Don’t fear the unknown; understanding how outsourcing your billing with the right company will improve your bottom line, will definitely make it easier to make an impartial, profitable decision regarding the future of your hospice.
Although a transition to outsourced billing is certainly a big step, the process can be smooth and painless, with a detailed implementation plan and close oversight, and most importantly, choosing the most qualified hospice billing service. Here’s how you can successfully and easily migrate your billing to a superior outsource provider:
Find the Right Provider
There are many medical billing partners out there. How do you know which is right for you?
Here are five questions you should ask every provider you interview to determine if they’re a good fit for your company:
- Do you specialize in hospice billing and revenue cycle management?
- Can you give us a full detailed process of how you manage our claims and payments?
- How does your team integrate with ours?
- How long does it take you to respond to our questions?
- What other clients do you serve that are similar to my hospice?
Nail the Timing
Migrating is easier when the time is right. So when is that?
The short answer is, it is always the right time to improve your collections.
Agency growth, growing AR balances, and reductions in cash flow are all signs your company needs better billing practices and revenue cycle management.
Employee turnover is a great concern when cross training has been insufficient, or worse, there is no backup biller to train. Your agency could be at great risk for revenue loss should you lose key employees. Geographical challenges and lack of an experienced candidate pool can make building or replacing a billing team all but impossible.
Know the Timeframe
You’ve decided to outsource. Now what?
A full hospice-billing transition can be done in a matter of weeks, depending on the size of your company. Following a step by step onboarding process allows for full transition with no downtime or lapse in claims processing.
Of course, you will likely want to have some level of control over your billing transition, and a quality outsource billing team will customize the process to fit your specific needs.
Rally the Team
Sometimes, it pays to do a little cheerleading.
Having your internal team onboard with outsourcing will make the transition successful. Internal agency billing can be challenging when your census has outgrown your staff, and when changes in payer reimbursement rules, claims formatting, and Medicare regulations have outpaced their education and expertise. Help your team understand how outsourcing will result in better workflow and allow for more time spent internally on the prebill process, resulting in cleaner claims and predictable payments.
Executives are generally compelled by the cost savings, managers are happy about the removal of staffing-related burdens, and valuable staff members are glad to transition to more important roles.
Consult a Hospice Billing Specialist
You aren’t a hospital – you’re a hospice. So why would you partner with a provider that lumps you in with other provider types? We all know that hospice billing is unlike any other provider billing, and expertise is required.
At Advanced Hospice Management, we know hospices. And we guarantee a smooth, predictable onboarding that will get you results quickly.
Interested in learning more? Drop us a line; we’re happy to answer all your questions any time.
