Provider Alert: Marriott's claim management operation still demonstrates that the self-insured employer lacks the proficiency to properly process and promptly pay your bills.

Physicians should understand the issues with Marriott billing before agreeing to treat the hotel chain’s injured employees.

daisyBill exists to ensure that when a provider treats an injured worker, the provider gets paid without staff spending hours chasing reimbursement. When a payer, like Marriott, makes that all but impossible, we are duty-bound to warn providers of the possible administrative headaches and hits to their bottom line.

In the most recent example, inquiries about a Colorado provider’s unpaid e-bill went from Marriott’s bill review vendor to its clearinghouse to Marriott to the claims adjuster, who said they have “nothing to do with the receipt of” e-bills.

No practice can, or should have to, absorb this level of payment friction when treating injured workers.

Turning away a patient is the last thing any doctor wants to do, and the last thing daisyNews wants to encourage. But we do want providers to be fully informed. Since 2022, we have documented Marriott ignoring electronic bills (e-bills), failing to return legally mandated electronic Explanations of Review (e-EORs), and tolerating a bill review vendor that persistently shares billing misinformation.

Marriott presides over a claims operation in which providers chase representatives in circles for payment and information that never comes. Until Marriott devotes the resources necessary to administer claims correctly (or hires an insurer or Third-Party Administrator that can), every Marriott patient represents a potential payment battle.

Genex: Same Vendor, Same Mistake

In September, a daisyBill provider client reported an unpaid Marriott e-bill, which had been sent in August. When the provider called Genex, Marriott’s bill review vendor, Genex erroneously claimed that the bill was “not on file” because the provider should have sent it to Payer ID WZ2787.

As daisyNews has reported on three separate occasions, that Payer ID does not exist.

Marriott’s correct Payer ID, assigned by its clearinghouse, Data Dimensions, is WZ787 (there is no ‘2’ in that Payer ID). Data Dimensions confirmed WZ2787 is invalid when we first reported this error. We have also shared multiple incidents in which Genex told providers that Marriott doesn’t accept e-bills at all. This is not true, and would be non-compliant in several states if it were.

In a process as complex as workers’ comp e-billing, occasional mistakes are inevitable. The same vendor making the same mistake for the same client after repeated public correction is indefensible.

Genex may be the source of the misinformation, but Marriott is legally responsible for the unpaid bills that result from these persistent errors. Marriott’s e-billing “grade” of ‘F’ in our Claims Administrator Directory reflects its abysmal performance in handling our clients’ e-bills.

Marriott Suggests a Return to Fax Machines

To find out why the e-bill wasn’t processed, daisyBill contacted Data Dimensions, the clearinghouse that accepts and responds to e-bills on Marriott’s behalf. Data Dimensions contacted Marriott and relayed the response to our team:

“[daisyBill] needs to contact the adjuster directly. The claim is being handled by [adjuster name] in the Central Region. [daisyBill] should have [their] contact information. Please direct all questions regarding the claim to [them].”

Data Dimensions added that the adjuster determines whether to pass bills to bill review for payment. We followed Marriott’s instructions as relayed by Data Dimensions, but to no avail:

1. daisyBill’s Compliance Team called the Marriott adjuster. No one answered; we left a voicemail.
2. The adjuster returned the call, but their voicemail contained no information about the unpaid e-bill.
3. We called again and left a second voicemail, and received no response.
4. We emailed the adjuster, who replied that they have “nothing to do with the receipt of electronic bills.”
5. We told the adjuster that Marriott had specifically sent us to them for a resolution. The adjuster instructed us to resubmit the bill by fax or email.

Marriott indisputably accepts e-bills, in compliance with several states’ laws. As such, Marriott owes providers a functional e-bill payment process, not instructions to revert to 20th-century billing methods.

Moreover, Colorado’s Rule 16 does not permit a provider who submits an e-bill to also send a duplicate paper version; Marriott’s “solution” asks providers to break the state’s rules.

Doctors, Be Prepared When Treating Marriott Employees

Doctors who treat injured workers deserve timely, appropriate payment. Marriott makes it needlessly difficult to receive that payment.

Every Marriott bill carries the risk that administrative follow-up will cost the provider time and practice resources. Vanishing bills, vendor misinformation, and non-compliance with payment laws and regulations create revenue management chaos for doctors across multiple states.

For those reasons, physicians should be prepared for a payment skirmish when treating Marriott injured workers. Some practical tips for practices that choose to treat Marriott employees:

• Use the correct Payer ID. Marriott’s Payer ID is WZ787. If Genex tells you otherwise, Genex is wrong.
• Keep timestamped proof of submission. The clearinghouse acknowledgment proves when Marriott received the e-bill.
• Report violations. Where state law or regulations require e-EORs or timely payment, file complaints with the state workers’ comp agency.

Marriott is a sophisticated, global company. It can afford to administer claims properly or to hire someone who can. Until it does, doctors must be even more vigilant than usual when dealing with Marriott’s dysfunction.

Four Years of Marriott Failures

The incident we describe above is not an outlier. It’s the latest entry in a series of failures that daisyNews has been documenting since 2022.

daisyBill tracks your workers’ comp bills and payments, with automatic prompts for staff when action is necessary. Click below to learn more.

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