Enter a Contract With Insurance

1. Open the patient's chart; go to View > Patient Info or press Command I.
2. Click the Contracts/Ledgers tab.
3. Click New and select the appropriate Treatment Plan.
4. Click Quick Contract. The Quick Contract Worksheet opens.
5. Check the box Accept Assignment; the right side of the contract worksheet displays.

The LEFT side of the contract worksheet deals only with Insurance:

1. Total Contract: The total amount charged for treatment.
2. Initial Fee: The amount charged in the initial claim. This number is typically between 20-30% of the total treatment fee. In the example above, it is $1500 - 25% of $6000.
3. Charges are Made: The frequency of the contract charges (which can be used for claims).
4. Monthly Charge: How much you will submit to insurance per month. Typically you want to enter the number of treatment months first; Tops Ortho will then auto-calculate the monthly amount.
5. Other Charges: Not used at this time.
6. First Charge Date: Tops Ortho calculates this date based on the date that the Quick Contract is created. If the next month is more than three weeks away, the first payment will be scheduled for the that month. If the next month is less than three weeks away, Tops Ortho will schedule the first payment for the following month.

The RIGHT side of the contract worksheet deals primarily with the Patient Payments:

1. Expected Insurance: The expected insurance benefit. Note: This may be less than the Initial Fee entered for insurance on the left side of the contract worksheet.
2. Initial Copayment Fee: The amount charged to the patient to initiate treatment. This number should be the sum of what the patient is paying AND discounts they receive. For example, if the patient is paying $1000 for his down payment and he receives a $200 family discount, the Initial Fee amount is $1200.
3. Monthly Copayment Charge: How much you will charge the patient per month. You can enter an amount and Tops Ortho will auto-calculate the number of charges. Note: This does not have to match the amounts charged to insurance each month.
4. Number of Copayment Charges: How many months patient will pay. Note: This does not have to match the number of charges to insurance on the left side.

6. Click OK.
7. Verify all numbers are accurate.
8. Click Record Contract.
9. When you are ready to activate the contract, go to Action > New Transaction or press Command T.
10. Select Initial Fee and select the recorded contract you wish to activate. Click Use Selected Contract.
11. Enter your note and click Process Charges and Payments.

12. Active contracts will show one or two dots next to the contract total.
    1. Contracts without insurance will display one dot.
    2. Contracts with insurance will display two dots.
    3. Deactivated contracts will display a dash.