Step-by-step guide for submitting bills

As you receive medical bills from your healthcare providers, please take the following steps to submit them to CHM. Medical bills must be itemized (please note: a receipt is not an itemized bill) and should show any discounts you’ve obtained and payments you’ve made. You can download a sample medical bill log that will help you keep track of your medical bills. (The sample given shows maternity bills but can be adapted and used for any major medical situation.)

1. Send the sharing request packet to CHM

All the forms you need to submit are available as a free download, or you can submit your bills and forms online via the Member Portal. The sharing request packet includes the Sharing Request Form, the Medical Bill Worksheet, the Medical Release Information (HIPAA-compliant) Form, the Letter of Explanation and the Prayer Page Request Form (the last form should be sent to CHM only if the treatment was for a pre-existing condition).

2. Along with your forms, submit your itemized bills to CHM as soon as you receive them

Do this even if a discount is still pending. The sooner CHM receives the bill, the sooner the bill can be shared and the faster you can pay your medical providers. You can always let CHM know about a discount later when it has been approved by your doctor or hospital. For bills to be eligible for sharing, CHM must receive bills within six months of the date of service. An itemized bill contains: 1) the patient’s name; 2) the date of service; 3) the place of service; 4) the procedural (CPT) codes (or description of services rendered); 5) an itemized list of charges.

If obtaining itemized bills is a challenge or if your provider seems puzzled by what information, exactly, CHM needs to process your medical bills, please have them call CHM for more information.

For members with Medicare only: Please submit your Medicare Summary Notice in lieu of itemized bills. (We also need a copy of the EOB from any health insurance plan you may have). The only exceptions—situations in which you’d need to send itemized bills—are prescriptions and any bills from non-Medicare participating providers.

3. Sharing time can take 70-85 days

Notify CHM if your provider sets a time limit for reduced charges and the CHM staff will work with your provider to share the bill(s) on time. In general, bills are shared in the order they’re received at the CHM office. However, the sharing time "clock" begins when CHM receives all the necessary forms and relevant itemized medical bills.

4. Promptly pay your provider(s) when you receive funds from CHM

Treat as reimbursement from CHM (since you will be reimbursed) any portion of the funds you have already paid to your provider(s).

5. Maternity Only: as soon as possible, ask your doctor's office and hospital staff for a prepayment agreement

Sometimes called a “Stork Package” or “global fee" these rates often include all pre-natal and delivery charges at a reduced price. (When asking for a hospital prepayment agreement, keep in mind that room and board charges are not always included in the quoted price.) When you have it, submit the agreement to the CHM office and send any additional bills as “add-ons” to the original amount. In most cases, submitting a timely agreement enables CHM to share your maternity bills by the time the baby is born. Be sure to also visit our maternity page.

How you can help speed sharing time:

There are a number of items CHM doesn’t need to process your medical bills. The less time CHM staff members spend going through these items, the faster medical bills can be shared. Here are some items we routinely receive from members that actually slow sharing time: