5 Questions for Carla Woods-Ashley, Billing Technician

5 Questions is our ongoing feature where we introduce you to the people who make Brandywine Counseling run, spotlighting a different staff member every two weeks.

Name: Carla Woods-Ashley
Job: Billing Technician
Time with BCI: 10 years

1. Tell us what you do at BCI.
I’m a billing technician. I take the services that the Medicaid clients have performed, and I bill them to the insurance companies, so that we can get reimbursed for payment. Each day is different. During the first couple weeks of the month, the volume is really high, because we’re always billing a month behind. So by the time we get all those bills, we’re usually in the second or third week of the month. Then around the third week, it starts to slow down. Then we’re starting to get ready for the next month at the end of the month.

Sometimes the volume of it can be really large, especially when a lot of new clients are coming in, or based on different changes the insurance may make. If they change anything, that affects how we are able to bill, so that can be a little tedious. We have to be mindful of codes, and making sure it’s the right provider that’s doing the services. You have to be very mindful of details, and understanding the various aspects of the different insurance companies, because most times, no two insurances are the same as far as the way they want things billed. So you have to really be able to grasp and understand what you can bill for and what you can’t.

2. Why did you decide to work in the addiction treatment field?
My background is in psych mental health. I worked for over twenty years for a mental health MRMH facility. After working there full time for years, I was looking for a change, and I started counseling women at a drug and alcohol facility for women. And I enjoyed it, but I still wanted another change. So with the understanding of how the addiction works, I got into the billing aspect of the field.

3. You can tell a lot about a person from their office. Tell us what you have in your office.
I try to surround myself with positive thoughts, Godly thoughts that will encourage me, and surround it with my family and friends.

4. You mentioned your work can be tedious, so what makes it worthwhile?
When it gets done! At end of the day, when it’s done, and you know that, “Okay, I got through that,” that’s a good thing.

When I look at what I do, we don’t have a lot of interaction with the clients. Our contact with them is very minimal [except] on occasions when there’s a problem with their insurance, if they’ve lost it, and they in turn have to pay. I recently talked with a client. She had called me and she was really upset about it. So to be able to talk to them, to try and help them to resolve it. Or sometimes, they’ll worry about things that haven’t happened. So when I can reassure them, and let them know that you can work towards whatever it is you have to do. Showing them that no matter what’s going on with them, they can get through it. Or somebody’s just calling wanting to know where they need to go in order to get treatment, I can direct them in the right direction. That makes me feel good.

5. If you had $30,000 to donate to BCI what would you do with it?
If I had a particular area that I would want them to focus on, it would be the women and children. Because the need, especially with the children, I think is a great one. And whatever they can do in that area, in order to help the women to be more successful in their recovery, then that’s what I would want it to be focused on.