AR follow up is crucial in medical billing because today, many physicians discover that their medical practice or facilities are generating expected or growing monthly charges but are not experiencing the same growth in recurring cash flow.
It is common to find a provider with excessive amounts in medical AR that are more than 180 days outstanding unless specific and consistent active accounts receivable follow up on current billings is initiated.
The volume of outstanding medical claims, as well as the time required to research, correct, appeal, and/or re-file the medical claims, will usually take much longer than anticipated. A small number of people devoted to this task will not be able to achieve the goal by significantly reducing/eliminating the claims. So outstanding AR teams will be able to collect as much money as possible in a short period of time.
Why is it Necessary to Have an AR Management Team for Healthcare Services?
In a healthcare organization, the accounts receivable follow-up team is in charge of investigating denied claims and reopening them in order to receive the maximum reimbursement from Medical insurance companies. Billing professionals with specialized skill sets are now required to handle AR follow-ups.
It should be noted that, in addition to AR follow-ups, several other critical processes, such as charge entry, verification, and payment posting, must be completed first. A medical billing specialist determines the exact procedure code and diagnosis code based on the treatment plan during these procedures. There is a chance that the medical insurance company will deny claims if they do not follow the rules; therefore, having a dedicated AR Management team who can follow-up with the Medical insurance firm to resolve your denied claims is critical.
Six Reasons Why AR Follow-up Is Critical in the Medical Billing Process
1. Financial Stability: The financial stability of any healthcare service provider is heavily reliant on maintaining a positive cash flow. The hospital must maintain a consistent flow of revenue to cover expenses in order to provide patient care services, and the AR department ensures that this is done.
2.Aids in the Recovery of Overdue Payments: AR follow-up assists all hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, and other organizations in recovering overdue payments without difficulty. It is easier for healthcare providers to receive payments on time when there is a team that is constantly involved in the claims follow-up procedure.
3.Reduce the amount of time that outstanding accounts are allowed to remain outstanding: The primary goal of the AR management team is to reduce the amount of time that accounts are allowed to remain outstanding. The AR team monitors unpaid accounts, determines the appropriate action required to secure payment, and implements payment procedures.
4.Claims Never Go Missing: The most common reason for payment delays is the claim not being received. This usually occurs when paper claims are misplaced. To avoid this, it is best to send the claims electronically.
5.Claims that are denied can be pursued: Depending on the reason for the denial, you can actually send a new claim request with the necessary corrections made. The AR department can ensure that all claims are followed through to completion by calling the insurance companies and obtaining the denial reason rather than waiting for the denial reason to arrive in the mail.
6.Recover Claims Held Pending for Information: Claims may be held pending for a period of time due to additional information required for the member. By following up properly, the AR Management team can inform the member about the situation and then take appropriate action to speed up the process to recover claims.
WWS medical AR programme solves the problems that have traditionally stymied individual providers’ collection efforts. WWS pursues these accounts by assembling a group of professionals to “blitz” them.