Page 35 - HME Business, October 2019

Chasing payments is a pain. YBilling services can bring relief.
Most likely, none of those things are true: If you’re thinking about it, the pain is that bad. It won’t resolve itself and the cost you fear is probably well worth the benefits.
You just have to hold your nose and take your medicine.
TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TEMPERATURE
What are your symptoms? If the answer is bursting file cabinets, stacks
of unpaid invoices, humming FAX machines or business software that’s managing you instead of the other way around – or all of the above – it’s time. Experts cite three main symptoms that tell you to call a professional:
Staff -- Billing tasks are not clearly defined or assigned; or the person managing billing isn’t properly trained or communicating effectively with management; or an in-house billing specialist is just more than you can afford.
Overdue invoices – Your invoices past 30 days are piling up, or blowing past 30 days to 60, 90 or even 120 days; or your insurance payments are current but co-pays are lagging.
Claims Denials – increasing frequency and/or reasons for denied claims; risks to accreditation.
“There’s a lot of different payers out there. Depending on what state
By Holly J. Wagner
ou’ve probably helped thousands of people get rid of their headaches. Billing service providers want to help you get rid of yours.
“Nobody got into DME because they really like codes and modifiers,” says Joey Graham, General Manager of Prochant. Michelle Tohill, director of Support & Revenue Cycle Management at Bonafide, cites an American Medical
Association survey that estimated medical offices waste about $14,600 a year on rectifying denied claims through appeals, phone calls, and trouble- shooting. Add to that any amounts that go uncollected and...Ouch!
Billing services may be the pain reliever you’ve seen on the shelf, but keep walking past and go on with what you’ve been doing. Maybe you think they cost too much, or your pain isn’t really that bad, or it will just go away on its own.
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