Every practice manager knows that the billing process is a little like a living organism, always changing, growing and needing attention. That’s why tracking is so important – and it doesn’t stop with getting the bills out. Once billing has been sent out for payment, practices need a clear follow-up plan for tracking insurance and customer balances and payments.
1. For insurances: Track and Follow Up
● Establish a procedure for creating a list of the claims billed at the end of each week. Twenty-one days from that Friday schedule a day to follow up on those accounts making sure they have been paid. Very simply that means looking the accounts up in the practice software to see what has been paid and what has not. For the accounts not been paid, find out if payment is pending, claims have been received, or denied in error. Enter the information on your tracking sheet and proceed with the proper steps from there.
2. For the patients: Offer Incentives
● On-time payment whether copays or balances for a consistent period of time (e.g., 6 months if they are seen for more than 5 appointments) can be offered a copay discount of $5 off for the remaining 6 months of the year. Or they can be given a gift, such as a $25 restaurant or Visa card after a certain period of time (6 months to a year depending on the practice).
● For the patients that are in debt to the practice, offer them a discount off of the total amount should they agree to pay either in arranged payments or a lump sum. Be sure to have a contract signed by the patient that documents the agreement on payment amounts and terms. If the patient doesn’t comply with the agreement, they forgo the discount and would be responsible for the full amount owed.
3. Establish an end of the month meeting between physician, practice manager and the head of
billing:
● Prior to the meeting, pull a report on the A/R that details the current A/R status of all accounts. Each month, there should be a decline in both the patient and insurance A/R reports.
● For the meeting include a report documenting the write-off amount for the current month and one for year-to-date. Once the practice has a handle on the A/R, there should be an average dollar amount set for the write-offs each month. When there is a spike in the write-offs, it’s an indicator that there may be a decline in the billing process.
With these processes in place, not only will your practice have a better handle on your accounts receivables, but all of your key components (i.e. physician(s), practice manager, and billing department) will always be on the same page.
QuantumMark specializes in helping medical practices get current on accounts receivable. QuantumMark performs account audits and can provide solutions for maximizing billing and coding procedures as well as streamlining office activities. Visit us on QuantumMark’s new Revenue Retrieval Services web-site or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.