Navigating Issues With the Biller You Are Stuck With
One situation that can be aggravating when working with a biller is if you get down the road, sign a contract, and you find out it is not a good fit for you; whether the biller doesn't commuicate, misses claims, or charges too much. There are actions you can take as the clinician to better ensure that you ride out the rest of a contract with your current biller.
Here are some tools that we have suggested to people who are stuck with a biller they don't like or don't get along with, and need to buy some time until the contract elapses.
1. Track Your Work
How do you know your biller is actually submitting claims? One liability to outsourcing billing is the lack of transparency when it comes to the life-cycle of the claim. One way to add accountability to your biller is to independently track your dates of service. This adds a little bit of work to your day, but you will know if you are getting paid for the work you do.
Simply make a table that includes the patient's name and the date you saw them. Then as you get paid for those dates of service, check them off. Then at the end of the month if there are any dates of service that you didn't get paid for, ask your biller to find the status of the claim.
2. Hire a Consultant
If you don't feel you have the time to track your work and follow-up with your biller, then you can hire a biller to follow-up on problem claims. The main concern with this scenario would be cost. You can find billers who will charge between $35.00 and $200.00 an hour to follow-up on claims that your current biller may be overlooking.
This option just depends on your budget and what you are willing to pay for a resolution to claims. This option will ensure that all your claims will be followed-up on and paid out. Albeit this can be an expensive option, it can add a detailed level of attention that you may not have time to invest in yourself
3. Hold a Meeting
One way to spur your biller to provide better services is to hold a meeting with them. Arrive at this meeting prepared to share the problems that you have with their services, and offer a realistic timeline for when you would like to see change. Nobody wants to hear their customers are unhappy, so most likely your biller will make a decent effort to improve their services.
This is a good way to help communicate your frustration with your biller and to help them improve upon their services. If your timeline elapses without any noticeable change, then follow the two tips above to ensure that you get your needs met before your contract lapses.
Conclusion
After the contract lapses, make sure you find a biller that will compensate for the complaints you had with your last biller. The worst possible scenario would be to leave a biller that didn't meet your needs and sign up with one that will repeat the same mistakes.
