Why Outsource billing and collections?

Medical Billing Center > Why Outsource billing and collections?

Medical Billing Center, LLC Specializing in Outpatient Therapy Billing

In-House or Outsource?

Your personal time as a revenue-producing, practice-building entrepreneur must also be considered. If you are continually involved in billing office issues, then your own costs should be included. Compare these costs with the percentage billing companies charge.

Internal Questions

To help you decide whether to outsource or retain billing and collections in-house, ask yourself the following:

Staffing

Are you willing to dedicate staff to billing and collections exclusively? Many practices assign billing and collections duties to current staff, often the front desk personnel, who also have to answer the phone, schedule patients, and cover for other staff members. Your staffing model will indicate the priority you are assigning to billing and collections.

Benchmark Reporting

Can your staff demonstrate the percentage of money after adjustment by insurance contracts, collected each month? What is the average number of days to collect that money? What percentage of average monthly charges is outstanding in your accounts receivable? Do staff formally report these benchmarks to you each month?

Fair Debt Collection Act

Is your staff trained in the Fair Debt Collection Act? Are your patient data being transmitted according to the security requirements in the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health Act, Public Law 111-50 (HI-TECH)?

Stability

Do you have stable staff, experienced in collecting rehabilitation codes? A contingency plan if your in-house biller resigns?

Follow-up

Is there consistent follow-up on unpaid claims?

Daily Updates

Are your staff entering charges, filing insurance, and posting payments every day?

Regulatory

Do you have a practice management system that is robust enough to manage the frequent regulatory changes?

Denials

Are denials being followed every day, with feedback to clinicians and practice owners regarding non-covered codes?

The final considerations are what it costs you to perform these functions and the speed with which you are fully collecting the receivables that you should.

In calculating your fixed costs, be certain to include office space that would otherwise be used to generate revenue or be eliminated to reduce overhead, billing staff salaries and benefits, insurance, office supplies, phone, postage, and additional computers and software.

When evaluating the efficiency with which you are collecting your outstanding sales, you should be paid, on average, 31 days after the date of treatment, with 98% of allowable amounts collected.

Did You Answer Yes to any of the Above?

If you answered, “yes” to all of these questions, and you are meeting the industry standards and timelines for collecting revenue, you may be successful with in-house billing. If not, please contact us or complete our online billing assessment and a member of our team will reach out to you.

Free Billing Assessment

We focus on the entire billing and collections process. Our clients focus on patient care and building their practice.

Free Billing Assessment