There are times that you will have already started a contract for a patient and it will need to be edited. It could need to have the balance split between two responsible parties, or the insurance could have changed and the remainder of the balance needs to be moved. This article will review how to edit an already started contract, and how that will cause it to look different.
Please note: You can write the contract off and create a new one, but that means the start date will be the date of the new contract you add. While this may not always be ideal, it is best if the contract needs to be completely redone. Instructions on that can be found here: Write off a Contract.
New Insurance
For this test patient, they have a future due of 1125.00 under Cigna insurance, but their insurance has recently changed to Delta Dental. First, we will want to go into Edit > Patient > Insurance tab and add the new insurance. Then we would set the new insurance to active and the old insurance to inactive.
Screenshot of starting contract we need to change:
Screenshot of adding new insurance and what that looks like in Edit > Patient Insurance tab.
Next, save the patient chart and close it. When you re open it, it will have a ledger tab with the new insurance on the ledger screen like this:
Adding the New Insurance to the Contract
Now that the insurance has a ledger tab, go into the contract and click on the "Plans" Drop down. Select the new Insurance and then click anywhere in the contract. This will add the new insurance to the contract. Make sure to save the contract before finishing,
Now it will appear as its own section. The next step requires you to save and close the contract.
Transferring the balance from Old Insurance to New Insurance
Next, navigate to the old insurance tab, in this case. Cigna, and initiate an adjustment type of Transfer. An article of how to do that can be found here: Transferring balance.
**PLEASE NOTE: Due to a change in helping to make contract adjustments more secure, you MUST exit out of the contract to apply any change on the contract line. Please make sure no employees have the contract open. Then you can apply the adjustment.
Since the adjustment is for the future due it will look like this, (but your case may be different depending on the contract.)
PLEASE NOTE: When transferring balance to a new insurance using the above method, it will only show the balance in the future due. The Plan amount will be blank because that pulls from the contract's start. Since this insurance was not on the contract at start it will be blank. But the future due shows the upcoming balance for that tab on the contract.
Splitting balance between two RP's, adding a new RP.
Other times, it won't be a new insurance but a new responsible party that you want to split an existing balance on. For this example, the patient is adding her husband to help cover part of the contract. So first, go into the Edit > Patient > Relationships tab and make the new relationship a responsible party. Once that is done, save the chart, exit, and then go back in and they will have a ledger tab, like the screenshot below.
The next step is to do a Transfer adjustment to move part of the balance from one responsible party to another. The adjustment we are doing since we are moving $1,000.00 will look like this:
Next, open the contract to ensure dates are correct. As before please note it will not show a plan amount balance, it will show a future due for the new RP. This is intended behavior. The only way to show a plan amount and not future due would be to write the contract off and start over.
These are the different steps of how you can edit an already started contract. You can move balance with transfer adjustments once you have a new insurance or a new RP on the contract, and it will update in the future due for that tab in the contract.
As always, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to reach out to Cloud 9 Support by emailing us at cloud9support@planetdds.com, or chatting us online using the chat bubble on the lower right at https://cloud9support.planetdds.com/hc/en-us, or giving us a call during our business hours of 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST at the 1.800.394.6050 option 2.
Editing a Started Contract
