Utilities. Cable. Car payment. Keeping track of bills requires organization. Fortunately, keeping track of medical bills only requires you to sign up for Blueprint Portal, our secure self-service member portal.
Each time you visit your doctor, he or she will send us a record of services provided to you, with a request for payment (known as a claim). We typically process a claim the same day we get it and issue payment to your doctor just as quickly. Then we send you an explanation of benefits (EOB) or personal health statement (PHS).
Generally, an EOB and PHS are like a receipt for the claim – they show which services the health insurance company paid for and any remaining balance you might owe. We send EOBs every time a claim is completed. A PHS is sent every two weeks. We recommend you check your EOB or PHS any time you get a bill from your doctor to ensure everything matches up.
Fortunately, you can do this online without all the paper! The Blueprint Portal stores your claims history and personal health statements so you can make sure we’ve received and paid your doctor’s requests.
Viewing your claims history helps you see:
- Who pays for what: Most people check their claims history to keep an eye on their deductible and out-of-pocket maximums. Depending on your policy, whenever you reach these limits, your health plan begins to pay more for in-network services.
- Tax benefits: Other people use their claims history to keep track of annual spending on healthcare for tax purposes. Some medical, pharmaceutical and vision expenses are tax-deductible. If you have one of our plans, you don’t have to keep up with papers all year. Just visit our website to see what you spent. Remember if you’re doing this, the numbers you need will be on the first page of your PHS or EOB, next to the “You owe (or may have paid) to your medical provider” line.
- Claims status: Sometimes a doctor may send a bill saying your health insurance didn’t cover a service. You can sign in to your account and look up a claim to ensure we received it and see if we’ve processed it yet.
When you see a payment from us to your doctor is still pending, you should wait to see if you owe your doctor money.
If the claim was completed, your doctor’s bill should match the amount owed on your EOB or PHS. If the claim was denied, you should review the EOB or PHS to see why the service wasn’t covered. In some cases, you may be able to appeal the claim denial. However, if the appeal doesn’t change the outcome, you could still avoid extra costs in the future by having a better understanding of your network and benefits.
More cool features of My Blueprint
You can use the Blueprint Portal to keep records in one handy place. For example, your personal health record can list medications and social and family health histories. Also, when you sign in to Blueprint Portal after a doctor’s visit, you may be asked to rate your experience. By sharing your thoughts, you can help other members find quality, caring professionals, too.
Accessing your claims and care history
To register for Blueprint Portal, you’ll need your member ID number located on your member ID card.
- Go to your health plan’s website, such as arkansasbluecross.com
- Select Sign In (top right of screen)
- Select Member and choose Register to get started
Taking advantage of the tools in the Blueprint Portal will help you stay organized so you have more time for yourself and your family.