With your great attempts to bill and code for the medical services you provided, your reimbursements can fall short of what you had anticipated. Even though you know the need to reconcile your patients’ insurance accounts properly, the sheer number of insurance accounts that your practices deal with prevents them from conducting a thorough reconciliation internally. Similar to other medical billing components, it is usually wise to outsource Payment Posting to reputable medical billing organizations that can guarantee quality while also providing economies of scale from large-scale corporate procedures. In this article, we will discuss, what is payment posting in medical billing and how it can make the medical billing and coding process effective and smooth.
What is Payment Posting in Medical Billing
What is payment posting in medical billing? The term “payment posting” describes the process of examining payments and the financial status of a medical business. Additionally, it alludes to recording payments in the medical billing process. It offers a perspective on patient payments, insurance checks from ERAs, and insurance payments in EOBs.
Although it is a very straightforward activity in medical billing, payment posting is the first and most crucial stage in medical billing and total revenue cycle management. To save time and minimize inconvenience, it is beneficial for a practice to detect and address a potential problem early quickly.
A well-organized payment posting process improves the practice’s overall performance and efficiency, which helps to increase revenues, address repeated or recurring problems early, and improve overall performance. It improves overall satisfaction among patients as well.
Methods of Payment Posting
Depending on the patient’s financial resources and the amount of their insurance coverage, payment posting in medical billing happens in one of two ways:
- Manual Posting
- Auto Posting
Manual Posting:
The administrative staff fills out manual postings, which typically take longer because there is no need to record more information. The payment posting is delayed by various problems, including typos, which are more likely to occur with this posting.
Auto Posting:
While accelerating the medical billing process for a reliable revenue source, auto payment posting goes as more of a software-driven strategy that most companies embrace as their technological solutions. Few solo doctors, though, believe that manual payment posting gives them less control over their system for generating revenue.
Payment Posting Services Make Medical Billing Better
Medical billing success and efficient cash flow management depend on detail-oriented payment posting services. An incorrect posting may impact the veracity of the claims, which would therefore make the medical billing process unbalanced.
Medical billing and coding are vital in the healthcare sector and are fundamental building blocks of effective medical billing. However, it’s crucial to remember that a skilled staff handling payments can offer useful information regarding the RCM’s efficacy.
Payment posting services, one of the essential components of medical billing, directly impact hospitals’ ability to manage their finances successfully. It is also a crucial procedure for solitary practitioners or larger healthcare institutions. Posting payments also significantly affects various other operations and patient care providers’ overall financing.
Effective daily income stream monitoring can also assist healthcare practices in hospital RCM by spotting possible problems early and implementing improvements. A reliable payment posting service can help hospitals and individual practices acquire a daily financial picture. As a result, managing the cash flow, spotting problems, and implementing the necessary modifications depend heavily on payment posting, medical billing, and medical claims processing.
Payment Posting Makes Medical Billing A Smooth and Effective Process
Significantly, a properly executed payment posting process enables healthcare professionals to locate opportunities to increase revenue by studying daily practice trends. Monitoring everyday trends within the practice management and sending payments may increase revenue. A correct payment posting mechanism is essential since it affects accurate billing and a seamless process.
There will always be problems when a medical billing procedure processes numerous claims and bills in a single day. When completed in an organized fashion, payment posting aids in resolving any issues brought on by incorrect calculations or entries as soon as they occur. It lessens problems like denials, identifies the uncovered procedures that require prior authorization, and notifies the patient of these things. Additionally, this facilitates the patient billing and payment procedure. It streamlines the billing process by saving time and lowering the risk of error. Here’s how payment posting can assist with medical billing.
Eliminates repeated issues
Examining historical problems that may delay payments is necessary when adjusting payment posting. It assists in problem-solving and avoids repeated issues.
Accelerates further payments
Establishing and submitting any secondary claims after recognizing them through payment posting is possible. After processing all insurance claims and adjusting all accounts, the remaining patient obligation can be properly billed.
Eliminates RCM flaws
Payment posting might help to overcome numerous issues that the RCM process may encounter. To fix denials and stop future claims rejection, payment posting services include posting denials, recognizing denials, and more. Using electronic health record software, payments are accurately recorded to patients’ accounts, giving a clear image of the account information, covered services, and payments received. Organizing the revenue cycle, as a result, is an effective way.
Enhances the current procedure
Remember that RCM and medical billing are interconnected. The RCM processes influence working for medical billing organizations, and certain billing process neglect may result in less favorable results. Payment posting helps the team devise ways to efficiently manage the process by knowing the issue at the appropriate moment. The payment posting method guarantees that issues are caught early and that the overall revenue is unaffected.
Halts claims denials
Claims denials are frequently the result of incorrect litigation at different periods. One of the most effective approaches to handle the problem is to take extra steps to prevent them. Quickly fixing errors help to avoid claim denials from happening in the first place. Time is crucial to ensuring that errors are fixing because unresolved denials result in significant lost revenue.
Submission of claims with accuracy
One of the most important aspects of the medical billing process is the submission of medical claims since it establishes reimbursement once the insurance companies have paid their obligations. This ensures that the secondary and tertiary insurance providers don’t get wrong invoices by accurate payment posting. In addition, with a streamlined medical billing process, professional payment posting aids medical billing businesses in concentrating on their core business skills.
Role of Payment Posting in Revenue Cycle Management
Payment posting is one of the crucial elements of the revenue cycle, regardless of whether billing is carried out internally or by a third-party billing service. By carefully considering the evolving patterns within practices and the healthcare industry, a well-executed payment posting procedure can assist hospitals and healthcare providers in identifying new chances to increase finances and revenue. A precise and expertly executed payment posting process has considerable potential to increase revenues and guarantee an efficient medical billing process. Here are a few effects on overall finances that an effective payment posting has on revenue cycle management.
Preventing claims denials
When determining insurance payments, hospitals confront several difficulties, but if the entire process is conducted correctly, there won’t be any opportunity for errors. The prompt reporting of refused claims to the rejection management team for resubmissions is ensured by successful payment posting. Each team participating in medical billing should be responsible for preventing claims denials.
EOB and ERA Processing
The claim procedure and any patient duties, including co-insurance, deductibles, and co-payments, are described in the Explanation of Benefits (EOB). On the other hand, Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) provides the Provider with an explanation of the insurance process. Accurate payment postings, which ensure that data from both EOBs and ERAs meet payments, allow for a practical perspective of a practice’s financial situation.
A critical element that concludes the medical billing process is payment posting. Payment posting ensures that the information from electronic remittance explanations of benefits (EOB) correspond with the actual payments. Healthcare service providers can enhance their business and speed up the payment posting process with accurate payment posting. Before entering data into the billing software, a committed team should carefully review the EOB to determine the shifting trends. In addition to improving payments and lowering denials, this promotes efficient medical billing.
Errors Resolving
Payment posting occurs after the medical billing procedure is completed. Payment posting is a crucial phase in revenue cycle management, as it identifies and assists in resolving payment mistakes while enhancing cash flow and the RCM.
Protecting patients
Patient commitment, which only applies to specified types of patients, is the portion of the medical bill that the patient has to pay. Patient obligations guarantee that patients have access to seven fundamental rights. The rights include the right to criticism as well as the right to access, privacy, partnership, safety, and respect. Patients may anticipate receiving thoughtful and respectful attention and comfort throughout the procedure.
Modifications and write-offs
When there are errors in the bills, it may be essential to amend them; otherwise, modifications are employed. On the other hand, write-offs are utilized to take debts out of the accounts receivable.
One of the many difficulties healthcare service providers worldwide must overcome is the posting of sufficient payments. Selecting a reputable payment posting service provider may minimize technical difficulties and facilitate efficient payment posting for insurance payment settlements.
Payment Posting Services help Generate More Revenue
Adopting best practices helps healthcare service providers increase income production, which they frequently want to do. Although payment posting in medical billing frequently appears to be a straightforward operation, it significantly improves the revenue cycle. It also affects numerous additional operations as well as entire economic success.
Consequently, hospitals and medical offices place a premium on precision-driven payment posting that can improve the medical billing process and boost income. Payment posting has many benefits because it is a critical step in medical billing and a key aspect of revenue cycle management. To boost profitability, it aids in revenue cycle analysis. By recognizing them as soon as they arise, recurring issues may fix quickly.
Payment posting systems help save the time it takes to manage denials, assuring correct claim filings for optimum reimbursements. The majority of healthcare service companies choose to outsource services for timely payments. To promote effective patient relationship management, effective medical billing, and successful revenue cycle management, you need a skilled team that can achieve targeted goals successfully.
Smooth and Secure Payment Posting Services
Payment posting is one of the crucial stages in medical billing that receives the most attention from our operations management. Instead of receiving claims from the payer and patients, the client’s medical billing system posts payments to reconcile the claim. BellMedex additionally enters electronic payments into the medical billing software and personally handles exceptions to make sure no payment is missed (fallouts).
Insurance Payment Posting
All payers must either produce an EOB (explanation of benefits) or an ERA to pay a claim (electronic remittance advice). To reconcile them, the medical billing team immediately posts these payments into the relevant patient accounts. The payment posting process undergoes client-specific regulations, which specify the cut-off levels for adjustments, write-offs, refund policies, etc.
A negative balance dominates for that claim when the client’s office takes too long to deposit the Payer cheques or provide the ERAs and EOBs for posting, which is an inaccurate depiction of the situation. Due to this deceptive depiction, the Physicians may not be aware of the precise amount of revenue.
Tips for evaluating the payment posting process
Receiving payments in the form of cheques doesn’t guarantee that everything is going smoothly. Even so, you should continue to assess your payment posting procedure routinely. Here are some pointers for thorough reviewing for a successful payment posting process.
Observe your write-offs
Use a quarterly auditing process, and include it in your evaluation of the billing staff’s performance. Investigate write-offs to ensure that employees aren’t hoarding collected funds. Make sure staff members know what you should receive so they can spot and investigate any discrepancies, so you don’t write off money that the insurance company claims is a contractual allowance. Additionally, before granting any refund requests, make sure they are accurate.
Post and deposit your money as soon as possible
The expression goes, “It’s better to have a dollar today than a dollar tomorrow,” so post and deposit your money as soon as possible. The patient may receive a statement even though they already paid if you don’t record the money in your billing system immediately. You may have to produce a refund on the patient’s consent or take an irate call from a patient.
The use of current technology is one technique to improve promptness. Many insurance companies offer electronic payment remittances and cash transfers.
Conclusion
What is payment posting in medical billing? It is one of the critical steps that can prevent incorrect billing. It guarantees effective revenue cycle management. The handling of the payment posting procedure frequently depends on client-specific regulations, which include the thresholds for adjustments, write-offs, and other things. However, patient payment posting ensures that payments made by credit cards and cheques through patient portals will be accurately recorded, enabling the claim to be effectively cleared.
