Indicators that suggest problems with your billing include:
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A growing AR balance;
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Claim data is not entered daily;
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Patient statements not sent regularly;
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Payment posting in error.
In some cases, approximately one fourth of all medical practice income is lost due to: lack of follow-up; missed charges; or a consistent approach to billing medical claims. Is your practice among those receiving seventy-five percent of available billing revenue?
Here are nine ways to improve medical billing and maintaining financial health.
1) Patient Verification 
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Verify patient eligibility BEFORE filing a claim.
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Verify patient eligibility to avoid surprises and ensure claim payment.
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Check to see if a prior authorization or referral is required.
2) Collecting Copays, Coinsurance and Deductibles 
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The best time to collect is before services are rendered.
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Use payment systems with patient credit cards on file for installment balance billing.
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Use on line payment estimators for coinsurance and deductibles .
3) Correct Claim Coding 
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Poorly coded claims pay poorly.
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Use correct modifiers to ensure payment for bilateral procedures or multiple procedures.
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Patient’s seen during the global period may need additional modifiers.
4) Daily Claim Entry 
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Cash flow is vital. Enter claims daily for prompt payment. It is really that simple.
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When claim entry is delayed, billing is delayed.
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Additional time is required to research billing information the later the claims are entered.
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The details about missing demographics or other claim data will not be fresher in a few days.
5) Daily Claim Filing 
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Claims entered need to be transmitted daily.
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The sooner claims are received by insurance companies; the sooner they will be paid.
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Clearinghouse claim rejections need to be resolved the same day they are received.
6) Daily Claim Denial Management 
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Some claims are denied by insurance shortly after filing.
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The issues vary and can be simple coding fixes, or patient eligibility issues.
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A denied claim is an unpaid claim.
7) Daily Payment Posting 
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Maintaining accurate billing data requires real time information.
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Many claims will require billing secondary insurance claims or patient billing.
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Patient billing can represent 10-20% of account receivables and until the primary payment is posted no additional balance billing can be sent.
8) Daily or Weekly Patient Billing 
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Practice management software system that support daily or weekly patient billing is a must.
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Billing all patients on the same day once a month is too infrequent. If all patient bills are sent today, a patient seen a week ago would not be billed for another four weeks.
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The sooner patient bills are sent the more likely they will be paid.
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Statements need to be prompt and accurate. If a patient doubts the accuracy of a statement it can delay payment.
9) Review Accounts Receivables (AR) Daily
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Yes daily. You can’t get paid if you don’t ask for your money.
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Not all claims will require action but having a system in place for frequent follow up on unpaid claims is key.
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The three keys to financial health of your business . . .AR, AR, AR!
The post Medical Billing Tune Up & the Nine Step 1st Medical Billing® Check List appeared first on 1st Medical Billing Company, Medical Billing Service in Austin, Dallas, Houston, & San Antonio.
