When it comes to submitting medical insurance claims to the insurance companies, it is important to file the claims on the appropriate forms. The most common medical insurance form is the HCFA 1500.The HCFA 1500 form is a 8 ½”by 11” white paper printed with red ink. It contains many fields that must be completed. In an effort to standardize the medical industry, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability

and Accountability Act of 1996) mandated that all medical service providers use the HCFA 1500 form when submitting insurance claims. It is crucial that the fields on the HCFA form are filled out accurately and completely. If any information is missing or incorrect it can cause the entire claim to be denied. In some cases they will return the incomplete or inaccurate claim with an explanation as to why it is not being paid.

Other times, you just don’t hear anything. Did they end up with your socks that never returned from the dryer? There are some instances that a HCFA wouldn’t be used. If the claim is for an on the job injury, or a workers’ compensation claim, then a workers’ compensation form would be used. These forms vary from state to state, but can usually be found on the state’s workers’ compensation website. In many states forms can be downloaded and printed or purchased in quantity by private suppliers.