Archive for February, 2010
Medical Billing And Coding Salaries
Medical Billing Companies- How to Select One
A tsunami of changes faces the medical provider industry today, many of them thrust upon you. HIPPA, EMR systems, the new Health Care bill, high-risk and slow payers, more auditing of your practice and much more. To help you manage through this, consider a partner. A professional Medical Billing And Coding Company.
Following are six characteristics you will want to note before you decide which firm to partner with:
• Revenue Management- Consider that 32 million more patients are coming into the medical insurance system. Self-pay has increased to 40% of the gross revenue of medical practices of which 20% is never collected.
Just those two facts alone, suggest your medical biller had better be an expert at collecting cash and managing its flow including coming up with innovative revenue management solutions.
• Vested- Your biller has to be so vested in the medical community that they know all of the rules and regulations and how they impact providers almost before you do. They have to make sure you and they are compliant with those landscape changes, major or minor.
• Technology- Find out what system they use, not only to make sure it’s compatible with yours but that it is updatable, flexible and boasts a solid history of reliability.
• References- This probably doesn’t have to be said but a thorough vetting of your potential vendor has to be completed. Check the website; interview the major players at the firm; take a tour of the facilities and talk with current clients. If you can, review their financial reports and other pertinent data.
• Offerings- Make sure you know what services the Medical Billing Company offers. They might be a group of at home workers who do vascular coding or be a corporation with an office on Michigan Avenue in Chicago and offer a full suite of services. Match your needs against their strengths.
• Cost- Can you afford them? Get out your financial spreadsheet! Determine if the savings they will provide your practice will be greater than if you did the activities in-house with your own staff. That includes assessing the medical biller’s costs against the expense of hiring and maintaining staff, salaries and benefits, facilities, training and everything else that goes into having employees.
A good medical billing company does not just act as a “back office” operation anymore. It is a vital part of your company’s success and they deserve to be a full partner in your practice.
About the Author
Prior to the founding of RMK, Ronald McLaughlin was President/CEO-Founder of McMaid Total Home Care, one of the largest providers of home care services in the nation. From 1975 through 1979, he developed and grew the business from a three person enterprise to an organization that operated in five states with more than 3,000 employees. McLaughlin sold the business to Wright Market in 1979.
McLaughlin founded RMK in 1980 as a financial management company. With two employees and a few small accounts, he developed the business that has collected and processed more than $100 million in debt collections since its inception.
The business was diversified to focus on medical billing, revenue management, accounts receivable management, collections, subrogation, revenue enhancement reviews, and billing office-staffing analysis in addition to its full collection agency service programs.