When it comes to outsourcing billing activities, research and results show that it is essential to ensure all the visits are accounted for. The associated claims are entirely taken care of. This gives health practices a chance to remain profitable and ensures that the billing process is up to date and without error.
In the medical business, it is necessary to stay up to date with the workings and ongoing medical billing changes. The industry is constantly advancing, and so this requires that you stay well informed so that your office can run smoothly. Before outsourcing a billing company, you might have a few questions that need answers to inform your decision on hiring one.
The following are some of the essential questions you could ask as a health care provider when you want to bring a medical billing company on board.
Do you Think I should Outsource My Billing?
Asking a billing company this question is a way of evaluating its efforts and gauging if you can trust your practice in their hands. Asking your medical billing company how their services will benefit your practice is a great way to understand what tasks they plan on accomplishing. A billing company should express how they plan on aiding your practice in drastically lowering the cost of your business by handling your bills at a small fraction of the cost that you might pay if you did the billing by yourself. Billing companies also ensure that payments are made quicker and promptly. They also take up the task of handling rejections and rebilling. Additionally, billing companies can save your employees time that you could utilize in other areas.
How Long have you Been Operating in this Field, and how Many Years of Expertise do your Billers have?
Medical billing is a complex area that is bound to get even more difficult due to new policy adoptions such as the ICD-10. In billing, there are two types of claims; Straightforward claims that do not require much attention and claims that require your biller to understand a health provider’s coding habits and billing accordingly. Before hiring a medical company, you need to analyze whether they understand your specialty and whether they have the experience to work in your area. Sure, good certification is critical, but your decision should all boil down to a company with excellent experience and practice common sense in their medical billing services.
What is the Pricing Analysis for your Services?
It would be best to ask about how much the medical billing company plans to charge you for their services. The important part is to evaluate the costs of several billing companies and their medical billing services. If their prices are low, make sure that they provide everything a quality company should provide. Some questions you should ask are:
- How quickly do they follow up on denied claims?
- Do they follow up on low-ticket claims?
- Are they capable of sending out patient statements in a timely fashion?
- Do they pursue incomplete information when the provider sends it?
Transparency is also a vital factor when it comes to billing. You need to understand how your medical billing company plans on managing your practice and financial reports. You will also need to establish what will be needed from you and your accountant regarding financial reports.
How do you Avoid Claims Being Sent Back for Errors?
Billing and coding errors typically interrupt the practice’s cash flow and can even cause you to lose revenue. These errors are usually costly. Your medical billing company should practice measures that will avoid claims being sent back for errors. Billing companies should communicate with you in case of any concerns on procedures or treatments when confusion arises. The company should also follow up on the claim to ensure that the correct information was submitted, the payments were made correctly and in a timely fashion.
What Types of Reports will I Receive, and can you Guarantee Transparency?
You should make an effort to enquire about everything about the reports they plan on sending to you and how often you should expect them. You can ask to see a sample of their daily, monthly, and yearly reports to establish if they will work smoothly for your operation.
Conclusion
After asking the above questions, you will have the necessary answers you need to decide on the medical billing company that is best suited for your practice.