Don Self & Associates, Inc.

02/28/2026

A US corporation that serves thousands of physicians are looking for people who have completed a billing and coding course and they are not specific about which course and what kind of training that the people have earned for positions. They only want people living in the United States as they are concerned about HIPAA. These positions will be home based so the employees can work out of their home in their yoga pants an average for 4 hours per day. Applicants will need to know the basics of coding and billing (identify at least 7 out of 10 office visit codes) but they do not have to be experienced. This company is hiring people without experience and will train remotely. The starting salary will range from $4,000 per month to $8,000 per month and will also include health benefits, 401K, holidays off, weekends off and the employee will set their own work hours. The company will ship a computer to the employee's home to work from and they will cover the high speed internet costs. Applicants must send in a live rabbit that can speak at least 3 languages that will give a glowing reference for the applicant along with a letter from a Nigerian Prince that has died and left the applicant at least $84,000,000 in their will. Oh yeah - applicants sending in their rabbit and proof of the Nigerian inheritance today will be invited to a special gala ball with Johnny Depp and Kevin Costner that will be held on February 30th and all expenses are paid. For details on where to send your talking rabbit and proof of inheritance, please go to www.itsnotreal.fairytales.bull

02/16/2026

It is astonishing—and frankly infuriating—how many physicians, office managers, billing professionals, and even consultants have accepted as truth statements made by Medicare Advantage Organizations that are directly contradicted by federal law. Yes - these MAOs LIE!

Yes. That includes many reading this.

For example, practitioners are routinely told they must be “in-network” with a Medicare Advantage plan to be paid. That is not what federal law says. 42 C.F.R. § 422.100 requires MAOs to cover Medicare-covered services. Period.
Others are told MAOs can pay less simply because the physician is out-of-network. Again, federal law and CMS guidance say otherwise.

Some MAOs deny codes like G0442 and G0444 claiming minimum time requirements that do not exist anywhere in CMS regulations. Yet providers accept these denials without question.

Physicians today often find themselves like Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, saying, “Buy a flower off a poor girl,” except doctors are not asking for charity—they are asking to be paid what federal law already requires.

What angers me most is that many well-meaning consultants and advisors are unintentionally helping carriers by telling physicians to accept denials, accept underpayments, and accept “settlements,” instead of enforcing the law.

I’ve been doing this for 41 years. I’m nearly 70. And I’m done watching providers beg multi-billion-dollar carriers for money they are legally owed. I'm through being polite and afraid to offend someone. The truth needs to be told. You can win against these carriers most of the time when you learn how to stop them and how to affect their Star Ratings and their profits. This is what I do for DSA Members (www.donself.com/dsa-membership) every day.

Learn the law. Read the CFRs. Stop assuming the carrier is right. Most of the time - they're NOT and their profits prove it, at the expense of the practitioner AND at the expense of the employers who are ignorant about what is going on and what RISK they have. Once YOU learn that secret - you learn how to win!

There is a reason these carriers report billions in net profits each quarter. Stop helping them do it! Your ignorance may be helping the carriers rip off doctors and clinics! We're all ignorant about something - so learn the laws. Learn how to fight back before you drive another clinic into bankruptcy and another practitioner into early retirement.

If you don't want to learn it from me - learn it from Dittrich but learn it. Unfortunately I only know of 3 people in the USA teaching this and that is truly sad.

10/10/2025

DON'T FALL FOR IT!

I got a call from a DSA member today asking if she should remove PHI before faxing progress notes “to CMS.” Our members know to check with us before sending any patient records to anyone (including those sketchy Part C requests), so I asked three questions: what are you sending, why, and who asked for it?
She read me the fax: “mandatory CMS audit—send records or face penalties or jail.” That’s the same scam notice we’ve been seeing, and the kind CMS has warned about on its fraud page.

Bottom line: if you’re told to fax PHI or call 709 or 647 area codes about a claim—don’t. Those are Canadian numbers, and CMS and its contractors don’t initiate audits by fax or demand PHI that way.

What to do instead
Stop—don’t fax anything.
Verify through official channels (your MAC portal/contractor website or the number you already use—not the one on the fax).
Call me/DSA and we’ll confirm in minutes.

Report the scam to your MAC and keep a copy for your compliance file.
Keep your patients’ PHI protected and your clinic out of a mess.
(903) 343-2454

09/23/2025

The LIVE 90-Minute webinar starts in 3 hours. Now that Aetna and BCBS have decided to join Humana and Cigna in auto down-coding - it is more important than ever that YOU learn how to stop them. You have a choice of either attending the live-one or ordering the On-Demand that will be available (hopefully this afternoon - depending on how long it takes to render) as both options are available on our website at www.donself.com/shop

09/17/2025

“Don, as the doctor and clinic owner, I have a contract with the insurance company and they say I have to abide by the contract and that supersedes the patient’s policy”

Of course they do – but they are lying. Doc, if you read the contract and find that they have in the contract that if you provide an office visit and a knee injection on the same day – even for different reasons, you are required to go next door to the veterinary office and kick at least two cats owned by the veterinarian – would you believe that part of the contract is valid? Of course not – as you cannot enter a contract to violate laws (either local, state or federal).

Yet – you seem to think that you can enter a contract with a payer and limit the PATIENT’S claim to a 90-day filing deadline or a 120-day appeal period or that the carrier can tell you they can down-code you. By the way – all of these are prohibited by federal law, and the carrier knows it and they know that you do NOT know it.

Doctor – stop kicking your neighbor’s cat! Have your staff attend the live webinar on September 23 at 1pm central. Purchase it now as early-bird pricing extended one day to Sept 18 at www.donself.com/shop It might be the best early-bird $199 you've ever spent when it saves you tens of thousands!

09/08/2025

Attention Healthcare professionals:
We are excited to partner with PAHCOM to offer a special FREE 3-part webinar series: Turning Quality Care into Reliable Revenue – proven strategies to grow revenue without adding more patients.
When: September 10, 17, and 24 at 2:00 PM EST
Length: 30 minutes.
Bonus: Earn your CEUs and a certificate when you attend all three.
3 Part Webinar Series:
Remote Patient Monitoring – Turning Quality Care into Reliable Revenue

ERISA Essentials – Protecting & Growing Reimbursements

Mastering Medicare – Your Most Profitable Patient Segment

These are practical, actionable strategies you can use right away -
Register here https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fFaa_AckSquty_I--GGm7g

09/07/2025

Have you had ENOUGH of the insurance company garbage? Cigna downcoding starting Oct 1 and Humana auto-downcoding since Aug 2024 and UHC Medicare not covering all that Part B covers (in spite of federal regs) and more. Too many believe BCBS Medicare when they say 120 day filing deadline and way too many are violating HIPAA when they send massive amounts of records to companies the patient hasn’t heard of! www.donself.com/shop. Sept 23 at 1pm central

09/06/2025

Fighting Back Against Carrier Tactics
Live Webinar – Sept 23, 2025 @ 1:00 PM CT (90 minutes)

Instructor: Don Self, CMCS, CPC – 40+ years, 1,100+ seminars taught

NO MORE CONCEPT ONLY - It's time to burn some bridges and Don is bringing matches. Learn exactly how to handle CIGNA and their planned unethical auto-downcoding on October 1st. Make it too expensive for them to do that! Stop Humana that started down-coding in August 2024. Learn how to stop UHC Medicare in their tracks when they're not covering all they are required to. Yes - it's time to FIGHT-BACK!

Description
Tired of watching insurance carriers chip away at your revenue with downcoding, endless record requests, and bogus timely filing limits? This powerful 90-minute webinar will give you the knowledge and tools to fight back — and win.

Carriers (including Medicare Advantage plans) are rolling out algorithm-driven downcoding, recoupments, and HIPAA-skirting demands for full medical records. Too many providers give in, losing thousands every year.

Don Self will show you how to use real letters and emails using ERISA, HIPAA, and the Code of Federal Regulations to hold carriers accountable and make it too expensive for them to keep playing dirty.

You’ll walk away with practical strategies, ready-to-use letters, and the confidence to turn the tables on insurers.
💵 Only $145 per person (Early Bird Pricing until 9/16) $239 after 9/16 and On-Demand will be offered after the webinar for a separate fee.
🎓 Includes 1.5 CEUs (AMBA, PAHCOM, AAPC approved)
📍 Delivered live on Zoom (link provided after registration)

🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Identify common carrier tactics such as downcoding, delayed payments, and excessive record requests.
Explain the legal protections under ERISA, HIPAA, and CFR that providers can use to fight back.
Separate fact from fiction in common Medicare Advantage “lies” about timely filing and coverage.
Use CFR § 424.44 and § 422.520 to challenge false 90-day filing limits and enforce prompt payment rules.
Apply HIPAA’s “minimum necessary” standard to protect against illegal record demands.
Understand lessons from the $2.8B Managed Care litigation settlements and why they matter today.
Involve employers (plan sponsors) in appeals and complaints when carriers violate ERISA.
Escalate cases to CMS, OCR, and State Attorneys General when carriers ignore federal law.
Detect hidden downcoding when carriers omit CPT codes from EOBs/ERAs.
Implement practical scripts, letters, and templates to stop abusive carrier tactics.
👉 Reserve your spot today at www.donself.com/shop — seating is limited!

08/29/2025

It may be because I'm from Texas and we're taught from the time we're knee high to a jackrabbit about those at the Alamo or the fact that I've always been on the smaller side and got picked on by bullies through 12 years of schooling as a boy - but I despise bullies. UHC Wellmed is one of those bullies and now I'm taking the fight to their pocketbook.

I have one client, so far, that is sending a letter to all of their Wellmed patients saying "we've had enough of their shenanigans and ain't messing with Wellmed any longer so if you have Wellmed - find another country doctor or come into our office and visit with the insurance broker in our office and find a plan that will follow Medicare's guidelines, laws and rules." Yep - he's hired a Medicare insurance broker to sit in his office and help his patients. I know some doctors will be too timid or skeered to do so - but folks - if you ain't willing to fight for what is right and what is yours - then perhaps it's time you moved off to France of some other place that surrenders easily to tyranny.

If you want to schedule a time to discuss how to also fight those carriers making the ILLEGAL demands of medical records - you can schedule it at www.donself.com/schedule It's time to stop being afraid and do what's right.

07/25/2025

Listen to this one minute video by a practicing New York Family Physician about what RPM has done for his clinic and his patients. Dr. Ciuffo has been using Don Self and Telecare-USA for years.

Listen to a practicing family physician talk about what RPM has done for his practice and his patients.

07/21/2025

Do you think the insurance carrier CEOs want doctors, managers & others to know the truth? Watch this one minute video on my Youtube channel and see if you're surprised by anything you learn.

This 1 minute video discusses just some of what you will learn in our hour long webinar on ERISA and how most of what you believe regarding the following are...