by Sonya Blackmon
(Atlanta, GA)
Hi,
I am starting my billing company and would like to know what do you do to ensure that you receive payment for your services that you provide to physicians. I would appreciate any feedback and insight that you may have regarding this matter.
Sonya,
We base our invoice on the payments posted – both insurance and patient payments – usually on a monthly basis but it can be bi-monthly if the client prefers. Our medical billing software – we use both AltaPoint and Lytec – allows us to run a report showing all of the payments received. Our physicians receive all of the EOB’s or Remittance Advice from the payers and patients from the patients. They provide us a copy of these and we post from these.
We then determine the fee for our medical billing services based on the negotiated percentage or terms worked out with the client. I always include a copy of this report with the invoice. I use Quickbooks to create the invoice.
I try to clearly define the terms of payments – and any penalties for late payments – in our contract – there’s a sample on on our web site if you’re looking for a starting point. I’ve been blessed not to have many problems getting paid on time. Occasionally one of our clients will be a few weeks late. But usually a friendly reminder phone call is all it takes. I guess they realize we are the key to getting them paid so paying the medical billing service promptly is a priority for the physician. I guess we could always threaten not to submit claims if they are way past due.
My feeling is the physician has received payment for their services – and we billers work hard to make sure they get paid promptly – and I expect to be paid in a timely manner for our services. If we get to the point where we’re having to quote and invoke contract terms, that’s usually not a good client and I’ll choose not to do business with them. As you well know we have a lot of expenses to be paid associated with getting the physicians their payments so I expect timely payment from them and let them know that.
Hope this answers you question – if not just let me know.