You gloss over insurance contracts at your own risk. This item-by-item rundown can help you avoid making a costly mistake.

"Many physicians sign bad insurance-plan contracts because they either don't read them first, or don't understand them. Bad insurance contracts result in problematic referrals, difficult preauthorizations, delayed payment, and even payment at less than the cost of delivering care," says Keith C. Borglum, a consultant with Professional Management and Marketing in Santa Rosa, CA.

The checklist below covers the major points that you should review in any new insurance reimbursement contract. Ideally, you'll reject a contract if you haven't checked all the boxes. There may be instances, though, when you'll want to sign even if a contract doesn't meet all the requirements. "In those cases," Borglum notes, "at least you'll know what you're getting into and can keep an eye on the problematic features." The checklist is from Medical Practice Forms: Every Form You Need to Succeed, by Borglum and Diane M. Cate. (To order, call 800-MED-SHOP. The authors can be reached at 707-546-4433.)

For additional information on how to sidestep health plan contract pitfalls, see "Don't sign that contract! (Yet)," Oct. 10, 2003.

This checklist is available in:   To view the form in PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your system. If you do not have this free program, click on the icon below to link to the Adobe download page. To view the form in Word you must have Word 2000 or better. If you don't have this program you can download the free Microsoft Word 97/2000 Viewer. (You cannot edit an open document in Word Viewer. However, you can copy text to the Clipboard to paste it in other applications). Other forms and patient handouts are available in the Clip and Copy section of our Web site at www.memag.com .