As a healthcare practitioner, you probably didn’t get into this industry for the glory of working with insurance companies, claim forms, and CPT codes. However, billing keeps the lights on, and thus it’s a necessity. Don’t despair, though. Here are three ways you can maximize your practice’s reimbursements and still keep your focus on your patients:
1. Go Electronic
Today, almost every payer accepts electronic claims—and for Medicare, they’re a requirement. That means you’ve got no excuse to still be putting pen to paper. And why would you want to? Reimbursement takes an average of two weeks for an electronic claim and two months for a paper one. That’s your money. Wouldn’t you like to receive it sooner? We thought so. So switch to electronic claims and—while you’re at it—establish electronic remittance advice. It’ll make the whole process a lot smoother.
2. Start Negotiating
Take a look at what your top ten payers are paying you. If it’s less than what you’re receiving from others—or less than what you believe you deserve—it may be time to negotiate your contract. But don’t start those conversations unprepared. Instead, do your homework by collecting as much data as you can that supports your position.
3. Get Help
One of the most important things you can do to maximize your reimbursements is to submit clean claims the first time. Unfortunately, if you’re handling your billing in-house, that’s often easier said than done. After all, human error and oversight are a matter of fact. Good thing there’s another option: outsource your billing to the experts. Billing services worth their salt not only offer full-service solutions that include automation to bring claim errors to zero, but they also provide reliable follow-up with carriers to ensure full reimbursement and custom reporting so you have real-time insight into the financial health of your business. Now that’s maximizing your reimbursements.
What strategies have you implemented to maximize your reimbursements? Share them with us in the comments section below.
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