DME billing outsourcing is a considerable investment into your business and shouldn’t be taken lightly. What might be the best solution for one company may not work for another. If you want to learn how much value DME revenue cycle management outsourcing services offer, you’re in the right place.
This article will explain the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing revenue cycle management services, its anticipated ROI, and what Medbill can do to help your business achieve its goals this year.
What You Can Expect with Revenue Cycle Management Services
Before we review the pros and cons of revenue cycle management responsibilities, here are some of the services DME billing companies offer.
- Review your completed claim documents for accuracy
- Examine claim documents to ensure they’re following current LCDs and payor guidelines
- Submit your claims to the appropriate payor
- Work on outstanding invoices and denied claims
- Provide cash payment posting with reconciliation
- Offer audit assistance, if needed
Pros and Cons of Revenue Cycle Management Outsourcing Services
Now that you know some of the DME revenue cycle management services available, we’ll review the advantages and disadvantages of working with a DME billing company.
Outsourcing Advantages
A Billing Team That Can Handle All the Necessary Work
If you’ve been noticing an increase in claim denials, it could be the result of submitting claims with outdated billing and coding regulations. Or there needs to be a documentation process that provides your team with the efficiency they need to submit clean claims.
Both of those scenarios can occur with understaffed or overworked billing teams. That’s one of the primary advantages of outsourcing; your billing team doesn’t need to struggle with being overworked. In addition, your outsourced team can handle any overflow.
Streamline Communication Processes
The revenue cycle management (RCM) team can simplify the payor and patient communication process to deliver faster payments and resolve outstanding problems.
Stay Current on the Latest RCM Strategies
When you have a team of professionals that live and breathe RCM, you can be sure they’re always aware of the latest DME billing strategies and how they can give your business a competitive edge in the marketplace.
A Fresh Perspective on Current Processes
When you use a system daily, it’s easy to overlook minor details. Your billing partner can bring a new set of eyes to ensure your billing processes are effective. Since inefficient processes can lead to complicated, more prone-to mistakes situations that can impact the whole business.
Outsourcing Disadvantages
Feeling Like You Lost Control
Some DME providers think they lost control of their billing processes when outsourcing, and that can be a hard feeling to overcome. But if you research and thoroughly interview the prospective DME billing company, you can find the confidence that you’re working with industry experts.
Letting Your Current Billing Staff Go
We’ve talked to many DME providers who value their billing teams and want to retain their valuable employees. While every outsourcing company is different, there are ones available who’ll work alongside your current employees to fill in any gaps.
Lack of Time for Outsourcing Setup
The initial setup can be time-consuming, and many DME providers prefer not to outsource. However, before you decide, find out all the details from the prospective company to see if they can work alongside your schedule.
The ROI You Can Expect with DME Billing Outsourcing
Since outsourcing is a significant step into the future, you should know how to calculate your ROI to help you determine if it’s worth the investment. There are several different ways you can search for an ROI.
For this article, we’ll explain how you can review the fixed and variable expenses to determine the ROI.
Determine Your Billing Department Yearly Fixed Expenses
This can include:
- HR costs for searching and interviewing potential new hires
- Cost to onboard a new hire
- Payroll costs for billing staff, including taxes
- Employee benefit costs
Determine Your Billing Department Yearly Variable Expenses
Some of these items might include:
- The current claim denial rate
- How the denial rate impacts your monthly/yearly budget
- Employee time spent on resubmitting denied claims
- Investment in employee training for onboarding and current retraining staff
Calculate Your ROI
Once you’re able to put numbers next to the various expenses, you can better understand the current amount of money you’re investing in your billing department. This is an excellent guide for finding DME revenue cycle management outsourcing services that’ll fit your budget. Then after one year, you can review the new numbers to help you see the real ROI from the outsourcing services.
How Medbill Can Help Achieve Your Business Goals
We’re here to help put more time and money back into your business. We can quickly find the billing areas that need the most help with our Benchmark & ROI Review. Then using our efficient billing methods can streamline your revenue cycle and help to lower your claim denial rate.
Learn more about our billing methods by filling out our online form today.