Saturday, February 20, 2016

Taking Charge Of Your Medical Billing In Healthcare

By Jillian Peters


When ICD-10 got released, it caused a panic amongst healthcare providers. Many doctors were scrambling to find certified coders. It was not easy to find these coders because a lot of medical billers in the industry did not prepare for the drastic changes. Many coders thought that the switch from ICD-9 to ICD-10 was going to be a breeze. However, they now see how wrong they were. The codes are complex and often hard to figure out. A person must come to the realization that they can get better with practice, education and experience.

Years ago, doctors would almost always have a six figure salary. Now a days, some medical doctors in the USA are seeing their salary at about $75,000 to $85,000 a year. This is a big change since 2008. We now have healthcare that doesn't work for a lot of doctors. The reason is because many insurance companies want to payout far less than what the treatment is worth. Doctors today are asking themselves, "Should I choose a different career path?"

Billers that work for outsourced companies say that they have good results collection on claims. A claim is hard to collect on if you don't have the proper codes and paperwork filled out. Most doctors today say that their job has more to do with billing than treating a patient. It seems like the system is set up so that you spend 10 to 15 minutes with your patient and 20 minutes with your billing for each patient. Doctors cannot handle doing everything at once. Many physicians find themselves working 12 hour shifts several days a week in order to manage their billing and patient records. It is important to allow a professional ICD-10 coder to handle your billing.

A lot of medical billers say that the problem is not with the insurance companies. The problem is with incorrect billing and coding. I find it interesting that most medical billing companies are seeing 20% to 35% more revenues for their clients than doctors who choose to use in house billers. Don't you find it interesting that these medical billers are getting more money when they send their claims in? This means that the problem is not with the insurance companies. The problem is with the billers doing your coding.

Doctors that cannot get a good handle on their medical billing are find it difficult to collect on their claims. Claims that go unpaid are often thousands of dollars in lost profits each year. If your practice had revenues of 2 million dollar last year and you lost 30% of your revenues, you basically took a hit of around $230,000. That is a big chunk of your money going out the window. Instead of worrying about bankruptcy and loss of profits, try to figure out ways in which you can see increased revenues. Most outsourced billing companies give you monthly reports so that you can see an increase in your revenues.




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