by Mike
(Tennessee)
Are you familiar with ABS, Claimtek, or Quest National Services? These are medical billing business opportunities that offer to set up an investor to independently outsource, sort of serve as a clearinghouse, and use purchased programs to code and bill for medical practices.
They also claim to offer the chance to make 6 figures if about 5 or 6 medical practices are gained as clients. And they do claim no previous coursework is required to do their business model. Their investment costs range from about 12K-35K.
I recently completed a medical billing and coding course. I am strongly considering investing into one of these expensive business packages. I wonder how does their business opportunity measure up compared to more traditional billing and coding services.
Response:
Mike,
Congratulations on completing your billing and coding course. I know you’re ready to put this training to use.
I have seen billing services achieve six-figure income with several clients – so it is possible. However getting those clients takes a lot of work. And there’s a lot of competition in the medical billing services field – especially from large companies that have dedicated sales staff and offer additional software and services. I don’t mean to sound too discouraging – it can be done but you have to offer something to differentiate yourself from competitors – like knowledge and experience in billing, personal service and attention, etc.
We’ve learned the hard way that starting a successful billing service takes more than just training and software. We’ve got most of our clients through networking and referrals. I would also recommend getting some real life experience in billing before starting a business.
I’m not familiar with ABS and Quest. However I did notice Software Advice has a review of Quest software and some additional information. I am familiar with ClaimTek as they have been around several years. We were considering one of their programs when we got started years ago. We ended up purchasing a cheap competitor’s training program along with their software – I can’t even remember the name of the company now. It was a complete waste of time and money. Probably would have been better off going with someone more reputable like ClaimTek.
Another alternative are some of the training and resources offered be Solutions Medical Billing. They offer several reasonable priced packages for people wanting to start a medical billing business. They have operated a successful billing business up in New York for several years. We’ve known Alice and Michelle for years and recommend any of their offerings as we’ve gotten good feedback on their ebooks and training.
They also offer a program where you can spend time in person at their office and get realistic hands-on experience working in a medical billing business. They also offer several affordable books here on starting and operating a billing business.
My suggestion before investing anything is to research very thoroughly. Maybe ask for references and talk to others who have signed up for their program. Some of the programs they offer are a lot of money and I would suggest checking them out thoroughly before making a commitment.
I would also caution making sure the software and clearinghouse services are widely used. Once you commit to a practice management/billing software, it’s a real pain to change. It’s also good to know what the conditions and costs are associated with their clearinghouse services. Many now bundle the software and clearinghouse together requiring you to use only their clearinghouse. This makes it really hard to change if you are unhappy with clearinghouse services.
If anyone has experience with medical billing franchising or any of the companies listed above, please share in the comments below.