Skyline Medical Billing Management shares why you need professional medical claims follow-up for your Prescott practice

Are you finding yourself stressed over accounts receivables when you could be focusing on your medical practice? Skyline Medical Billing Management offers some reasons you need professional medical claims follow-up for your Prescott practice.

Track down claims that were never received

Claims that are lost in the mail are one of the most common causes of lengthy delays in payments to your practice. Follow-up on paper claims should be done after 10 business days have elapsed to allow time for mailing and routing to the right department. When claims are sent electronically, they are trackable and the process is more timely.

Reduce the time that accounts are overdue

With our team focused on your claims, the amount of time an account is outstanding is greatly reduced. We implement procedures to collect payments and follow up until payments are received.

Track down denied claims

Getting a head start on denied claims can help keep your bottom line healthy. A new claim request with corrections can be transmitted before you even receive the hard copy of a denial by mail.
   
Resolve issues with pending claims

When claims are pending awaiting information from the member, our professional team can follow up with the member, notifying them of the situation, and obtain the information necessary to resolve the claim.

Outsourcing claims follow-up can keep your practice funded and running smoothly while you do what matters most: caring for your patients. Trust your accounts receivables to the experts and let us use our expertise to stay on top of your claims. To find out more about how we can help your practice succeed and relieve the stress on your office staff, call Skyline Medical Billing Management today at 928-227-1167. Learn more about all of our services at https://www.skylinembm.com.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Prescott Medical Practice Management
Medical Billing in Prescott
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Skyline Medical Billing Management discusses reasons acupuncture claims are denied at your Prescott practice

The traditional Chinese therapy of acupuncture has been an acceptable treatment for various maladies, the most common being pain relief. While there are insurers that cover acupuncture services, many providers are frustrated with the ongoing denials of their claims. Skyline Medical Billing Management describes some of the reasons acupuncture claims are being denied at your Prescott practice.

Checking coverage for acupuncture
What the provider needs to understand is that acupuncture coverage is all diagnosis driven. It is important that the staff, when checking coverage, determine how many visits a patient is allowed for the fiscal or calendar year, and if those visits have been used. With some insurance companies, the information on coverage is available online.

What is covered
Some insurance companies will verify that the patient has coverage for acupuncture, but only when prescribed by their physician to treat nausea resulting from chemotherapy. In other cases, coverage is limited to treatment of chronic pain that is not responding to more conservative treatment options. It is imperative that the correct question is asked: Does the insurance company cover acupuncture for pain management?

What is NOT covered
With mental health issues on the rise and people becoming more aware of the side effects of prescription drugs, alternative treatments like acupuncture are being sought. Unfortunately, stress, anxiety and anger are not considered medically necessary. In addition, allergies and coughs do not fall under a covered diagnosis code.

Limited number of diagnoses with insurance companies
There are several insurance companies, including Cigna and Aetna, that only accept a limited number of diagnoses. Blue Cross/Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare tend to reimburse for a wider variety of diagnosis codes.

Advance Beneficiary Notice of non-coverage (ABN)
If you are contracted with the insurance company and you know the services will not be covered by the patient’s insurance, it is in your best interest to have the patient sign an advance beneficiary notice of non-coverage (ABN). An ABN is a waiver of liability that providers are required to give a patient for services provided that may not be covered or considered medically necessary. The ABN needs to be signed before the services are rendered.

As simple as it is to bill acupuncture, it can be very frustrating if you don’t have a good understanding on the ins and outs of covered codes. For more information on how we can assist you in your Prescott practice, call the billing experts at Skyline Medical Billing Management today at 928-227-1167. For more information, visit us at https://www.skylinembm.com.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Prescott Medical Billing
Business Development in Prescott
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Skyline Medical Billing Management discusses the importance of medical billing accuracy at your Prescott practice

Are billing errors hurting your Prescott medical practice? Skyline Medical Billing Management discusses the kinds of problems that errors in medical billing can cause and the steps that medical practices can take to develop their billing department's accuracy.

It's a fact that billing is an essential part of any medical practice, no matter how patients are paying, whether through insurance or out of pocket. And with most medical care being as expensive as it is, it's becoming increasingly more difficult for patients to meet their obligations. According to recent statistics more than half of all patients owe in excess of a $1,000 to their medical providers. So you can see how vitally important it is not to complicate matters through billing errors.


Most patient billing errors can be simple, honest mistakes...

• Incorrect diagnostic code
• Typos
• Transposed numbers

…but the consequences can be complicated and serious. Medical billing errors can result in denied insurance claims depriving the practice of vital income. They can result in a patient disputing the charge, thus delaying payment with the same troublesome outcome: depriving the practice of vital income. Far more serious are patients failing to get the care they need because their claims were incorrectly submitted and treatment denied.

Medical billing errors are far more common than most people realize. It is said that approximately 80 percent of all medical bills have billing errors. That is a staggering number. Even the very simplest errors involving patient's name, address, personal identifiers, account numbers and insurance carrier information all fall under the umbrella of billing errors. Poor or incomplete documentation also contributes to an indefensible number of medical billing errors.

Because medical billing is such a vital part of medical practices, it’s imperative that bills are submitted promptly and accurately. Remember, accuracy is a critically important part of billing. Don't leave a vital part of your medical practice to part-timers or those not thoroughly trained in medical billing.

Medical billing mistakes are seriously hurting the healthcare industry. Don't let them hurt your practice. Let the experts at Skyline Medical Billing Management handle the medical billing demands in your Prescott medical practice. For more information on how we can help you, call us today at 928-227-1167 or visit us online at https://www.skylinembm.com.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Prescott Medical Claims Processing
Business Development in Prescott
Helpful Articles

Skyline Medical Billing Management discusses patient collections for your Prescott medical practice

With ever-rising healthcare costs, the healthcare industry at large has been compelled to engage in even more assertive collection practices in order to safeguard the livelihood of health-related businesses, especially those dependent on patient payments. Skyline Medical Billing Management understands that patient co-pays, deductibles and coinsurance payments are dollars that your Prescott medical practice cannot afford to lose through inadequate billing and collection practices.

Skyline Medical Billing Management offers these guidelines:

What you should do:

• Be up front. The best time to tell a patient about your payment policy is when they are scheduling their appointment. Prior notice prepares patients to pay when they arrive at the office.

• Be repetitive. Documentation, signage, pamphlets and easy-to-see notices where they check-in, check-out, and enter into patient-only areas are part of reminding and encouraging your patients to be prepared to meet their responsibility.

• Motivate. It is more cost effective to motivate patients through discounts for timely payments than it is to pay outside collection costs or sustain complete losses.    

• Offer payment plans. Out-of-pocket expenses can sometimes genuinely be outside of your patients' immediate ability to pay. A no- or low-interest payment plan could be the difference between getting fully paid in a reasonable amount of time versus only getting partially paid, or worse.   

What you should not do:

• Ignore the problem. Of course, unless it's an emergency, do not allow patients to continue to accrue bills when previous bills remain unpaid.

• Prematurely assign accounts to third-party collection agencies. Put the 'good practices' into place first and only send accounts to collection agencies when all else fails. Collection agencies are not known for their compassion, and your practice's reputation could suffer as a result.

• Ignore delinquencies. When the patient arrives for a new visit, that is the time to remind them of their outstanding bill and your expectation of them to pay it.

As uncomfortable as it may be for some, collecting the patient's portion of a bill has to be done and is as vital to your office as collecting from insurance companies. For more information on how we can assist you in your practice, call the billing and collecting experts at Skyline Medical Billing Management today at 928-227-1167. For more information, visit us at https://www.skylinembm.com.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Prescott Claims Processing
Business Development in Prescott
Helpful Articles