Medical billing might seem to be an easy task upfront but when you look into the intricacies involved in it you will understand how complicated it is. For any person, if they were to look at it from the outside it will simply seem like the person is receiving the treatment they require after which the payment is done. Even though it is only two of the steps that have been mentioned in simpler terms, if you were to look at it more thoroughly you will be amazed at how many steps there are and one of them includes payment posting.
When it comes to revenue cycle management, payment posting must not be ignored since it can make the medical provider suffer huge losses financially speaking. Close attention must be paid when it comes to the payment posting process in medical billing.
Know The Details About Payment Posting
Revenue Cycle Management includes a lot of steps. Every step must be looked after carefully to ensure that there are no mistakes whatsoever. However, special care must be taken when it comes to payment posting in healthcare.
When a claim gets submitted to the insurance company or the payer, the medical provider waits for the final resolution from the insurance payer. If the claims are filed correctly the insurance company will pay for the insurance claim or it can also be denied if they find any fatal error. After this, the insured customer gets the explanation in a document that consists of all the advantages or ERA (Electronic Remittance Advice) for either of the decisions that has been made by the company.
After the submitted claim has been agreed upon, the insurance payer will send the required payment through electronic fund transfer or check along with the ERA. However, it must be remembered that the said medical provider receives their claim money only when the patient has already signed an Assignment of Benefits (AOB). if that is not done then the money gets transferred to the medical patient. Payment posting helps in the settlement of the insurance claim under the account of the patient through the process of posting the denial of the payment.
Importance Of Payment Posting In RCM
There are many advantages to the process of payment posting in RCM. In medical billing there are a lot of steps that are involved, it is only through proper scrutiny of each step that the submission of claims becomes successful.
- Makes the process of RCM more efficient: It is only through the proper posting payments and medical billing that data can be analyzed in order to solve all the problems that occur in RCM. Identification of denials, posting about denials and many other crucial services form the crux of payment posting. This helps in the correction of the claim denials and prevents them from occurring in the future.
- Settlement of account without any faults: Medical billing services are adept with the process of payment posting. The team that handles payment posting are in charge of making sure that the accounts of all the patients are shown in the correct manner. Any fault in the process of RCM can result in financial loss for the business.
- Matching payments with Electronic Remittance Advice: In order to make sure that every fund is received in a proper manner, it is crucial to cross-check and then reconcile all of the payments that have been received from the payers. These payments include payments made from credit cards, checks and EFT. The funds can easily be misrouted if proper care is not taken towards reconciliation.
- Performing the necessary adjustments: Data analysis forms an important side when it comes to revenue cycle management. The process of analyzing the payment which forms an important aspect of the medical billing process besides focusing on the denial information is useful for organizations since it can help with the improvement of the RCM process. It helps in business strategy, forecasting of revenue and improving the overall operations.
Reasons Why You Should Be Wary with The Process of Payment Posting
Many healthcare providers tend to deposit the check after receiving a particular payment after which they do not pay it any heed. The same actions get repeated when it comes to electronic payments too. However, when it comes to medical providers who tend to sweat their brows over seamless management of the revenue cycle should understand that this action can put pressure on RCM. Understanding the fact that settling the payment as opposed to the account of the patient is a priority will help out immensely.
Let’s take an example where a particular payer makes a certain payment of $500 in regards to a claim that has been submitted. But the team of payment posting is settling an account of a mismatched patient where the insurance is repudiating the charges. Due to the process that included incorrect payment posting the accounts receivable team therefore will not be able to look at the correct claim denial information which in turn hampers the generation of the revenue for the organization.
In the process of medical billing, participating with the secondary insurance companies or even tertiary companies is quite common. If the team of payment posting makes any kind of errors during the process of payment posting, the related parties can get easily affected.
In order to get the best returns for the services you provide, outsourcing medical billing companies can always prove to be beneficial. Medical billing outsourcing companies tend to be well versed in the intricacies that are involved in the process of revenue cycle management. Moreover, companies like Synergy HCLS tend to focus on maximizing the profit so that your organization can grow bigger. The administrative tasks get distributed evenly without burdening the medical professionals thereby allowing them to treat their patients in the best manner possible.
