Should I Hire A Biller?
I often get this question from my coaching clients, when is it time to hire a biller. My answer varies according to the circumstances. Below I will review some things to consider before hiring a Biller.
Benefits of hiring a biller
- Someone else will submit all claims and follow up on denials
- Are provided with the latest coding information and billing information to get you paid quicker
- Saves you time from having to be hold and endure long wait times on the phone
In business you want to make decisions not on cost, but on return on investment. Hiring a biller is a great investment. If you are behind on submitting claims and you pay a biller 4% of your earning, this is a great return, because you are now positioned to receive 96% of your claims rather than 0 because those claims were never submitted.
Before hiring a biller here are some things to consider
- Hiring a biller should not preclude you from having a basic understanding of your insurance contract, and the billing and coding. I recommend taking my billing course to understand what the biller is doing for you.
- Consider the amount that is being billed each month, is it worth outsourcing at this time or is this something you can maintain until your caseload grows. I recommend hiring a biller once your have reached the revenue marker of $5k per month. That is roughly 60 hours of treatment hours per month, which may be an investment of approximately $200-$300 per month in billing fees.
- If your electronic medical record provides claim submission and reporting, consider what the biller would be doing that is a value ad to this service.
- Also inquire about the biller’s experience with mental health billing and how long they have been billing. Also inquire about how many Practice Owners they are responsible for to ensure they will be available if you have questions or concerns. You want to ensure they are not stretched too thin.
Investing in a biller as your practice grows adds a lot of value to your practice. You can rest assured that your time will be spent on treating clients and not on the phone waiting on hold for hours. I suggest taking our online billing course so that you can have a foundational understanding of billing and when the time is right for your to outsource your can provide a level of oversite to individuals who are managing your billing.
To access the billing link, click here https://pages.privatepractease.com/billing101
Kind Regards,
Prunella Harris, LCSW