Five Strategies to Improve Chiropractic Medical Billing and Revenue

Chiropractor’s medical billing has become quite complex with the new requirements and regulations along with the Medicare’s private payer insurance changes. In this constantly changing scenario chiropractors are inclined to reorganize their revenue cycle technologies, and billing workflows to submit clean claims, reduce denials and get reimbursed.

Here are five chiropractic billing strategies that can channelize a healthcare’s financial workflow and improve revenue:

Verify insurance – The patients should be responsible for their insurance verification every time when they visit the doctor. Before visiting the office, the eligibility verification of insurance accomplished by a specialist ensures that both the provider and the patient are responsible for what’s covered. Those patients who have been absent for a while it’s important to check their eligibility. For error- free claims submission it is important to record accurate patient’s data including insurance information and provider’s eligibility.

Review insurance contracts – Medical practices needs to take time to review their contracts with payers to understand if there were any changes from the previous year. Due to this the providers will get some more time to plan for negotiations, adjust and accommodate a change in workflow and processes and as per the situation demands, retrain the staffs. The providers should also be aware for all the filing deadlines for the upcoming year.

Educate patients – Patients are facing higher deductibles and co-pays than before but most are unaware of these aspects and other chiropractic medical billing and insurance terminology. Patients are being more responsible nowadays about their healthcare costs, so it’s important to initiate conversations with them about the cash. According to a Revenue Cycle Intelligence report, providers should report about the financial responsibility to patients before their office visit to improve the patient financial experience. It’s actually a patient’s responsibility to assess the costs involved with chiropractic care, what their insurance covers. A medical Economics article suggests that patients be allocated with pamphlets with a simple explanation of standard billing process. They can also be directed to a customer service number for issues that need clarifications. The providers should make sure that the office staff knows how to communicate with patients regarding the billing information.

Coding correctly – A clean claim- submission is the result of accurate coding. Since ICD -10 chiropractors are using more specific codes to report diagnosis and claim denials are automatically prevented with the right codes and hence a proper reimbursement is ensured.  Chiropractors must also use the right chiropractic procedure codes and modifiers to report services rendered correctly.  Incorrect coding will affect the revenue and will attract unwanted scrutiny which will take away the important time.

Analyze and optimize accounts receivable (A/R) – In A/R process the lesser the number of days, the faster the practice gets the payment, on average. It is recommended by Physicians Practice to keep the accounts receivable in the 0-30-day category. One of the important aspects is A/R evaluation so that the practice’s revenue management cycle processes are efficient and effective and also address any issue which prevents timely payments. There are some useful tips which may help in A/R optimization-

• Keeping separately the record of insurance and patient accounts receivable
• File claims on the day of service
• Establish relationships with each payer as this can help resolve problems in the billing process faster
• Implement a strict collections policy for patient accounts
• Analyze reimbursement trends by payer on a monthly basis to identify, evaluate and prioritize the risks

It does not have to be a complex process as it seems, you just need to remember these important tips while billing and in revenue boosting.  We make sure that you get the best out of our services and utilize your time on your patients and their issues.