Quickly learn the best times to call insurance companies for eligibility and benefits calls, authorizations, and more.  We use these principles and tactics within our billing service at TheraThink.

This short guide will begin with Strategies to use to guide when to make a call.  Then we’ll get down to tactics to use to make the calls shorter and what’s worked well for us.

Strategy 1:  The Best Time Depends on Each Insurance Co –> Ask the Representative for Tips

Get a representative on the line and make sure to ask them for the best time to call.  “When you are least busy? and when is your rush?”

Make a note of both, avoid calling during the rush and call when they recommend.

Strategy 2:  Ask to Speak to a Manager at the First Sign of Incompetence

Some folks are new and that’s fine, but to avoid the huge time-suck that comes with these folks, ask to speak to a manager as fast as you need to.  No need to be a rude, a simple “I’m not getting the care I need, I would like to speak to your manager to have a more experienced rep help”.

Strategy 3:  Avoid Busy Hours

Don’t call first thing in the morning or during lunch, otherwise, give it a shot.

Tactic 1:  If they have weekend hours, call on the weekends

They are significantly faster to respond on the weekends.

Tactic 2: Call late in the day

We’ve found this to be a rule that is worth keeping — in general calls are much faster in the afternoon.

Tactic 3:  Be aware of what time zone the insurance co is in, call in that time zones afternoon

Make sure that if you are in California seeing a client with Blue Shield from Illinois, you call in the afternoon in Central time, e.g. 2-3pm your time.

Tactic 4:  Type “0” repeatedly to get to a representative and/or say “representative” or “help” or “support” repeatedly to get to a representative

Skip the phone systems and get a human on the phone.  They will give you more accurate information and answer any questions you have about eligibility and benefits.

For a free eligibility and benefits script, head here.