Let's be frank...
A new era has arrived for the medical practioner - an era in which the only way you'll survive is to reduce your expenses!
Medical Providers fail to realize the true, HIGH cost associated with in-house revenue management.
Currently, the initial investment for hardware, software, and personnel is approaching $37,000 per employee involved in revenue management, plus annual software licensing that some companies charge as much as $7,000 to $10,000 per practice provider/physician.
Costs include, but aren't limited to employee salaries to perform billing, worker's compensation, employee benefits including expensive health insurance, vacation time, postage, supplies and materials, and ongoing hardware and software upgrades. Forget about "free" claim submission as well.
Most practitioners haven't even factored in the cost of the extra space they rent or set aside to house their in-house billing operation. This is space that could be used for an additional exam room for patient care, and added patient care means revenue growth. Also, by maintaining an in-house billing operation, practices mistakenly believe that billing is done accurately and efficiently and that the practice retains greater control over the procedures.
WOULDN'T THIS MONEY BE BETTER SPENT HIRING A NURSE PRACTITIONER AND GROW THE PRACTICE?
Let's examine the following:
Control. Many providers are reluctant to let a third party assume responsibility for their billing. They think they will lose control of their receivables. The truth is most practitioners have already lost control. With the bureaucratic intricacies of their contracts with insurers with co-pays, write-offs, chargebacks, deductibles, holdbacks, and duplicate payments, who really has control?
Speed. Practitioners instinctively fear that using an outside biller will slow down the billing process. Untrue. Our clients claims are processed within 24 hours of receipt, and in fact, most the same day. The insurance company has your claims, and if it doesn't, we know exactly why, and the why it doesn't. We correct technical errors immediately and we don't have to wait weeks for rejections! With us, gross billings increase and accounts receivable time is shortened because we are paid on an incentive basis. An in-house staff paid on a salary does not have the level motivation of a good billing service.
Efficiency. Because we have experience with different specialties and all insurance companies, we are more familiar with coding than any in-house billing staff. We are aware of the latest trends in coding, and we are aware of any issues that an insurer may be having with its systems. An in-house billing staff may eventually catch up on issues or problems, but it could take your staff weeks to catch up to billing trends that we are already aware of. We also give you the latest and best software possible.
Cost. Some practitioners think that using us is more costly than doing the work in-house. This depends on what you include in the term 'cost.' A practice's true billing cost includes payroll, payroll taxes including Social Security, federal, state, unemployment, and even local taxes, fringe benefits including pension and profit sharing, medical and dental insurance, disability insurance, training and education costs, sick pay, and personal time. Additionally, the cost of the billing office's space, hardware costs, software costs, maintenance, utilities, office supplies, and POSTAGE. Postage is an expense, which is commonly overlooked. Plus, there's the time that your staff isn't doing data entry for billing because they're dealing directly with patients who phone your office to question or challenge bills they receive. These are expenses that reduce your bottomline. Finally, when you have someone performing an in-house function, that person needs supervision. If you hire an office manager to supervise your billing staff you must also monitor your office manager. This takes away from your patient time, and you don't get paid for overseeing your office, you get paid for caring for patients.
A Bad Economy. When times get tough, people get laid off and lose their insurance. People who still do have insurance and would willingly see their physician for a minor medical problem stay home and save their co-payments and deductibles for other expenses. Your revenue takes a dip, but your expenses don't. You still have to maintain and pay the overhead associated with your in-house billing operation. By using us, when your income takes a dip to economic uncertainty or due to cuts in reimbursement levels by Medicare or other insurers, your billing costs go down proportionately. Despite such a significant investment in equipment, software, and personnel, a physician can suddenly discover that his in-house billing isn't working. Hopefully, this discovery doesn't come too late.
DID YOU KNOW MOST PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS RECOMMEND OUTSOURCING YOUR REVENUE MANAGEMENT?
In reality, using Berkshire Group not only more cost effective than inhouse revenue management, but it's faster, with higher reimbursements, and offers better control using our cloud-based system.
INTERESTED IN EXPANDING YOUR PRACTICE BY REDUCING YOUR REVENUE MANAGEMENT EXPENSES? CALL US!
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