Is Being a Home Medical Billing Service Provider a Healthy Choice?

Dave Thomas

June 07, 2012

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With millions and millions of Americans still out of work, a fair percentage of them have turned to self-employment at home in recent years to make ends meet.

One such career choice that has been on the rise in recent years has been working from home as a medical billing provider.

In order to handle a career like this, individuals can expect to provide a number of services, including:

Organizing and compiling paper or electronic claims for insurance providers;
Providing reports for physicians on a regular basis;
Preparing patient data onto the software;
Mailing out regular statements and posting payments;
Following up with those claims that go unpaid, along with updating both denials and appeals;
Staying on top of unpaid statements and reminding patients that they have outstanding payments.

Should you decide that medical billing may be right for you, keep in mind that there are a number of steps that need to be taken in order to get your business off and running.

They would include:

Putting a business plan together – Like in starting any home business or one outside the home, you need to compile a business plan. The plan will allow you to compile a mission statement, along with a timetable for your goals, etc.
Determine which medical specialty – One of your first decisions in doing medical billing will be which area of the medical industry you want to work in. Find out what area medical facilities and physicians need so you can see how to best assist them. Check with both to see if they do their medical billing in-house or go through an outside service, along with what their regular patient volume is on a weekly basis.
Make sure you follow all necessary regulations – From zoning to making sure you have liability insurance, it’s important to cover each and every legal requirement before taking on your first client. This is important in order to avoid a potential lawsuit or major tax hit should something go wrong or you try and skirt paying necessary taxes. Contact your local county clerk’s office in order to find out which paperwork must be submitted, generally a DBA, doing business as, in the event you are working under a name different from your own personal name, to go with an occupational license;
Setting up a home office – You will need to set aside space for your work needs in your residence. If you have a family, make sure they understand what your work requirements are so they are not interfering with you as you try and complete your work. Don’t forget that you will need funds available for home office equipment such as furniture, computer, printer, fax, phones, etc.

As you look for the right medical billing software, don’t skimp on the necessary technology.

Search out a number of sites that offer such hardware, making sure you get a demonstration with each one. It is also a good idea to get recommendations from others so that you have a wide selection with which to choose from.

The last and one of the most important tasks at hand will be marketing your business.

While there is a good chance you will not want to spend too much money initially on advertising, you should use word-of-mouth through family and friends, inexpensive advertising, business cards, and social media.

As you look to get your business off the ground and grow it, you can try such tactics as mailings and cold calling with physicians. Once you have built up a small stream of clients, you can then ask other doctors for referrals.

Getting to the point of being a go-to business for medical billing takes time, but it can be time very well spent.