investigate that? We went over the Secretary of State paperwork and the stuff she said was right, was wrong. I trust in this lawyer, this kind of business is just new to her and actually all local lawyers within this county. She knows and understands my interest. I have paid her enough to feel certain she will do her best to represent me IF anything should go wrong. As for the notes and local regulations, my homework is caught up with all that. I think I've spoken with everyone except Hillary Clinton and Obama haha.

PMRNC:

--- Quote ---"Now I'm going by your expertise and background so I trust that using a percentage per month is valid...?" Ok, why didn't she investigate that?
--- End quote ---

This is a Grey area.. It will depend on WHAT your attorney is doing. As for the states that do not allow physicians to enter into any fee-splitting arrangement (percentage based) well, the attorney representing you most likely might be a "contract" lawyer.  My lawyer has worked with physicians and other healthcare professionals. But he's also a whiz with contracts because he has done them from the physicians side, he knows about fee-splitting because he's represented physicians in that area. A general contract lawyer is going to need to rely on you for things within the industry you should know.

I want to say something about samples and get this out of the way. The reason you don't see a reliable entity handing out "samples" is because I feel it's irresponsible. If Michele and Alice were to put a sample in their book, and someone decided to use the sample verbatim (YES YES IT HAPPENS ALL THE DANG TIME) then wouldn't that make them responsible.. and Not just talking legal, I'm talking morally.  I don't give out samples, nor do I give out my contract for a few reasons with the main one being again, it's just irresponsible. JMO.  I understand people like to see the product they are working with..but then we would have way more billers taking the easy way out and really that does our industry NO good.

The best advice I can give people is to get out a piece of paper.. start writing down EVERYTHING that could go wrong, make a list. That list should be somewhere around 3-5 pages.. If it's not, your missing some. See where I'm going with this.  This is exactly what I did. I made a list with all the worst case scenario's I could think of, read some things that had happened to other billers, and I had QUITE a long list. Take that list to an attorney, or not.

Also I think we got off topic as the original poster mentioned them having BOTH the compliance plan and contract included in that price.  And I am still thinking that is a great price.

TxJFP:
Ok to be honest, I never wanted a sample. When you all wrote the books, it was detailed enough to picture how an individual biller should come up with their own. That list you mentioned, it was stated in the book (like several times along with meeting w/an attorney) and has been thought of and done differently than getting a paper out and putting a column etc. I use white boards and cork boards to help with my ideas. It's apparently caused a slight conflict of proportions from the experienced billing company and upcoming billing companies, my apologies. The thing is, not everyone ran a business for over 15 years previously or have the best credit to get a business loan etc...
The point is, the contract is going to be reviewed by an attorney (whether it being a "contract" attorney or if I drive an hr and a half to find an attorney experienced with physicians in the Houston area) I will get it legalized BEFORE my business becomes more active. It's my last thing and I do intend to do this the right way. I feel if someone wants to write their own and then speak to an attorney, along with their notes and questions, it's still legit (again my opinion)

Thank you all for your input.
Have a good weekend ;)

sierratam:
What's the secret to finding an attorney that specializes in Medical Billing? 
Also, one time I phoned a local attorney and he told me he could not help me with my contract because he already represented another Medical Billing Company and thought it would be a conflict of interest.. ??? I thought that was very odd.

TxJFP:
Hello,

I don't believe there are any secrets to finding a medical billing attorney. Just look up a few, write them down, call to introduce and briefly state what you are in the process of doing. Some have websites to check out and it'll state if they work with company contracts. Luckily, the one I have isn't working with another since it's a small area and no billing service is nearby unless it's closer to Houston/San Antonio, ya know the big places. All you would need to do mainly is just ask. Get their rates for initial visits and check what all you would need to take with you. A bit of advice, be prepared because lawyers are very tough and well can lack patience.

Sorry for not giving out a better answer. It worked for me when i did the above. I made several visits to her so you will be paying a comfortable amount of money depending on the location.

OH and about the last part, that may be another thing to ask when your calling around to the lawyers about whether they can assist you if they already have a medical billing company they represent... That is odd, but then again, there are rules and regulations for them so that they won't get their butts chewed.


GOOD LUCK  ;)

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