As medical professionals, accounts receivable (A/R) management holds significance in the value-based era when the focus is on patients rather than increasing the rates of reimbursements. The reasons behind these changes are to cut-down healthcare costs and raise the status of patients' health. Accounts receivables in medical billing services in the USA are a significant part of the overall billing process. It deals with the pending claims and those that face denials to maximize collections.
Accounts receivable services are like a backbone of a healthcare setup. They help in maintaining a steady RCM process. Most of the medical billing companies have dedicated A/R specialists to do the job. Their job is to realize a working relationship between insurance companies, providers or hospitals, and the patients. As a result, providers can go through a seamless financial cycle with higher reimbursements on the average.
As ICD-10 medical billing and coding system is very much in effect, the role of A/R specialists is truly valuable. Even little coding errors lead to denials and only the best health IT agents can come up with contingency plans. Revenue against the services rendered comes flawlessly if skilled HIT agents are working for you remotely. Moreover, they should know clearinghouse operations like the back of their hand.
Make a Habit of Following Up
The process of following up puts life into a lifeless claim that has just been submitted with the insurance company. That's right. When we send a text, email or call (as allowed by the law) after filing the claim, it means we're striking out chances of a denial comprehensively.
Send out no more than two patient statements and follow up with a call to know if they have arrived at their destination or not.
There may be a possibility the invoice gets stuck in the spam or promotion spaces of the mailbox. By not being passive, but active we can shine for the company as well as the clients.
The A/R specialists, as part of the medical billing services in the USA, must work with the payers so that nothing is missed on account of busy schedules. By walking past common inefficiencies, they can convince the insurance companies to pay up. The payers must understand the charges and the codes thoroughly for the claim to sail through the clearinghouse.
Strategic Timing is a Vital Attribute of the Medical Billing Process
Ideally, a claim must be submitted within 72 hours of rending services to the patient.
You are following up, but if it is not on time, the usefulness is lost. Before sending out a second invoice, set up a reminder for the day bill is to return payments. We may call it a planned or strategic timing as it has a more significant impact on the payers. We may have a shot at generating a response.
Furthermore, it sends a message of urgency to the payers to speed up the payment process. A phone call to the payer at this point doubles the chances of a favorable outcome.
Talking to the Payers with the Highest Number of Accounts Receivables
Today medical billing software plays a crucial role in times of digital claims instead of paper-based submissions. Usually, the software gives you access to several reports as a provider and as a medical billing and coding outsourcing company. Old-age collection ledger is one of those reports which has a history accounts receivables. By examining the time a claim is supposed to be paid, you can reduce accounts receivable outstanding, considerably, and further the idea of old-age billing.
Get in touch with those payers with the highest number of accounts receivables and verify if your claims have been received. You stand a fair chance at retrieving payments and speeding up the revenue cycle.
Ask these questions to help negotiate with the payers
• Did you assign a claim number to my bill? If so, what is it?
• What's the status of my bill?
• When can we expect a check?
• Do you think the claim has any issues? If yes, what are they?
• Do you need additional information? (If so, get their fax number and send the required information; then call back and confirm if it has been received)
These questions will make you look good as health IT A/R specialist with a greater chance of improving the financial state of aged accounts.
Outsource the Follow-ups to Neat Medical Billing Services in the US
It doesn't take a genius to know medical billing outsourcing is better than running an in-house setup. When we talk about skilled people, it is essential for these services to have a couple of years experience working with the pending claims and collecting payments from Medicare, Medicaid, and other commercial organizations.
Moreover, a higher first-time acceptance rate of those claims, a touch above 95% makes the company worth spending. Select only from those health IT consultants who have a separate team of A/R specialists. It makes your bills land in a safe zone.
Accounts Receivable (A/R) Management is a subcategory of the medical billing process, and, if done correctly, providers can easily stay away from the burden of pending payments.
Clinicians deserve to be paid for the services they perform on patients on time. The longer an account goes unattended, the less likely it is it will ever resolve.
Make Reminder Calls to the Patients
Running an insurance eligibility check against the patient is essential, but what is crucial here is to arrange reminder calls to inform them how much they are supposed to pay at the time of service.
Conclusion
All the above methods help streamline payment cycles for providers. In the wake of a transition from volume-based to value-based care, clinicians deserve every right to be paid for their services. A/R management holds greater importance since the government pledges to reduce healthcare costs.
The cost of healthcare must come down. However, it should not be at the expense of pending deductibles, copayments, and delayed insurance payments.
