Five Billing Mistakes You Need To Avoid

Savannah Coulsen

March 13, 2014

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Medical billing is an extremely complicated process that involves taking a lot of details and itemizing them into a cohesive bill that can be distributed to both a health insurance company, as well as the patient. There is a lot of room for error that can be financially disastrous to all parties. This article will talk about some of the billing mistakes that need to be avoided.

Inaccurate Data

The first big issue is inaccurate data, which can snowball into multiple different billing problems. A lack of information that was gathered when scheduling and completely unverified benefits will also result in incorrect billing. If the process is done correctly, however, it is very effective. For example, if a health provider should correctly bill a patient, that patient will have coverage information within a very short period of time and will be able to make appropriate financial arrangements that will let the bills be managed.

Out of Date Information

Another common complaint from billing departments is that the information and data that they record is not up to date on existing patients. This can cause the patient's bills to be skewed upwards if their insurance changed and that change was not actually recorded. Healthcare providers are sure to regularly review existing patient records to make sure that they have not changed.

Monitor Aging Debts

Some patients will have a balance that still needs to be paid off, but come in repeatedly for other services. This will cause the bills that are owed to rise by a great deal and make them even more difficult to collect. Billing companies have developed a best practice that involves checking the account balance of a patient when he or she is scheduled and inform the patient that the balance will be owed when he or she arrives. Then, make a reminder call about the balance just before the appointment so that there will be no excuse not to pay.

Untimely Submissions

It is critical to ensure that the charges are submitted to the insurance company as soon as possible, as well as to the patient so that he or she knows what is owed. Most billing companies, such as Cobalt Health, are sure to submit all charges the day that the services are completed.

Analyze Collection Performance

The performance of the billing department should always be analyzed in order to ensure that it is working as efficiently as possible. Check for unpaid claims and ageing reports that will need to be dealt with. Make sure that all goals are being met and standards being followed to ensure that the billing experience goes as smoothly as possible.