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It’s important to know the track record of mental health billing services when making a decision. What do they claim that they will achieve for you? One metric to keep in mind is what percentage of claims will pass the first time they are submitted. A high percentage ensures that there will be minimal denials and follow-up, which indicates a well-run and knowledgeable staff. Another number to pay attention to is how soon EOBs will be posted after they are scanned in to the staff. Any given time over 24 hours is too long for what competent, effective mental health billing services should provide.
Many billing services encompass all of the medical field, including general physicians, chiropractors, and mental health professionals. When a billing staff must focus on multiple disciplinaries, their speed of work can be hindered. Contrastingly, when a company focuses only on one area of the medical field like mental health for instance, they are ready to take any task that comes their way because it is the sole form of billing that they do.
The typical range that a mental health billing service will charge is 5-14% of claims. If they’re asking double digits, you’re paying too much. On the other hand, the lowest you’ll find is 3%, and while that is the cheapest rate, you will usually be treated as a number, for they usually work with high volume and sparse customer service. ePsych Billing operates at a solid 4.75%, and Alex is always just a phone call away.
You never quite know what (and who) you’re getting with mental health billing services, and if you can rely on them, and trust that they know their stuff. Alex makes himself very available not only to his clients but also the public, as he offers plentiful amounts of tips on his YouTube channel here on billing for mental health professionals.
On the contrary, collecting from government programs like Medicare makes up a lot of business for billing companies. Mental health professionals will still need to collect from a third-party, whether it be private or governmental. If anything, the need for mental health billing services will increase as healthcare coverage becomes more available and accessible to anyone who needs it, whether it be via employer benefits, government programs, private plans, market exchange, etc.
Some mental health billing services lock you into long-term contracts, have sliding scales based on total revenue, and don’t let you try out the service before diving full in. It’s important that you feel comfortable with the company you choose, and be able to do it risk-free. Look for mental health billing services that offer free trials with no upfront contract and month-to-month service.
Speaking of which, just how much money does a mental health professional save per year utilizing a mental health billing service? Well, I’m glad you asked! It’s estimated that a practice with 6,200 claims per year can save as much as $42,000 annually by outsourcing its billing services function. It might just be the difference of…A NEW CAR! [cue ‘The Price Is Right’ theme music].
That all depends on what you’re willing to potentially put up with: hourly wages, workers’ compensation, insurance fees, payroll taxes, sick days, turnover…oh my. From a financial standpoint, hiring a billing service instead of office staff to do your billing almost seems like a no-brainer.
You want to weed out the mental health billing services that don’t provide daily, weekly, and monthly reports. You also want to be wary of working with a company that isn’t very communicative. Not only are you personally assigned a billing manager at ePsych Billing, you are also free to call Alex for whatever questions or concerns you may have. Knowing that your billing service is always there for you is one of the most important and underestimated aspects when shopping for mental health billing companies.
Alex is a psychologist and mental health billing expert, and helps mental health professionals collect more revenue as the owner of ePsych Billing.
Discuss your billing issues with a mental health billing specialist and workplace psychologist, get to root of what is causing problems with your billing, and come up with a solution that will allow you to focus more on your practice, while simultaneously increasing your bottom line.