Syncro CRM Escalations & Documentation

You are here:
Estimated reading time: 4 min

Escalation Guidelines and Turnaround Times

Appeals — 45-60 Business Days
  • Appeals involve insurance claim disputes initiated by patients/providers.
    Important:
  • Natera cannot appeal on behalf of the patient.
  • Patients remain responsible for charges during the process.
  • Confirm escalation validity via the “Appeals” KB article.
Callback from PTP/PTE — 48 Business Hours

Escalate when a PTP/PTE queue call cannot be completed after 2 minutes of waiting.

Do Not Contact Me
  • Escalate when a patient requests no further contact via calls, messages, or mail.
Executive Escalation Keywords

Escalate when patients use terms like:

  • Better Business Bureau, Attorney, Lawyer, Lawsuit, Harassment, Fraud, Bankruptcy.

Action: Transfer to Escalations Team and submit an “Executive Escalation Keywords” ticket.

Itemized Bill (PTP Payment) — 5-7 Business Days (Phone), 3-5 Business Days (Email)
  • Patients may request an itemized bill for PTP payment confirmation. Ensure:
    • Account is fully paid and reflected as closed to prepay.
    • Payments or $0 balances are shown in AMD’s History tab.
    • Escalation is sent via Syncro CRM.
Itemized Bill — 5 – 7 business days – phone requests or 3 – 5 business days – email requests –
  • Purpose of an Itemized Bill:
    • Provides detailed descriptions to help patients confirm their account has been paid in full and that no additional balance is owed.
  • Insurance Requests:
    • Itemized bills cannot be sent directly to insurance.
    • If an insurance representative requests one, direct them to email their request to [email protected].
  • Account Status Requirements:
    • The account must be fully paid, with the payment or zero balance (ZBAL) reflected in the AMD history tab.
    • For accounts where no payment was required, the account must be marked as written off in AMD’s history.
Insurance Update —30-45 Business Days (Insurance Response)

Update insurance details when:

  • Adding or modifying new commercial or Medicaid insurance coverage.
Medical Records — 45-60 Business Days
  • For requests to send patient medical records (insurance or patient-initiated), escalate with the appropriate email or fax details.
Missing Payment — 5-7 Business Days
  • If a patient claims they paid but the payment is not visible in AMD, Synergen Pay, or payment.natera.com:
    1. Request proof of payment (e.g., transaction ID).
    2. Submit the escalation with proof.
ONC Callback — 48 Business Hours

Escalate when:

  • Calls related to Oncology or Organ Health tests (e.g., Signatera, Prospera, Altera) go unanswered in the Sig_inbound queue.
Patient Callbacks — Within 24 Hours

Escalate when:

  • A patient requests a callback due to an inability to remain on the call.
  • Supervisor or manager escalation requests go unanswered.
Patient SOS

Escalate immediately for:

  • Repeat issues (two or more unresolved attempts).
  • Complaints were unresolved via standard channels.
  • Irate, unconsolable, or distressed patients.
    Action: Transfer the call to the Escalations Team and submit a “Patient SOS” ticket.
Refund Request — Up to 60 Business Days

Refund requests should meet the following criteria:

  • Overpayment by the patient or overcharges by the team.
  • Payment is reflected in AMD at the time of escalation.
Requisition Form Request — 7 – 10 business days 

If the patient requests a copy of his / her requisition form

 SYNERGEN ESCALATION — 3 business days

Submit a Synergen escalation in the following scenarios:

  1. No Valid Balance on Synergen Pay:
    • When the account displays no valid balance.
  2. Payment Portal Errors:
    • If the patient encounters errors such as:
      • “Invalid Case”
      • “Payment Already Made”
      • “Incorrect Balance”
  3. WODUNN Code on AMD:
    • Cases with a WODUNN code need to be escalated.
  4. Written Off Balance:
    • When the account shows as “Written Off” and the correct balance needs to be added.
  5. Voided Statement:
    • When the account shows “Voided Statement” and the correct balance needs to be added.
Supervisor Escalation — 2 Business Days

Submit a Supervisor Escalation ticket when:

  • You attempted to transfer the call to the Escalations Team (e.g., for payment plans, issues with Synergen Pay, patient refusals, or red flags), but no one answered.
  • A Straight Medicaid claim was denied due to timely filing, and the balance needs to be written off.
  • A patient continues to receive bills despite a Medicaid insurance update exceeding TAT.
  • Account modifications (e.g., address, phone number, or email) require escalation.
  • A Hold Status is detected in AMD/History.
  • A digital statement was issued due to a bad address. Update the address, place the account on hold, and escalate.
  • An insurance update sent over 45 BD ago remains unresolved.
  • Patients insist on adding insurance for cases exceeding 180 calendar days from the service date. Explain the situation, likely denial, and escalate if necessary.
SPAY Error Issue — 3 Business Days

Escalate if:

  • The patient doesn’t receive the payment link.
  • The payment link returns an error.
Stop Claim — 30-45 Business Days

Use Stop Claim requests for the following:

  • Natera employees or partners tested and should not owe a balance.
  • Redraw billing errors.
  • FSA/HRA/HSA refunds required, transitioning the case to self-pay.
  • Incorrect clinic vs. insurance billing.
  • Cases with Progyny coverage billed incorrectly.
  • Patient payments sent to insurance in error.

Note: Never stop a claim for Compassionate Care applications.

WO CODE ERROR —  within a week 
  • When you have identified some incorrect or uncommon write-offs being applied to the accounts.
  • Please review the ‘History’ tab carefully. If the account shows a $0 balance but an uncommon write-off code was used and no notes explain why, you must escalate the issue before informing the patient that they no longer have a balance.
 ZBAL —  7 – 10 business days 

Submitting a ZBAL request is essential for clearing outstanding balances, particularly for cases with lower rates. Below are the specific scenarios for submitting ZBAL requests:

  1. Payments for Compassionate Care Approval:
    • Submit a ZBAL request only after a payment has been received.
  2. Scenarios Without Payment:
    • 100% Compassionate Care Approval: When patients are approved for 100% Compassionate Care (no payment required).
    • Non-Proof of Income Form: When a non-proof of income form is attached to the requisition form, quoting a $0 balance.
  3. Courtesy Exceptions:
    • If a Courtesy Exception was confirmed but the balance wasn’t removed, you may submit a ZBAL request.
    • Ensure you have supporting notes or memos indicating that the RD escalation was approved before submitting.

Related Topic:

Turnaround Times 2024

Last update by: Claudia F (Dec 2, 2024)

Views: 753