Medical billing is a crucial aspect of a medical service provider, apart from clinical services. Keeping up with government rules and regulations, liaising with external parties, and maintaining assets make things complicated. Mainly there are two ways to handle your medical billing in your organization; in-house and outsourcing. In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of both of them so you can figure out what works for you the best.
In-house medical billing
Hiring full-time employees to handle your medical billing is the way to bring your medical billing process in-house. So let’s look at the pros and cons of in-house medical billing.
Pros
Access
When you have an in-house team, it’s way easier to monitor the process in real time, allowing you hands-on control of things. Changes can be implemented quickly and effectively whenever you need them.
Flexibility
Once the process is outsourced, you sign a contract with the selected third party. This would subject you to their terms and conditions, which would complicate things when you want to make changes to your billing process. But none of this becomes an issue when you have an in-house team.
Cons
High Overhead Costs
Payroll, infrastructure, and benefits for the personnel involved count as overhead costs. The purchasing and maintenance of all these will cost you more than paying a third party to handle things.
High Risk
‘Finance and billing departments begets frauds’ is a well-known fact. Even if that is
not the case, the process would be prone to human errors like oversight, forgetfulness, and neglect. On top of that, the personnel would be under the stress of pacifying rules set out by various third parties (Insurance companies), which could cause losses due to mix-ups.
Outsourced Medical Billing
Hiring an experienced third party to handle your medical billing process is known as outsourcing. This is becoming a more popular practice among many healthcare providers. So let’s look at its pros and cons.
Pros
Lower Expenses
Outsourcing can save a lot of overhead costs — No more payroll and infrastructure maintenance costs. Also, there will no longer be any need to spend on switching technology as it advances. Just as much as you save up on overhead costs, and the amount you will have to pay for a third party is less — which means you increase your revenue!
Policy Protocol Accuracy
Those who provide medical billing outsourcing services are experts in navigating the insurance minefield. They have the capacity to avoid claiming issues and help you get your dues in time!
Continuity
The service providers are obliged to provide you with continuous and excellent service regardless of any outside factors. Your billing process would no longer halt due to employee absence. When you outsource the operation, it is up to them to appeal claim denials on your behalf— which is another worry averted.
No More Stress
With outsourcing, you no longer need to worry about the billing process of your business. Medical billing service providers are experts at what they do and their income is dependent on your revenue. So they are motivated to provide you with the best service. This means they will make sure to do things meticulously and strive to increase your revenue by employing many strategies.
Cons
Less Control
One downside to outsourcing is that you are no longer able to make any swift changes to your billing process. While you do have access to the information, making changes would require you to take a longer route. However, this would prevent you from making any strategy mistakes since you will discuss with experts about the changes you wish to make.
Irregular Charges
Medical billing service providers tend to charge you a percentage of your revenue. So, the charges vary with how lucrative your business is at a given time. This would make budgeting a bit of a problem. However, in the percentage method, you only pay in relation to your revenue which is cost-effective compared to the inhouse method, where you have to bear a fixed cost regardless of your income.
So what would you think is the best way to manage your medical billing? If you are considering outsourcing, we might be able to help you. Learn more about our services here.