Medical Billing Companies can be Critical to a Physician’s Business
Medical billing companies provide needed support for new practices. As you can well imagine, opening a new GM practice in Florida is like ringing the senior citizen’s dinner bell. I have to admit, I was very unprepared. I thought at first that I was ready for anything. What I had not counted on was the billing problems that I would face and our dire need for a medical billing services partner.
Our elderly deserve our respect and the best medical services we can provide. Our senior citizens are one of our most prized possessions. They brought us to where we are and taught us how to carry on. Without them, we, as a nation, would not be here today. They fought the wars and stood their ground. While other countries struggled with their problems, many falling by the wayside, we took theirs, and ours opening our doors to anyone who wanted to come and find shelter. It is these people who forged their way through the kinds of problems no other country on the planet could and we owe them the best medical care we can give.
Not All Medical Billing Companies Mission Statements are the Same
Someone tell all this to Medicare, Medicaid, and the insurance companies that these people support. I had not practiced medicine for an entire year before started looking for any medical billing companies Florida had to offer. I found a quite a few before I realize that I needed to slow down and find the right company for me. Medical billing companies are not all the same. It was not long before I realized that some medical billing companies were run like the insurance companies that they bill, while other medical billing companies were run by people who want to help people. That is what I needed, medical billing companies who thought as I do when it comes to our precious senior citizens.
As I searched the review sites on medical billing companies, I noticed a trend. There were a great many medical billing companies for sale. This struck me as odd because from everything I have read, it is a fantastic business in which to be. You help people and you make good money. That is, by very definition, the American Dream. Why, then, are so many medical billing companies for sale? I knew I had to look into the matter. In finding the reasons, I also found why the top providers were on top, why their prices are so much better. I discovered why the companies that are run like a family business are the very best.
Almost to a man, the medical billing companies in for sale mode were the ones that charge the higher prices and have websites that read like an army manual. The ones that are not for sale and that come with the highest recommendations are less expensive and catered to the needs of the elderly. They protect the patient’s privacy from theft by closely following HIPAA Security rule guidelines. They provided easy to use and understand software that has patient needs in mind and also protected my office from falling into disarray by introducing security measures as to who has access to billing files and even when they could access these files.
Medical billing companies and services are out there in droves. The wise practice will take the time to research those medical billing companies that cater to the needs of the practice, health facility, or hospital and the needs of the patients they bill. If you want to find these medical billing companies, try using advancedmd.com, they will match you up with three medical billing companies in your criteria base so that you can compare them to your needs. It is a fantastic review site that gives you the websites to consider based on what you want, not what others wanted. What a wonderful concept that is. They make it easy to find exactly the kind of medical billing companies that will benefit you and your patients, freeing you from cost, billing and payroll worries that take away from patient care, which is why I became a doctor in the first place. How about you?
Medical Billing Companies and Service Provider Fees
Usually, companies that perform medical billing services on an outsourced basis for heath care companies charge between $1.25 – $5 per claim depending on what services are provided. While the cost to a physician’s office usually runs about 4.5% of net collections, the payment to a medical billing service company often exceeds this cost. However, since medical billing is the core competency of the outsourcing firm, then net collections should also increase. The best providers will not only take care of the tedious medical billing function and management of staff, but will realize a net increase in revenues after costs for the physician’s office or clinic.
Top Criteria to Consider in Selecting Medical Billing Companies
- References are extremely important in the medical billing companies industry. It is one thing for medical billing companies to claim that they will increase revenue collections by a certain percentage of billings, but quite another to actually prove those statements. Compare references between companies, understanding that a company will only provide you the name of their most satisfied customers.
- What is the quality and process of the medical billing companies service? Are there metrics provided on how successful the billing service is in recovering accounts payable that have been overdue for 30, 60, 90, 120 and 120 days plus? Not only statistics, but histograms should be provided to the client to give a clear snapshot of how successful the medical billing company is in recovering and increasing accounts payable revenues.
- What is the scope of services the medical billing companies provide? Do the services include payment posting, patient billing, electronic submission, validation, etc.?
- What is the billing model? Do they charge their fees as a percentage of revenues collected or do they charge on a per claim basis?
- Carefully consider the technologies the companies use for online access to reports and data security. Can you access your billing information statistics online? Is the technology used by the company in compliance with HIPAA regulations? Is all data secure with backup disaster recovery facilities?
- The fully-burdened cost to hire a certified coder is $53,700 year. Don’t only consider any increase in revenues you may receive in outsourcing your billings process, but also consider the payroll you save by not hiring your own staff.