How To Start A Medical Billing Business

How To Start A Medical Billing Business - Background Info:

A doctor's attention should be on patients--not money matters. Help medical professionals focus on their core competencies with a medical billing service.

A medical billing service is a doctor's key to getting paid. Despite the fact that the health-care industry is alive and well in America, most doctors and other health-care providers have no idea how to get themselves paid quickly and efficiently.

Doctors are overwhelmed by the maze of complicated claim forms and insurance policy procedures.

As a medical claims biller, you can earn a good income managing claims for doctors and other healthcare specialists. There`s no special training or experience needed, plus start-up costs are minimal.

Medical billing from home involves working closely with doctors to help them complete their billing claims with both insurance agencies and patients. It involves keeping track of different insurance claims as well as sending out bills and collection statements.
You can easily do this job from home using a computer and a phone line, as well as special software designed to help the medical billing collection.

Once you have taken the classes and gotten a certification for understanding the basic language of medical billing and coding, you need to start finding clients. References go a long way toward building a client base which will trust you to handle their billing for them.

This is a good business opportunity. It is getting harder and harder for medical providers to keep their billing in house.

There are many changes in how billing is done and many requirements that insurance carriers have that make it hard for the provider.

It makes sense for them to have an 'expert' to handle the billing for them so they don't have to deal with the changes and requirements.

How To Start A Medical Billing Business - Tasks And Skills Needed:

Business Specific Tasks:

If you are planning to do all the business tasks or hiring or subcontracting tasks, here's a list of tasks that need to be attended to when it comes to the business side of running a medical billing business:

Bookkeeping

Advertising/promotion

Accounting

Scheduling

Industry Specific Tasks:

Same as above if you plan to do everything yourself or get help, here are some of the tasks necessary to operate a medical billing business:

Do billing for private physicians and medical facilities

Attend courses to stay updated on medical billing and terminology

File payments

Bill for commissions

Telephone with payment requests

Send out billing

How To Start A Medical Billing Business - Approximate Daily Hours Needed:

General Hours of Operation: - When your business is open - Most people who run a medical billing collection service work from home and can generally set their own hours.

However, you should be available to work during the general business day from at least 9 to 5, as you will be spending a good portion of your time on the phone with different doctor's offices, insurance companies, and patients.

Hours Needed to Prepare - Before Opening and After Hours Activities - Advertising, promotion, return phone calls, file, schedule the next day's activities and tasks.

Number of Employees Needed To Run This Business:

Minimum Number of Employees -During the Start Up Phase: You can start this business yourself on a full-time basis.

Number of Employees - Once Your Business is Up and Running Successfully:

Website maintenance

Record/Bookkeeping

General office

Customer Service

Collection specialist

Medical transcribing

Medical billing

Skill Requirements for This Business:

Customer service

Data entry

Billing

Collections

Attention to scheduling and detail

Licenses:

Medical billing services require the knowledge of both complex medical terms and the software that is used by different hospitals and insurance agencies. Certification programs are available for anyone who wants to get into this business.

Check with your local city and find out if is necessary to have a license in your city to operate a home based business. If you are required to do so the cost is very minimal.

Approximate Minimum Start up Cost:

Bare essential: - Counting the education that you will need to be able to successfully work in the medical billing services, your startup costs could generally run between $3,000 to $5,000. Much of this depends on both the level and quality of education that you pursue as well as the type of medical billing software that you decide to purchase for your company.

Minimal exposure - Do not invest monies in expensive advertising unless you know that you are hitting the ground running! Make your own ads, mail them to potential clients, announce your expertise, where you are located, phone number, etc.

If you have purchased your software and now you are ready for that first doctor to sign your contract. You send out letters of your new business, print flyers, make calls to set up appointments, then you wait.

Necessary Equipment to Run this Business:

Necessary Start-Up Equipment & Supplies:

Computer

Printer

Cell phone

Website

Medical billing software

Supplementary Equipment: - Equipment or helpful products that you can acquire to once your business is off and running:

Marketing your medical billing service is important to gain the attention and trust of the doctors that you wish to work with. Additionally, you may need to buy furniture for the office space you are setting up.

Monthly Expenses To Consider:

Wages
Phone/cell phone
Internet access
Permits
Advertising/Marketing
Electricity
Water

Special Requirements and Considerations For This Business:

Find out all you can about the trends in the industry. Know your competition, in particular, their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you identify your competitive advantage. In other words, this will help you figure out what you can give your customers that they're not getting from the other businesses. And keep from emulating the competition's strategy. Instead, make the most of your own advantage points.
Check with other medical billing services in your area, ask them what they charge, to make sure you do not over charge for your services.
Have a plan when you do meet with your clients. Know what you are going to offer them, how you are going to better their business, most of all how they will save money and receive the best service possible.
Do not give up! If you are discouraged and think you are not going to make it in this business you won't make it. It takes time and more time. Pursue your goals one step at a time. Get your name out there, not just once, but repeatedly.
Do not attempt this type of business unless you have some formal experience or training in medical billing, coding and medical terminology. Again, most software packages come with a database of basic medical terminology, but I suggest going to your local library or ask someone that has experience to help you with training. You may ask your own physician's business office manager if he/she would allow you to sit in and observe all that is required, most usually will agree to do this because it shows their employer that they have the ability to train others!

Pros And Cons of Opening A Medical Billing Business:

The Pros of Running a Medical Billing Business:

This job is something easy to perform from the comfort of your own home.

The market for this job is rapidly growing, giving you lots of opportunity to be successful in it.

Once the basics are mastered, this is a job which can be easy to perform and enjoyable.

The Cons of Running a Medical Billing Business:

Starting a medical billing business usually requires taking classes to become familiar with the different medical terms used on the job.

It can also require a good deal of startup costs with computer software and licensing.

The business could also rapidly grow, requiring a person to hire additional employees.

Type of Customers You Need to Attract:

Medical facilities, private physicians, hospitals, dentists, and anyone in the medical field.

Medical Billing Business Statistics:

With legions of providers and an ever-expanding patient pool, the health-care industry is flourishing. According to a recent study by the government's Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), national health-care expenditures totaled $1.3 trillion in 2000.

Revenue:

With a growing number of providers and the increasing patient pool, the healthcare industry just keeps growing. According to a recent study the national healthcare costs were over $1.5 trillion in 2002 and Medicare spending was over $240 billion of that amount. There`s no doubt that healthcare is big business.

Medical Billing Business Resources:

Industry-Specific Websites:

ClaimTek

Courses:

Bryman School

Medical Billing Schools

My Education

MedicalBillingDegrees

Classes and Careers

Forums:

Medical Biller's Forum

Advantage Forum

Franchises:

Medical Billing Franchise Listings

Associations:

AMBA

Books:

Amazon Books on Medical Billing

Software:

Antamedia Medical Software

Other:

How to Start a Medical Claims Processing Business
Medical Billing Opportunities: Worth a Second Opinion

Businesses To Related to a Medical Billing Business:

Collections
Accounting
Business administration
Medical terminology/transcription