There are a couple of red flags I see.
Using another billing company charging her more than what she is bringing in (In my years of experience this isn't true OR she's let problems go on for far too long and I like to give benefit of doubt here w/out blame) You really would need quite a few reports to see WHERE the problem lies and you should only take the reports SHE gives you. DO not get in the middle of a contractual relationship at all with the provider and other billing service..trust me it never works out. Unfortunately also with her saying no claims have been filed this year at all, that's another red flag because maybe she hasn't paid the billing service, or she is holding claims, NO EDI connection possibly?
The big problem you have here is that to even begin to work for her you need a lot of research done first. That basically means you should be prepared to either work and do all that research for nothing or what I would do is try to obtain a setup fee and then arrange a process to which you can obtain the necessary information from her.
If this were a potential client from me I would want her to provide me with the following reports before I went even one step further: (making sure appropriate BA is in place)
A/R Both Insurance and patient Report from 2017/2018
Payment and adjustment reports / 2017/2018 - This will provide you with some clues on insurance/payor reimbursements
Outstanding claim report
Pending claim report
Your going to need info on her clearinghouse. If she hasn't filed claims I'm going to take a guess the billing company has her connected to which she needs to communicate with them on that issue.
If she is unable to get any reports due to maybe the billing company having the PM software or she did not retain her own software/database or at least keep reports, I would advise her to have her attorney review the contract between herself and the billing company..If this is the case you cannot do anything, it's an issue she must resolve.
What you could do NOW is enter a contract with her to begin billing effective for future claims and leave everything related to services before that on her to work out with her other billing company. You just simply can't know or interpret her contract with them. They could have been billing on a % so anything coming in on prior dates would /could be theirs regardless if you file them or not, so if she cannot take care of issues with all those back claims this would be your BEST shot to start her off fresh. I've done this with a few clients. Just be prepared that IF indeed she was naive when she signed with the other billing company she is going to be hesitant to repeat same mistakes (not checking to see where her data goes, who's responsible for conversion, etc.) The billing company's contract may give them all legal rights not to give her a darn thing. If that's the case she is going to feel burned. When I have encountered this situation I felt it best to try to make the provider feel more confident, let them choose a software, let her have control and move forward having learned thos lessons the hard way. Maybe she does have legal recourse with the other billing company, again, we don't know so she has to be the one to sort that out.
I just couldn't even begin to tell you what to charge because we don't know enough about the previous billing process. She does sound like a very small client so to avoid a lengthy conversion and try to get cash coming back in it might be best to offer her a contract based on future claims and her official termination with the prior billing company. It might also be in your best interest to request confirmation of that termination to cover yourself as well. (letter either from prev billing company or copy of her letter to them, just something to show the contract was terminated) I would NOT be in her best interest to have two working billing companies with two PM systems as that could create an even bigger mess for her and you if there is ever an audit.
