One of the most important considerations when starting an ABA therapy practice or looking to improve your existing practice is insurance and billing. You’ll need to investigate the drawbacks and benefits of outsourcing medical billing vs. in-house billing and compare the various billing outsourcing services available to you.
Discover the three options available for managing ABA insurance and billing, as well as the expectations you should have when you outsource medical billing services.
Options for managing ABA insurance and billing
Firstly, you could opt to handle all of your billing and insurance-related tasks on your own. That means making time for daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. This is the least expensive option, but it takes knowledge and a substantial time investment.
Alternatively, you could decide to hire someone and pay them to do the work for you. If your practice is on the larger side, you may need to hire more than one person and create an entire billing department. This requires a bit more time spent managing others and providing oversight. It also tends to be more expensive because you’ll need to operate as an employer and pay benefits, taxes, and salaries. If you go this route, you’ll need to research in-house medical billing software vs. outsourced billing services.
The third option is to outsource. This means you’ll pay for the services that a third party completes for you, customized to suit your requirements. When choosing Missing Piece as your third party, our team works closely with you to ensure you get the types of services you need at a price you can afford.
While there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution, there are obviously many advantages associated with outsourcing billing services. Making the decision to outsource medical billing and other insurance-related services opens the door for more time to manage your patients’ care and needs. It can also help alleviate many of the frustrations you have related to the billing process.
If you’re considering this route for your practice, it helps to know what to expect when you use insurance outsourcing services. Once you decide to outsource, you’ll work closely with Missing Piece every step of the way to ensure the transition is as smooth as it can be.
Reasons to outsource medical billing
The initial process requires establishing what type of work you want to be completed by your outsourcing team. This could include:
- Billing and collections: This includes managing the bills to your clients for the care you provide. It also entails working directly with insurance companies to see that proper codes are used during that process. You’ll need to follow up with payers when payments are not made, too.
- Credentialing: This is the process of gaining approval to provide services to patients who use a specific insurance provider. You need to work with the insurer to ensure you meet its requirements to provide care.
- Contracting: Contracting is the process of setting up a legally binding contract with insurance companies, ensuring they will pay you when you provide services to their clients. This may include becoming an in-network provider for them.
- Benefits verification: This process involves verifying the benefits a patient has to make sure that his or her insurance company will pay for the services provided.
You’ll work with a third-party team to determine what specific tasks you want to be completed and what you plan to do in-house. It can be intimidating to let go of the reins and allow someone else to do this important work for you. But when you hire a company that has expert-level professionals to provide professional assistance to you, you can trust the process. You’ll have more time to focus on your patients and fewer concerns about billing codes and insurance verification questions.
Missing Piece has the expertise you need
Sold on the benefits of outsourcing medical billing services? At this point, you’re likely wondering about the cost of outsourcing medical billing. While many providers are under the impression that handling billing and insurance in-house will be more cost-effective, the reality is that that’s rarely the case.
When doing it yourself, you’ll need to invest in detailed training courses and purchase resources to ensure you’re always up-to-date with changes to billing and insurance requirements.
When hiring an expert (or a team of experts) to work in-house, you’ll need to pay monthly salaries, invest in initial and ongoing training, as well as potentially seek out larger premises to accommodate the need for more office space.
On the other hand, when you choose to outsource billing services, you can custom select the services you want to fit your budget — or even opt to keep a small portion of your billing in-house and outsource the rest.At Missing Piece, we’re always flexible when it comes to your needs. Insurance outsourcing services can help enhance your business operations while also working closely with you to assist in your practice’s growth. Learn more about why outsourcing is such a valuable tool for many providers. You can also contact us for more information or to schedule a free billing analysis.