DME suppliers are living in an era where increasing patient liability is adding to the growing struggle to maintain a positive cash flow and keep their businesses afloat. There has been no easy button, but until now.
One of the biggest mistake DME providers do is that without proven methods to identify patients, verify insurance coverage, and determine prior authorization, they leave revenue behind and pay unnecessary high fees to agencies. In such a scenario, counterbalancing reimbursement cuts through faster and precise DME billing and coding has become the number one task.
Below are strategies of success for DME suppliers
Verify insurance before the equipment is provided
Validating insurance, a day or two before their scheduled appointment increases your charge-to-collection ratio by manifolds. Also, it will also give you the freedom to reschedule appointment if there are any issues with the insurance policy.
Here are some effective methods to verify insurance:
- Insurance verification over the phone
- Verification by EMR or billing software utilization
- Verifying by online payer resources
- You can outsource the work to dedicated DME billing specialists as your insurance verification expert, so that he can perform the verification job without precision.
Collection at time of service
Keep in mind that the probability of your collection reduces by more than 45% as soon as the patient leaves your facility. Hence, make sure that you collect coinsurances, co-pays, past due balances and projected deductibles at the time of providing the equipment. It is always advisable to implement a well-rounded check-out process that essentially gives you an extra chance to collect before the patient leaves.
Performance measurement and data capture
The effectiveness of your DME collection process will be hindered if at any point in the process, the person with access to data is not accountable for his performance. Hence make sure that the team members you have are in a consistent alignment between access to information and accountability for performance by monitoring and reporting metrics.
Utilizing the latest systems
EMR and other latest technological advancements in software has made it possible to automate daily patient collections functions for many DME suppliers. So, why to bear the burden of carrying out these cumbersome tasks in-house. Leverage the benefits of a professional DME medical billing company in USA or in your region so you get more time to focus on your core activities.
Clean claims equals greater collection
The accuracy of information in your claims is directly proportional to the collection that is coming in. In simple words, higher the numbers of clean claims, the greater will be the financial stability of your DME facility. Ensure your billers and coders submit clean claims, which do not need any extra information for processing, right at the first go.
