Benefits of Outsourcing Medical Billing for Mental Health Professionals
Jul 28, 2019
Medical billing can be complex for any type of practice, but can be even more difficult to understand when it comes to mental health services. Insurance companies are quick to deny bills that aren’t coded properly. Even tracking down patients can be difficult when there is just a small office staff – or especially if there is no staff at all. Outsourcing medical billing may help a small mental or behavioral health practice to operate more efficiently.
Assists with Time Management
When staff members or counselors are working on filing claims and sending out bills, that time is directly taken away from more lucrative endeavors. Counselors could be seeing patients and earning revenues. Staff members could be scouting new patients, working on marketing, or taking care of existing patients. When medical billing is outsourced, counselors and staff members are free to take care of the tasks that will help the practice to grow and thrive.Can Help You Collect Money Owed
When services have been rendered and money has not been collected, it actually costs the practice money. Mental health practices have notoriously low rates of return for services compared to other types of medical practices. Outsourcing medical billing may help to increase the rate of return for services. Insurance coding is apt to be more accurate and the medical billing service has more time to spend calling patients and insurance companies to inquire about payments.Allows You to Accept More Insurance
Some mental health practices stick to a cash only policy or only accept insurance from a few providers, hoping to “play it safe.” Unfortunately, this strategy may deter patients that have insurance that will cover counseling services, as they will look elsewhere and go to an office that does accept their insurance. Insurance companies will often pay less than the full cost of a regular session, but working with them can help to bring in greater numbers of patients. This could help to grow your business.Can Yield Faster Insurance Payouts
Medical billing takes time, so outsourcing it can help you to get the bills in the mail faster. The bills are more likely to be accurate and accepted instead of denied, so you may save untold hours not having to re-file or dispute denied claims. These advantages may help you to actually receive the money for your services faster, especially if patients begin seeing you regularly and the bills begin to be submitted at about the same time. Call 1-888-783-7818 today if you are thinking about outsourcing your billing.For informational purposes only.