Balance Billing
The claims administrator, GMMI, negotiates with medical providers to reduce their costs even after they have provided the medical service. Medical providers often agree to forgo part of their fee, but sometimes they may still send the part of the bill that was not paid to the host family. This practice is called “balance billing” and is illegal in some states. If you receive a bill for all or part of a medical expense that you thought was covered under the Participant Medical Plan, let GMMI know. Send them an email ([email protected]) with the details of the claim and describe the bill you received.
Tracking Claims
GMMI makes it possible for AFS families to view the medical bills that GMMI has received. You can also see the bills that have been processed for payment to the medical providers. Should you receive a “balance bill” or a statement by mail, you can log on to their web site at: www.gmmi.com. Press the “Insured Patients” button located in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Follow the directions by entering the Policy ID, First Name, Last Name and Date of Birth before pressing “View Patient Info”. (The Policy ID number is found on both ID Cards provided to the participant by AFS USA and begins with the 3-letter IOC code of the participant’s home country + the Service Reference (exceptions are BFL for Belgium-Flanders and BFR for Belgium-French).
Click on the View Patient Info. On the next page you will be able to see a listing of all the bills that have been received by GMMI. The first column lists the Internal Tracking Number (ITN) for a specific bill. The second column lists the total charges billed. The third column lists the payment date (which is printed in red if payment is pending or has been denied), and the last column lists the date the bill was processed. If the statement you have received is listed online with GMMI for the same amount you do not have to do anything further. If the statement you have received is not listed online with GMMI, please contact the provider first and inform them of the insurance information and GMMI’s billing address so that they can send the proper claim form to GMMI for handling. Then e-mail or fax a copy of the statement to GMMI at: [email protected] or via fax number 1-954-370-8130.
Doctors, host families or participants can talk to GMMI about claims or coverage by calling 1-888-444-7773. Their office hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Questions that arise about medical emergencies in the US after office hours should be directed to the AFS-USA Duty Officer by calling 1-800-237-4636 and pressing “9”.