Author Topic: Best clients for newbies  (Read 18729 times)

marie8480

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Best clients for newbies
« on: February 10, 2011, 01:35:14 AM »
what will be the idea clientele for newbies?

Pay_My_Claims

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2011, 01:52:04 AM »
can't answer that....too vague.
Newbie can be someone who just graduated from school, or someone who has decided to leave their job and start their own medical service, or someone with no educational background or experience in billing.

Billing(having your own company) is not meant for anyone who has NEVER billed before. Others will say if you have a background in finance you can do this or that, but it demeans our industry. If billing was so easy, everyone would do it. Anyone can OWN the service, but they need qualified people to run it. I can't bill for every service and I have been in the industry for 15 years. I can easily adapt to different services, however the complexity of some keep me from marketing to those providers until I get trained. What kills the industry is the "fake it til you make it" billing companies.

QueenAlicia

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2011, 02:04:12 AM »
what will be the idea clientele for newbies?

do you mean what to specialize in?

PMRNC

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2011, 09:22:19 AM »
Quote
what will be the idea clientele for newbies?

Hi Marie, I'm going to assume you are up and ready to market :)  If so I like mental health providers for a few good reasons.  1) many of them are small and even work by themselves so they are easily accessible. 2.) their offices are very rarely busy, as they do not keep more than one maybe 2 patient's in the waiting room, so they are even easily accessible on walk-in's sometimes. 3) because of their profession they are usually very easy going and much less intimidating than other specialties. 4) They usually only deal with a handful of codes.  Some of your small individual therapists or psychologists even work from within offices apart from their home too.

I have also heard chiropractors are pretty easy market and dentists too. A lot of people skip over dental providers but they can be very lucrative.

I'm sure there are others but these are the ones that stick out in my mind for now.
Linda Walker
Practice Managers Resource & Networking Community
One Stop Resources, Education and Networking for Medical Billers
www.billerswebsite.com

Pay_My_Claims

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2011, 10:10:08 AM »
Mental health is BROAD!! Most mean psychiatry when they state mental health. If you go in that direction I can agree, but there are so many facets to mental health. My first MH provider I obtained (with 15 years experience) and the coaxing into MH wasn't what I thought it was. She does not bill the usual 90801 90804 etc codes you find in the guides and books you can purchase online. They bill using HCPCS codes. I am also billing Mental health in the area of Substance Abuse and it is facility billing. Both areas of MH that I have billed deal a lot with authorization management, different payors using different codes, and units billed differently.

Dental providers are very particular as well. They REQUIRE so many years of dental billing. It is not difficult billing, however different billing. They are not so welcoming to medical billers who want to cross over. This has been my experience when seeking employment (outside of me starting my business). The software system they use is also different. This also applies to DME providers.

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2011, 10:10:08 AM »

PMRNC

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2011, 12:37:14 PM »
There are many facets of mental health billing..that's what I think actually makes it more marketable! I have had/have a few mental health providers that I have shown how to get away from doing all the same standard treatment. I have gotten them into prison/county billing, court testimonies, etc. I think with all specialties you can "think outside the box for your own business at the same time as for your clients."

As for dental billing, It's a fact that it's easier to learn, and way more straight forward. I my self have no interest in it. When I processed dental claims I found it incredibly BORING  :o  I know a lot of billers who actually start out with dental because they less stringent on the whole 2 years thing. I see ad's for office managers, billers, clerks in dental offices that say "Will train" I know billing companies who land dentists as a way to break in and then end up sticking with just dental billing.

Just another note about specializing. When you first start marketing DO not just market those specialties. I guess that over 50% of the time the specialty you take on (if any) will find YOU. In my case, I didn't set out for mental health but it just turned out it was a niche and then later on I added GP, and pediatrics, again, those specialties basically found me. Keep all your doors open and if a niche comes along, go with it :)
Linda Walker
Practice Managers Resource & Networking Community
One Stop Resources, Education and Networking for Medical Billers
www.billerswebsite.com

marie8480

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2011, 01:56:19 PM »
Ok, i never done any medical billing before beside what i've learned from school and read anything i could find on it.
i have a diploma as a Medical assistant and also im on my third semester for an Associate degree in Healthcare Mgnt
back in Canada i went to school to become a nurse than realized that it wasn't for me, now that i know what i want im really into it
i know that it won't be easy to start because of no experience but not impossible. It's not possible for me to go out and get a job as a medical biller right now and beside i always wanted to be my own boss
im married with 3 kids,even know that my husband got a good job working for the rail road, it's just too much to pay for decare for all of my kids.
So any advice you can give me will be welcome, don't try to discourage me from doing that and don't need any negative comments or try to put me down because of no experience.

camedbill

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #7 on: February 10, 2011, 02:12:19 PM »
I do mental health and is trying to get out to some other specialties.  I find that's it's a bit 'too much sugar for a dime'.  Many providers don't get auths or do benefits verifications which means you can bill but don't get paid :(  Unlike normal insurance, you can just bill from the insurance card, with mental health, you have to take the extra steps to verify billing addresses.
Also, they're also bad at collecting copays because it's a sensitive situation to collect money if the patients come to you in mental distress.  What that boils down to is you spending more money sending out statements and maybe not getting paid.
Chiropractors are great if it's high volume and not so many cash patients since they like to keep cash collections for themselves

Pay_My_Claims

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #8 on: February 10, 2011, 03:06:15 PM »
Ok, i never done any medical billing before beside what i've learned from school and read anything i could find on it.
i have a diploma as a Medical assistant and also im on my third semester for an Associate degree in Healthcare Mgnt
back in Canada i went to school to become a nurse than realized that it wasn't for me, now that i know what i want im really into it
i know that it won't be easy to start because of no experience but not impossible. It's not possible for me to go out and get a job as a medical biller right now and beside i always wanted to be my own boss
im married with 3 kids,even know that my husband got a good job working for the rail road, it's just too much to pay for decare for all of my kids.
So any advice you can give me will be welcome, don't try to discourage me from doing that and don't need any negative comments or try to put me down because of no experience.

Well Marie, I don't know how to respond but be honest. Most providers will ask you for experience. Its rare to find a provider that can or will show you how to do the billing and then trust you to do it from home. With myself having 15 years experience, I run into the trust issue of providers not wanting to outsource, or having been burnt from inexperienced billers before. As a biller we control the providers revenue. We can literally BANKRUPT a provider with our lack of knowledge. Continue to learn, and you might find some data entry jobs available. I know at one point I had so much claims and old EOB's to post I needed a part-time person to assist with a client that I had. This will help you gain some experience. If you are not in an association, you may want to join one that offers networking as a benefit. Many home based billers can't afford to hire employees, but may need some billing help from time to time and its a great training time for you. (yes get paid for it)

Pay_My_Claims

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2011, 03:07:22 PM »
I do mental health and is trying to get out to some other specialties.  I find that's it's a bit 'too much sugar for a dime'.  Many providers don't get auths or do benefits verifications which means you can bill but don't get paid :(  Unlike normal insurance, you can just bill from the insurance card, with mental health, you have to take the extra steps to verify billing addresses.
Also, they're also bad at collecting copays because it's a sensitive situation to collect money if the patients come to you in mental distress.  What that boils down to is you spending more money sending out statements and maybe not getting paid.
Chiropractors are great if it's high volume and not so many cash patients since they like to keep cash collections for themselves

So true, the coding for it may be simple, but where the claims go can get complex if not verified right

Medical Billing Forum

Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2011, 03:07:22 PM »

medauthor

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2011, 03:20:12 PM »
Quote
Well Marie, I don't know how to respond but be honest. Most providers will ask you for experience

I honestly can't imagine a provider outsourcing to someone with no billing experience.....school is wonderful, but there is NOTHING like true billing experience...I tell all my students who want to start their own medical billing business when they finish the program....3-6 months minimum experience before you try your start-up!!
Michelle Rimmer, CHI, CPMB
President-Professional Medical Billers Association
Owner-ABA Therapy Billing Services
Author, 'Medical Billing 101' and 'Coding Basics: Understanding Medical Collections

QueenAlicia

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2011, 04:05:50 PM »
Quote
what will be the idea clientele for newbies?

Hi Marie, I'm going to assume you are up and ready to market :)  If so I like mental health providers for a few good reasons.  1) many of them are small and even work by themselves so they are easily accessible. 2.) their offices are very rarely busy, as they do not keep more than one maybe 2 patient's in the waiting room, so they are even easily accessible on walk-in's sometimes. 3) because of their profession they are usually very easy going and much less intimidating than other specialties. 4) They usually only deal with a handful of codes.  Some of your small individual therapists or psychologists even work from within offices apart from their home too.

I have also heard chiropractors are pretty easy market and dentists too. A lot of people skip over dental providers but they can be very lucrative.

I'm sure there are others but these are the ones that stick out in my mind for now.

Linda,

Have you done dental billing?  If so is it difficult?

PMRNC

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2011, 04:05:58 PM »
Quote
I do mental health and is trying to get out to some other specialties.  I find that's it's a bit 'too much sugar for a dime'.  Many providers don't get auths or do benefits verifications which means you can bill but don't get paid Sad  Unlike normal insurance, you can just bill from the insurance card, with mental health, you have to take the extra steps to verify billing addresses.
Also, they're also bad at collecting copays because it's a sensitive situation to collect money if the patients come to you in mental distress.  What that boils down to is you spending more money sending out statements and maybe not getting paid.
Chiropractors are great if it's high volume and not so many cash patients since they like to keep cash collections for themselves

I guess it's possible by location but I love my mental health providers. Since I do full practice I get the auth's do verifications and even provide my providers with reports letting them know who needs an OTR and when. Since I do charge flat monthly I am getting paid for every bit of my time so it's like any other specialty, actually more billable time = Higher flat fee :)  I do find the therapists and psychologists to be a bit ...what's the word.. "laid back".. or even lazy sometimes.. ? But they are very easy to please and easy going at the same time. The psychiatrists are much better with the patient volume, they work longer hours, hospital visits, nursing homes, court testimony's, eval's.. etc. but they are a bit more high strung and closely watch their A/R :)

Linda Walker
Practice Managers Resource & Networking Community
One Stop Resources, Education and Networking for Medical Billers
www.billerswebsite.com

PMRNC

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2011, 04:09:03 PM »
I have not done dental billing but I could easily make the transition, I did process dental claims when I was a claims examiner but I just found it boring, all those xrays of the mouth.. teeth.. LOL   Dental software is MUCH more user friendly and way less complex. Even today I think dental billing is still the "untapped" market :)
JMO
Linda Walker
Practice Managers Resource & Networking Community
One Stop Resources, Education and Networking for Medical Billers
www.billerswebsite.com

QueenAlicia

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Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2011, 04:10:28 PM »
Ok, i never done any medical billing before beside what i've learned from school and read anything i could find on it.
i have a diploma as a Medical assistant and also im on my third semester for an Associate degree in Healthcare Mgnt
back in Canada i went to school to become a nurse than realized that it wasn't for me, now that i know what i want im really into it
i know that it won't be easy to start because of no experience but not impossible. It's not possible for me to go out and get a job as a medical biller right now and beside i always wanted to be my own boss
im married with 3 kids,even know that my husband got a good job working for the rail road, it's just too much to pay for decare for all of my kids.
So any advice you can give me will be welcome, don't try to discourage me from doing that and don't need any negative comments or try to put me down because of no experience.

Marie, you and I are in the same boat.  My husband has a good job as a Marine but military are underpaid and I too have always wanted to be my own boss.  I have one in daycare and the other is a baby. I know this will be dificult but not impossible.  I am just going to market until I get calls and stay up on all new procedures with billing.  

Medical Billing Forum

Re: Best clients for newbies
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2011, 04:10:28 PM »