Happy Holidays, Happy Payments: Festive Season with Timely Reimbursements
by admin |December 27, 2024 | 5 comments,
As holidays are here, healthcare providers are gearing up for the busy months ahead. Juggling the festive celebrations and year-end deadlines, key aspects of having a smooth medical billing and coding processes is often overlooked. Timely reimbursements maintain a practice’s financial health. This is especially needed when businesses slow down during the holidays.
At Instapay Healthcare Services, we understand the importance of keeping the practice running smoothly and efficiently during a festive period. Some practical tips that make sure your practice stays healthy by receiving payments on time and avoid any billing hiccups during the holiday season:
Stay Ahead of Billing Deadlines
Holiday season means office closures and staff on vacations. This delays the billing processes. Staying ahead is crucial so that billing and coding activities are planned well in advance. This allows all claims for services provided earlier in the month to be submitted before the holiday rush. This way insurance companies and other payers have enough time to process the claims and issue reimbursements without unnecessary delays.
Ensure Coding Accuracy
The end of the year sees an increase in patient visits due to insurance plan renewals and patients using up the pending benefits. Make sure of timely reimbursements by seeing to it that all medical codes are accurate and updated. Incorrect or outdated codes are one of the leading causes of claim denials.
Any new coding updates or changes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) or the American Medical Association (AMA) are also to be taken care of. Double-check that all ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS codes used are correct, and ensure that modifiers are properly applied.
Verifying Insurance Information
During the holiday season, many patients update or change their insurance plans. This makes it essential to verify patient information before services are being rendered. If a patient’s insurance details are changed, reimbursement delays are caused if the new information is not rightly entered into the system.
Taking the time to verify patient insurance coverage before each visit avoids surprises and ensures accurate claim submissions
Being In Touch With Payers
Holiday schedules are unpredictable as insurance companies and payers also experience reduced staff and delayed processing times. To avoid reimbursement delays, keep ab open lines of communication with payers. Don’t hesitate to follow up on any unpaid or delayed claims, and make sure to have the correct contact details for payer representatives.
Use Electronic Claim Submission Systems
In today’s digital age, using electronic health records (EHR) and electronic billing systems is extremely important. These tools streamline the billing and coding process while also reducing the likelihood of errors that lead to delayed payments.
Switching from paper to electronic submissions lowers process time and lets your claims be reviewed promptly by insurance providers. It also provides an automated way to track the claims. Keeping you in the loop on where each one stands.
Use Electronic Claim Submission Systems
In today’s digital age, using electronic health records (EHR) and electronic billing systems is extremely important. These tools streamline the billing and coding process while also reducing the likelihood of errors that lead to delayed payments.
Switching from paper to electronic submissions lowers process time and lets your claims be reviewed promptly by insurance providers. It also provides an automated way to track the claims. Keeping you in the loop on where each one stands.
Outsource A Professional Billing Service
If taking care of billing and coding during the busy holiday season gets too overwhelming, consider outsourcing to a professional medical billing service. A third-party service provider ensures that all your claims are processed efficiently and accurately. This saves time and reduces the errors risk. Outsourcing provides the added benefit of having experienced professionals handle your billing during a time when other organizations have limited staff due to holiday schedules.
Instapay Healthcare Services: A Year-End Gift For Your Practice
A leading provider of medical billing and coding, Instapay Healthcare Services is a strategic choice during the year-end hustle. Our solutions are crafted to lower your stress and improve your practice.
- Setting internal deadlines for claim submissions that are earlier than the actual payer deadlines to account for any potential delays during the holiday season.
- Implementing regular audits of your coding practices to find any errors before claims are submitted. This reduces the risk of delays and denials.
- Using electronic eligibility verification tools that quickly confirm insurance details and prevent any issues that arise from incorrect or outdated information.
- Setting reminders to follow-up on claims that are taking longer than expected. This ensures the reimbursement process is always under a check.
- Reviewing all claims after the holiday rush to ensure everything has been accounted for. Whenever necessary, following up with the insurance company to resolve any outstanding claims.
Just as healthcare providers are always looking out for patient well being, Instapay Healthcare Services is looking out to handle provider’s billing and coding stress. During a holiday season, it is important your practices’ financial health is protected and your practice remains organized. Our proactive billing and coding approach secures you timely reimbursements, and a smooth transition into the new year.
While you are away taking time off to relax, be assured your practice is in reliable and safe hands. Happy Holidays from Instapay Healthcare Services! Let us help you make this festive season joyful and financially healthy by keeping your billing processes running smoothly.