3 Reasons a Medical Billing Company Can Recover Old AR Better than You Can! | XyberMed

The amount due from old AR accounts typically represents a significant portion of a medical company's potential revenue. The trick, however, is to turn that money from "potential" to "actual" revenue. The longer an invoice goes unpaid, the less likely it is to ever be paid, so efficient management of old accounts receivable is important.

The problem is that collecting old bills, whether from insurers or patients, is time-consuming. To be successful, a system is needed that is applied by well-trained staff who understand billing codes and how payers refer to billing receivables. 

Collection agencies that use old-school collection agency methods of calling and threatening people with bad credit reports are not successful with medical bills. You have to understand the bill and be able to explain insurance coverage and the patient's role in helping them make payment. But that also requires a lot of time that in-house staff may not have.

Separating the administrative process of billing from the medical practice by outsourcing it to a medical billing company has proven to be a successful solution for many medical businesses.

Why follow-up management is such an important part of the medical billing process

In addition to employees who can devote an entire workday to processing outgoing invoices, there are several functional reasons why a medical billing company has more success in collections, both for patient bills and reimbursement for denied medical claims.

1. Medical Billing Companies have more resources.

Medical billing companies have more resources to collect old claims that have been denied by insurance companies. These resources include experienced billing staff, software programs that can track the status of claims and appeals, and relationships with insurance companies that allow them to get results quickly. 

Internal billers may not have access to all of these resources, which can result in a longer timeframe for recovery of claims. In addition, medical billing companies are experts in billing procedures and know how to submit claims correctly the first time, so they are less likely to be denied. This expertise can save your practice time and money in the long run.

2. Medical Billing Companies have more experience

A company's staff can only handle so many claims at a time. A good medical billing company has the systems in place to process denied claims quickly and efficiently. 

They also have the resources to follow up on unpaid claims and revise denied or rejected claims. In this way, they can avoid time-barred claims with insurance companies and government payers that would otherwise be a large source of revenue. 

Insurers are more likely to work with a billing company than an in-house biller. This is because the billing company is seen as more impartial and less biased toward one party or the other. All of these factors combine to make working with a medical billing company a much better option for collecting old accounts receivable than working with an in-house biller.

Medical billing companies also have more experience dealing with many different insurance companies and payers. Their staff is experienced in dealing with the various systems and the specifics and requirements of each, which can result in a higher percentage of paid claims.

3. Medical Billing Companies are more accurate.

Medical billing companies have the advantage of having more experience and expertise when it comes to filing and following up on denied medical billing claims, so they make fewer mistakes. Their experience with denied claims gives them a better understanding of how to work with insurance companies and payers. 

Professional billers also know what to look for when a claim is denied and how to resolve it in any situation. Insurers change their requirements regularly, and keeping up with all the details requires ongoing education.

In addition to denials, rejected medical billing claims are not uncommon, usually due to minor errors like misspellings or mismatched dates. Professional billers are familiar with all the little things that can cause problems and have a system in place to quickly review ("scrub") claims for errors before submission.

Medical billing is a major headache for physicians who try to do it themselves. In fact, it is a major reason physicians take early retirement because it is so burdensome and time-consuming that they feel they spend more time and energy on it than on patients.

They have a lot of responsibility and even liability, and the whole process takes too much time and attention. Medical billing companies have employees who deal exclusively with billing and have years of experience in this field, so the process is not a problem for them, it is just normal work.

Whether you hire a collection agency for accounts receivable management or a full-service medical billing company to manage your old receivables, you will benefit from more revenue and less hassle. 

When hiring a collection agency to manage your old receivables, keep in mind that you can outsource just that task at first, and if things go well, you can outsource all of your billing as well. By working with a company that handles all aspects of medical revenue cycle management (RCM), you have the opportunity to simplify the transition because your systems are already integrated. 

At XyberMed, many of our clients have made this transition and found the process to be very smooth. The entire research only needs to be done once, rather than repeating the entire process when you are looking for a provider for billing, credentialing, or any of the other RCM services available.

How XyberMed helps medical providers collect accounts receivable (AR).

In a medical practice, there are two main types of receivables: Reimbursements from insurers or government payers and the portion of a bill for which the patient is responsible. Collecting payment from both involves a completely different process, but a medical billing company will take care of both.

Medical revenue cycle management (RCM) refers to the entire financial cycle, from determining insurance coverage and patient responsibility to billing payers and collecting unpaid charges from patients. Thanks to rising costs and reimbursement cuts, it's more important than ever for practices and medical facilities to receive payment for every service rendered, and for a practice to be sustainable, payments must be collected as soon as possible after the service is rendered.

Medical codes are complex and constantly changing, making it difficult for medical staff to stay up to date. Outside billing companies have become an indispensable resource for medical facilities, not only for submitting and managing claims, but also for handling all aspects of RCM.