Don't Forget This Crucial Business Requirement
Many state, county, and local governments require companies to obtain business licenses and permits before they can start conducting business. Business owners must comply with government requirements regarding business licenses, permits, and tax registrations. Requirements vary by location and business activities. Failure to register could result in fines, notices, and the inability to conduct business.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
When a prospect says no - medical billing news!
One of the most disappointing results is when someone says NO to your offer of medical billing services.
The close is the most important part of the sale and should be the least scary.
The scariest part is the presentation. Asking for the sale or asking about the next step should feel like a relief. YOU HAVE GOTTEN FAR in your appointment. You should be proud of yourself.
It is inevitable that not everyone you present to will work with you. As a medical biller seeking business, you have become a sales representative, whether you like it or not. Sales is not easy. Selling yourself is that much harder, but the more prepared and confident you are, the more likely you will land the customer.
If a prospect does not want to make a change to work with you, or if a prospect decides on another billing opportunity, take the high road.
STAY IN TOUCH with that practice - you never know the future and how circumstances change.
The close is the most important part of the sale and should be the least scary.
The scariest part is the presentation. Asking for the sale or asking about the next step should feel like a relief. YOU HAVE GOTTEN FAR in your appointment. You should be proud of yourself.
It is inevitable that not everyone you present to will work with you. As a medical biller seeking business, you have become a sales representative, whether you like it or not. Sales is not easy. Selling yourself is that much harder, but the more prepared and confident you are, the more likely you will land the customer.
If a prospect does not want to make a change to work with you, or if a prospect decides on another billing opportunity, take the high road.
STAY IN TOUCH with that practice - you never know the future and how circumstances change.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
When the front office doesn't work well with you, the medical biller
It's a tough call to know exactly WHEN to resign an account.
I had an account recently that was an absolute disaster.
They never checked eligility, they didn't track copayments or other important patient information, the billing always came late, I never received copies of EOB's in a timely fashion, and they were at least two months behind in MY invoices month after month.
This situation is clearly NOT ideal and was quite painful for me, as a small business owner.
So, I made the difficult decision of offering my notice of termination.
Has this type of situation happened to you?
I'd love to hear more and how you handled yourself.
I had an account recently that was an absolute disaster.
They never checked eligility, they didn't track copayments or other important patient information, the billing always came late, I never received copies of EOB's in a timely fashion, and they were at least two months behind in MY invoices month after month.
This situation is clearly NOT ideal and was quite painful for me, as a small business owner.
So, I made the difficult decision of offering my notice of termination.
Has this type of situation happened to you?
I'd love to hear more and how you handled yourself.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Customer Service Problems - medical billing news!
The first step to helping an angry customer is to identify why they are upset in the first place. This is the perfect chance to practice your listening skills. Make sure that you listen carefully, and repeat the important points back to the customer so that they know you understand the problem. Trying to solve the problem is impossible if you are not aware of exactly what the problem is.
Often in customer service, the employee will be actively listening but will also be trying to solve the problem prematurely. Listen to everything the customer has to say, without interrupting. Often a solution will present itself while the customer speaks but continue to listen. A customer wants to feel listened to.
Your customer also wants to feel as though you empathize with their problem. Many times, this will be the deciding factor of whether your customer walks out happy or angry. Do not underestimate empathy skills where customer service is concerned.
As you go over the problem with the customer, make sure that you focus on solutions that you can do. Often in customer service, the employee will anger the customer by concentrating on those things that they cannot do. Remain positive and simply explain to the customer all the options that are available to them. If you give them multiple options your success rate rises. All customers like to feel as though they have a choice.
You can usually tell early on if a customer wants something more than you can give them. If this is the case, do not drag out the problem further by trying to solve a problem that you are ill-equipped to solve. Excuse yourself politely and explain that you are going to get your supervisor to see if they can solve the problem.
Often in customer service, the employee will be actively listening but will also be trying to solve the problem prematurely. Listen to everything the customer has to say, without interrupting. Often a solution will present itself while the customer speaks but continue to listen. A customer wants to feel listened to.
Your customer also wants to feel as though you empathize with their problem. Many times, this will be the deciding factor of whether your customer walks out happy or angry. Do not underestimate empathy skills where customer service is concerned.
As you go over the problem with the customer, make sure that you focus on solutions that you can do. Often in customer service, the employee will anger the customer by concentrating on those things that they cannot do. Remain positive and simply explain to the customer all the options that are available to them. If you give them multiple options your success rate rises. All customers like to feel as though they have a choice.
You can usually tell early on if a customer wants something more than you can give them. If this is the case, do not drag out the problem further by trying to solve a problem that you are ill-equipped to solve. Excuse yourself politely and explain that you are going to get your supervisor to see if they can solve the problem.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Business nightmares, and how to recover from them:
Is the current economic downturn keeping you awake at night? In turbulent times it’s important to weigh up the risks of starting up or staying in business. But difficult times can bring unexpected opportunities as well.
There is absolutely no better time than now to begin your very own medical billing business. It offers you complete independence and a lucrative income during a time of layoffs and downsizing. Ask yourself the following:
1. Do I have the guts to undertake such a challenge?
2. Do I have the ability to seek out the true opportunities from the rest?
3. Other than a certification, will I have a resources to teach me HOW TO START?
Visit www.MedicalBillingFoundation.com for more info
There is absolutely no better time than now to begin your very own medical billing business. It offers you complete independence and a lucrative income during a time of layoffs and downsizing. Ask yourself the following:
1. Do I have the guts to undertake such a challenge?
2. Do I have the ability to seek out the true opportunities from the rest?
3. Other than a certification, will I have a resources to teach me HOW TO START?
Visit www.MedicalBillingFoundation.com for more info
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Medical Billing Goofs - medical billing news
In a previous installment of medical billing goofs, we discussed what happens when you bill the wrong item to a carrier and how you can be charged with fraud, but what happens when you send a bill to the wrong carrier. What follows is a genuine story. It's kind of funny when you read it, but the truth is, it's far from funny. This is some serious stuff.
A medical billing company, we'll call them XYZ company, was sending out a claim for a patient, we'll call him John Smith, to Medicare Region A, which is in the New York area of the United States. Now in actuality, the name of the patient was a common name so there could have very well been many people with that name.
Anyway, the bill makes its way to Medicare Region A and the response from Region A is that they are not going to pay the claim because the patient that the company was billing was dead. Well, to make a long story short, the medical billing company gets on a conference call with Medicare Region A and the patient. On the one end, the patient is screaming at the carrier, "How can I be dead? I'm right here". The carrier simply responds that according to their records, the patient is dead.
Well, this back and forth goes on for quite a while with quite a few phone calls. Finally, Medicare Region A decides that they're going to go over the patient's records with the patient and the medical billing agency. So they begin the questions starting with name, address, etc. Well, when the patient gives the carrier his street address and state, the carrier responds with the following. "Sir, Texas is not in our region". Well, it turns out that the patient had the same street address as another patient in New York. Everything was exactly the same except for the state, which nobody bothered to check. So what happened was that the patient had his claim sent to Medicare Region A when it should have gone to Medicare Region C.
Everybody had a real good laugh about this, but the problem still wasn't solved. Now the claim had to be forwarded to Medicare Region C. The problem was that the medical billing agency was not licensed to bill Medicare Region C. They only had a package to bill Medicare Region A. So now they had to see if they could get Medicare Region A to forward the claim to Medicare Region C. Well, they could, but there was a charge for this. Well, the medical billing agency said no way. So what did they do?
They got a hold of another medical billing agency that did bill Medicare Region C and arranged to do a swap. They'd bill one of their patients for them, thus incurring the cost, if they'd bill Medicare Region C for them. The company agreed and sent the claim. The problem was finally solved.
You can't make this stuff up.
Michael Russell
A medical billing company, we'll call them XYZ company, was sending out a claim for a patient, we'll call him John Smith, to Medicare Region A, which is in the New York area of the United States. Now in actuality, the name of the patient was a common name so there could have very well been many people with that name.
Anyway, the bill makes its way to Medicare Region A and the response from Region A is that they are not going to pay the claim because the patient that the company was billing was dead. Well, to make a long story short, the medical billing company gets on a conference call with Medicare Region A and the patient. On the one end, the patient is screaming at the carrier, "How can I be dead? I'm right here". The carrier simply responds that according to their records, the patient is dead.
Well, this back and forth goes on for quite a while with quite a few phone calls. Finally, Medicare Region A decides that they're going to go over the patient's records with the patient and the medical billing agency. So they begin the questions starting with name, address, etc. Well, when the patient gives the carrier his street address and state, the carrier responds with the following. "Sir, Texas is not in our region". Well, it turns out that the patient had the same street address as another patient in New York. Everything was exactly the same except for the state, which nobody bothered to check. So what happened was that the patient had his claim sent to Medicare Region A when it should have gone to Medicare Region C.
Everybody had a real good laugh about this, but the problem still wasn't solved. Now the claim had to be forwarded to Medicare Region C. The problem was that the medical billing agency was not licensed to bill Medicare Region C. They only had a package to bill Medicare Region A. So now they had to see if they could get Medicare Region A to forward the claim to Medicare Region C. Well, they could, but there was a charge for this. Well, the medical billing agency said no way. So what did they do?
They got a hold of another medical billing agency that did bill Medicare Region C and arranged to do a swap. They'd bill one of their patients for them, thus incurring the cost, if they'd bill Medicare Region C for them. The company agreed and sent the claim. The problem was finally solved.
You can't make this stuff up.
Michael Russell
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Small business tax nightmares
Small business owners across America are cheering the imminent demise of the estate tax, but Congress is poised to approve a little-known tax procedure that soon may give them headaches all over again, according to Bruce Bartlett, senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).
The procedure is known as carryover basis. Why the nightmare? Bartlett explains, "Under carryover basis, the value of assets is no longer stepped-up at death. Instead, heirs inherit the original basis of the assets. So if a small business owner leaves at death stock worth $120 that he bought for $10, the survivor must pay tax on the full $110 appreciation, not the original price of $10 as current tax law provides."
Application of carryover basis also can be difficult. Since assets have historically been stepped-up at death, small business owners may not have kept complete records. And even when records exist, it is difficult to establish original basis when dividends, interest or other returns to capital have been reinvested over time. Then there's always depreciation and renovation for plant and equipment.
Conferees established carryover basis in the Tax Reform Act of 1976. Within six months, the outcry was so loud, Congress basically told people to ignore the law. And finally in 1978, Congress delayed implementation of carryover to its effective date-as though it never existed.
"The carryover basis provision Congress appears ready to endorse may not be the way to go. If it's enacted, I predict a repeat of the 1976 revolt with almost immediate pressure for its repeal," Bartlett said.
Bruce Bartlett's columns are distributed nationally by Creators Syndicate.
The procedure is known as carryover basis. Why the nightmare? Bartlett explains, "Under carryover basis, the value of assets is no longer stepped-up at death. Instead, heirs inherit the original basis of the assets. So if a small business owner leaves at death stock worth $120 that he bought for $10, the survivor must pay tax on the full $110 appreciation, not the original price of $10 as current tax law provides."
Application of carryover basis also can be difficult. Since assets have historically been stepped-up at death, small business owners may not have kept complete records. And even when records exist, it is difficult to establish original basis when dividends, interest or other returns to capital have been reinvested over time. Then there's always depreciation and renovation for plant and equipment.
Conferees established carryover basis in the Tax Reform Act of 1976. Within six months, the outcry was so loud, Congress basically told people to ignore the law. And finally in 1978, Congress delayed implementation of carryover to its effective date-as though it never existed.
"The carryover basis provision Congress appears ready to endorse may not be the way to go. If it's enacted, I predict a repeat of the 1976 revolt with almost immediate pressure for its repeal," Bartlett said.
Bruce Bartlett's columns are distributed nationally by Creators Syndicate.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
When in doubt, GET OUT!
Walking (or in some cases...running) away from a client is the best possible thing for you and for your business.
HUGE red flag is a client's inability or "challenge" in paying.
If a client either post-dates checks to pay you in segments OR only pays via credit card, be aware.
This happened to me.
I worked with a large clinic that was mostly a PIP and WC practice and I collected thousands and thousands for them. But, they never seemed to have the available funds to pay me.
They often post-dated checks to pay, but there was never any money in the account, etc. It was a nightmare!
I was at a huge loss when I finally decided that something was just not quite right with this company.
But, it was the best thing that I could have done!
Visit www.MedicalBillingFoundation.com for more info and daily blogs.
HUGE red flag is a client's inability or "challenge" in paying.
If a client either post-dates checks to pay you in segments OR only pays via credit card, be aware.
This happened to me.
I worked with a large clinic that was mostly a PIP and WC practice and I collected thousands and thousands for them. But, they never seemed to have the available funds to pay me.
They often post-dated checks to pay, but there was never any money in the account, etc. It was a nightmare!
I was at a huge loss when I finally decided that something was just not quite right with this company.
But, it was the best thing that I could have done!
Visit www.MedicalBillingFoundation.com for more info and daily blogs.
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