According to a Healthcare & Business Technology report regarding medical billing, almost $125 billion in uncollected revenue happens each year due to:
1. medical billing errors, and
2. failure to stay up-to-date on medical billing rules and regulations.
This becomes even more alarming when realizing that a Modern Healthcare article stated nearly 80% of patients owe more than $500 to their healthcare providers while 51% owe more than $1,000.
With this data to consider, maybe you should take a closer look at your medical billing situation to see if you have a mission statement similar to the one we have at ClaimCare Medical Billing, Inc.: “To collect the maximum revenue for your practice as fast as possible while helping to alleviate costs and hassle for your organization.”
As you strategize to maximize revenue and alleviate costs and hassle, here are 3 medical billing tips that can help your billing process become more efficient.
1. Create a clear billing and collection process
Improve your revenue cycles through an established step-by-step billing and collection process. Do this by:
- Establishing clear terms with your patients, which includes getting their permission to leave voicemail messages regarding billing matters, reminding them about co-pays, and discussing their different payment options.
- Gathering and verifying patient information, which includes their phone number, email, workplace, and billing address. If you are not already doing so, require them to bring a photo ID to accompany their insurance card at their initial visit. This can be very helpful in case their bill has to go to a collection agency in the future.
- Drafting a sequence of letters to remind them about their bills, which includes when their bill is due, when it will be overdue, and when it will be turned over to a collection agency.
With these 3 bullet points above in place, you can experience a more efficient physician billing process with less delinquent payments.
2. Properly manage your claims
HealthCare & Business Technology revealed that almost 80% of all medical billing contains errors. When errors occur, the result is a longer cycle revenue for your claim collection process, which undergoes an initial submission, rejection, editing, and resubmission.
Why go through this longer cycle if it can be done more efficiently by inputting the correct information and double-checking the claims before submitting them the first time?
Ensure you double-check the following before submitting your claims:
- Patient information
- Provider information
- Standardized medical codes
- Insurance information
- Duplicate billings
- Documentations
What if you still get a denied claim after verifying the above information? How do you handle this?
Denied claims are often provided with claim number references or denial codes, together with an attached Explanation of Benefits (EOB). If you don’t receive these, it is best to contact the representative of the company to request the items. If they can’t be provided, you may directly clarify the errors with them to ensure your claim will be accepted the second time around.
3. Track pending accounts payable and identify problem accounts
Aside from doing due diligence in performing tips no. 1 and 2, it is also important for your practice to track the following:
- Pending account receivables
- Problem accounts
Why is this important?
Tracking your pending account receivables helps you properly evaluate the efficacy of your collection procedure, while identifying problem accounts can help you create a better approach in handling their non-compliance to your billing schedules. As needed, you may either increase the billing reminders for these patients or choose an outsourced collector to handle the collection for you.
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Photo courtesy of: Claim Care
Originally Published On: Claim Care
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