According to Attorney Keith Pendleton, The UCC Lien Law is about enhancing your ability to get paid, the right to be paid directly, the right to receive pertinent information when claims are delayed or denied, and the right to appeal. More importantly, it's about helping patients to receive care from the providers of their own choosing. In Arizona in particular, it is the only lien you can file in PI uninsured and underinsured (UM/UIM) cases since the law prohibits County Health Care Liens in such cases.
Each and every State has now declared that the right to receive the insurance proceeds shall be freely transferable by any patient to any health care provider regardless of network participation. As a general rule, any restrictions in a policy, plan, or agreement that prohibits doctor "liens" or "assignments" are no longer permitted
Through an assignment, UCC Lien Law, and/or other means, providers are able to "plug the loophole" which enables the unilateral reduction of charges without the provider's consent. In other words, they are able to establish a right to direct payment . . . and effectively require legal counsel to afford to the provider the same level of duty of loyalty as the attorney owes to the patient. This gives provider choice. It gives the provider the ability to decline part or all of a reduction request if, as, and when the situation requires.
They also help to create a right to direct payment with respect to the accident policies themselves, such as automobile and worker's compensation policies in unrepresented cases. So for example, in instances where the patient "fires" the attorney, or the attorney "drops" the patient, or where the patient never retains an attorney, the provider is still able to be paid directly by the accident insurance payer.
Side-by-side with the right to direct payment is the right to receive "pertinent information," that is, the right to know why payment is being delayed or denied. In fact, the right to receive pertinent information is as important, if not more important, than the right to direct payment itself. It should be noted that the right to pertinent information doesn't just apply to the accident insurance policies; it also applies to attorneys as well.
ACS provides members with its own UCC Lien and also directs members to the Arizona governmental webpage with standard UCC Lien forms and full filing directions since the UCC Lien must be filed with the government. The filing fee is only $9 and can be done via regular mail.
Members can find full information on the Member Benefits page at www.AZChiropractors.org. Non-members can unlock this information today by joining online or by calling 602-368-9496 to join. Don't lose payment on another UM/UIM case because you didn't have a valid lien in place. The UCC Lien is your solution and will also work in most cases where health insurers refuse to honor assignments of benefits. Effective use of the UCC Lien in even one case is enough to pay your ACS dues for an entire year.
