FQHC Billing Services: How to Protect Your Investment

Most physicians and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) will face this one questions sooner or later: whether or not outsource your patient billing demands to more specialized medical and FQHC billing companies?

While there are many different FQHC billing software platforms and FQHC billing webinars available in the market, they are unable to outdo the efficiency of proficient medical billing companies. Hiring a third party to manage your FQHC medical billing is specially a good idea if you have a high staff turnover or you are someone who has stayed away from technology all your life.

These medical billing companies are capable of significantly increasing your revenue. You will finally be able to do without your inadequate billing staff. The company you hire will not only generate claims, they will also follow up with patients and ensure that all due payments are made in time.

Since there are many FQHC billing companies operating in the market, you must practice caution while hiring a third party to manage your billing. Here are a few things you must keep in mind when looking to invest in FQHC billing services that ultimately enables health centers to maximize revenue streams.

1. What are the services being offered?

FQHC billing companies, like MaximizedRevenue.com, can take over many functions, such as claim generation and submission, payment processing, creating invoices for patients, collection services, etc. Some billing companies also handle tasks like appointment scheduling and credentialing. However, the price tag increases with each new service. As a physician, you must ensure the FQHC billing company you hire takes care of all your requirements and does so at a reasonable price.

2. What is the technology being used?

Using a billing company does not mean you are acquainted from your responsibility. To reduce costs, it is necessary for a physician to understand how a medical billing company will operate.

• It is important to seek answers to questions like these: 
• How will claims be generated and shared? 
• How will the billing company maintain electronic records and how can these records be used by the hospital? 
• Will the FQHC billing company ensure data security? 
• Where will all the data be backed up and stored?

A good medical billing company will have clear answers to all these questions.

3. Are they experienced?

Hire a company that's been in business for a while. Though experience does not guarantee efficiency, it certainly builds up trust. Look for a company that is certified by the American Medical Billing Association. The AMBA certification evinces expertise in billing, insurance claims, reimbursements, fraud and abuse, medical technology and terminology, etc.

4. How does the company work?

A good way to gauge the performance of an FQHC billing company is to study their work structure. Different metrics like employment structure and number of employees, total years in business, number of claims processed in any financial year, total number of billings, etc, will give you an idea about the kind of results you can expect from the billing company you are hiring.

5. What is the price being demanded?

Money is an important thing. As a matter of fact, medical billing companies are hired to reduce the overall billing costs. Hire a company that is offering maximum services at a minimum price. Do not demand services you won't need. Ask the billing company to create a cost package based on only the services you will be availing.