Accounts Receivable (AR) management is crucial for medical billing companies. Poor management can lead to bankruptcy. With advancements in healthcare, it has become challenging for providers and billing companies to handle medical billing.
As expenses rise and the number of patients with high deductibles increases, managing AR becomes even more difficult. Accumulating accounts puts a strain on revenue cycle management.
What is Accounts Receivable Management?
Accounts Receivable Management refers to handling the costs for a specific service provided to a patient. This includes medical coding services or providers who send bills for their services. Furthermore, it is essential for businesses, whether small or large, to collect these payments while maintaining the revenue cycle efficiently.
Once a service is provided and billed, an invoice is generated and sent to the patient or their insurance company for payment. Also, it is crucial for the staff to monitor these accounts receivable to ensure timely payments closely.
Helps Generate Revenue Continuously
One of the main ways Primary Care Clinics and other healthcare centers generate revenue is by receiving payments from patients or insurance companies. When they effectively manage their Account Receivables (AR) and receive payments promptly and accurately, it significantly contributes to a smooth revenue cycle. Also, this allows the healthcare center to thrive and prioritize providing high-quality medical care.
Faster and Safer Payments
Certain rules from the government can influence the time it takes to process payments. However, billing specialists have the ability to shorten or lengthen the period between when a patient’s account is charged and when the remaining balance is collected. They analyze unpaid accounts, develop a plan, and diligently work to secure payment and ensure collection.
Act quickly
For a steady cash flow, promptly following up on accounts receivable is essential. Effective management also involves monitoring all filed claims and taking immediate action if the patients are reluctant to pay within 30 days. This helps prevent unpaid debts or insufficient payments.
Maintaining a Strong Patient-Provider Relationship
To receive payments promptly and smoothly, having a good relationship with patients is essential. When patients are responsible for their own payments, billing companies rely more on them than insurance companies. The managing accounts receivable (AR) team informs patients about out-of-pocket costs before providing medical care. If there are any outstanding charges, they minimize delays by actively communicating with patients through emails or phone calls.
Minimizing Denials in the Revenue Cycle
Managing claims is a vital part of this process. A skilled team specializes in this area. Their main task is identifying why claims are denied and promptly addressing the issue. However, by investigating patterns of denials, they can find ways to prevent future denials. This also helps ensure that claims are resubmitted without unnecessary delays.
Increase Your Reimbursements: Get Paid in Full
By using account receivable management, you can ensure that you receive full reimbursement for the medical care and services you provide. Sometimes, when billers submit a claim, there may be errors or missing information in the documents, causing insurance payers to deny the claims. In these situations, our billing team will directly contact the insurance payer to determine the reason for rejection. If the problem is due to needing more information, we quickly resolve it and resubmit the documents to ensure you get paid for your services.
Doing Audits Often and Submitting Reports
Performing regular audits is a great way to manage account receivables effectively. Also, these audits help identify areas that need improvement, detect issues, and assess risks. After completing the audits, reports are prepared and submitted. Another way, these reports provide transparent information about outstanding debts, prevent claim denials, and ensure timely payment collection.
Improve Your Payment Collection with These Tips:
- Get organized! Create a professional credit application to gather important customer information.
- Start early. Set up a system to remind customers about upcoming payments.
- Send reminders by mail as soon as a payment is past its due date.
- Utilize credit limits to encourage timely payment behavior from customers.
- Take prompt action when a payment is late. Be sure to address the issue.
- Prepare for collection calls and work with the customer to create a payment plan that suits both parties.
- You can outsource the Account receivables to third-party Medical Billing Services in Illinois for better cash flow.
These straightforward strategies can improve your chances of receiving timely payments and maintaining a healthy financial situation.
Takeaways
- Verify a person’s identity thoroughly before giving them credit.
- Take the time to communicate clearly with patients and insurance companies.
- Stay on top of your accounts receivable by creating a report that shows overdue payments.
- Make it easy for people to pay by offering accessible payment options and avoiding delays.
- Establish payment terms in advance to avoid misunderstandings.
- Stick to your plan of action for managing accounts.
- Assess the risk and decide when to let go of a customer.