You are right, I believe the doctor accepted all insurance types from the referring doctors in order to get there paying patients {ie Medicare non HMO's etc}. I will be getting with them to explain that we probably won't be able to collect most of it.

Okay, now you have pried open a much BIGGER Pandora's Box. Do you realize what you just said? In effect, you said that the doctor would see Medicare HMO patients for free in order to obtain other referrals from that doctor. I can't even begin to name all the laws/rules/regulations that just got thrown out the window, but suffice it to say that the Office of the Inspector General (the feds) don't look too kindly on that sort of thing.

Question: What about the "other insurances" PPO's etc that we are not contracted with, what is there responsibility in paying claims to out of network providers? Is it going to depend on the individual contract?

There is no contract to depend on when you are not contracted. ;) Some insurances always pay the doctor, some never pay the doctor (but pay the patient instead), some flip flop back and forth with no rhyme or reason. For non-contracted patients, I bill the insurance plan and then I turn it over to patient responsibility after a certain amount of time (say 21 days), UNLESS it is an insurance that I KNOW will not pay the doctor (either from experience or because they told me they would not, such as United) and then I bill the insurance plan then immediately turn around and bill the patient. The patient is ultimately responsible for the entire balance, no adjustments.

Sharon