Not only that, healthcare reimbursements are also a struggle for other providers. In fact, there has been an increase in widespread coverage loss and uncompensated care that has put a strain on hospitals. With all the uncertainty of COVID-19, getting ahold of missing insurance dollars can be extremely challenging. Providers scramble to find ways to quickly determine each patient’s coverage to help minimize bad debt. Hospitals, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers simply cannot afford to continue to lose money when they should be focusing on how to prepare for health coverage after COVID-19.

Health Coverage After COVID-19

These days, there is a lot of pressure on patient intake. More and more patients are visiting facilities for elective services and vaccination programs. Hospitals and other facilities try to capture adequate insurance information as quickly as possible to minimize face-to-face contact during admissions and to avoid delays.

Patient collections and billing staff are extremely overwhelmed. They must do manual verifications but, unfortunately, those are difficult to complete when operating remotely or in a setting where individuals are socially distancing and patient information might be incomplete.

During COVID-19, telehealth became the popular new digital healthcare technology. However, it tends to be covered less by private insurers as compared to Medicare and Medicaid. Coverage checks should factor this in to avoid errors and wasted time and resources. Without being prepared for situations like this, providers will run into telehealth coverage issues including delays or denials.

Lastly, individuals are seeking new employment now that COVID-19 cases are slowly on the decline. Tracking healthcare coverage as patients start new jobs with health plans can be challenging. Further, Medicare is changing codes and protocols for coverage which can be confusing and time-consuming for providers. A third-party vendor like The Midland Group can help identify all coverage options and make sure the right bill goes to the right payer.

Now What?

As a third-party billing specialist, The Midland Group will submit, process, and follow-up on all insurance claims as necessary to collect as much revenue as possible for the hospital and to reduce the patient’s personal financial burden. Our trained medical billing professionals are familiar with all the tools and pertinent documents needed to submit a complete claim and successfully collect the amounts of money owed. 

We have a firm knowledge of all industry standards, clearinghouse procedures, and even the adjudication process. For hospitals, it is an opportunity to collect 100% of charges owed with greatly reduced administrative costs. Contact us to see how The Midland Group can help you maximize reimbursements over the next couple of months.

The post What Will Health Coverage and Reimbursement Look Like After COVID-19? appeared first on The Midland Group.

In the context of third-party billing, we believe that it is extremely important for providers to obtain reimbursement for their services within a reasonable amount of time. We also understand the necessity for third-party payers to have the chance to thoroughly scrutinize their responsibility in the payment of the claim and decide if the services provided are truly necessary.

According to the golden rule for third-party billing, there is no obligation to guarantee coverage or any other liability in the event that coverage lapses due to the third party’s failure to submit payment by the due date. Simply put, if a charge is not documented, you can not bill for it. When it comes to private payers, it is important to understand your third-party payer contract so as to avoid any lapses in reimbursement. 

Seven Tips To Understand Your Third-Party Payer Contract

• Know your rights. To avoid delays in payments that would cost you, be sure that you understand your rights when speaking about a contract and request a better explanation of the insurance provider’s payment schedule language if you don’t understand. 

• Define payment period for clean claims. Always make sure that there is a clause that holds the health plan responsible for paying any claims within a specific period of time. Without this clause, there is no obligation on the part of the health plan to pay the claim within a reasonable amount of time. During this step, make sure you ask for clarification on what a payer deems as a clean claim and if there are additional requests for information that is considered reasonable. 

• Define payment period for unclean claims. Make sure that you have a firm definition of the timeframe in which the health plan can return a claim as unclean. This will help avoid the health plan from holding unclean claims to delay any payments. The contract should also specify how much time will be allowed to review this additional information before any payments are made. 

• Address claims considered “not to file.” Your contract should require the health plan to acknowledge receipt of an electronic claim within 24 hours of receiving it. Failure to be acknowledged, the health plan should be contracted and the claim resubmitted. If the health plan states that they never received a claim, you will be able to provide documentation of the original file date and require that they pay within the guidelines that were stated in the contract. 

• Identify penalties. List what penalties are to be addressed when the health plan does not pay according to prompt-payment guidelines. State that participating provider discounts be waived and the health plan will be liable for 100% of billed charges plus interest. If not attainable, the health plan should be obligated for payment of the claim plus pre-set interest. 

• Protect your payment. Your contract should specify that all payments made are considered final unless the provider receives a written request within a specified period of time after receipt of payment. 
• Perform regular reviews. Always be sure to review your contracts regularly as most contracts have an automatic annual renewal. Check with your state regarding prompt-payment laws and request appropriate addendums to your contract before renewing.

Now What?

Providers are becoming better educated in the reimbursement process and state legislation. That’s why it’s crucial that you work with your third-party payers to help negotiate fair and equitable contracts. The Midland Group specializes in Third-Party Billing for Healthcare. As a third-party billing specialist, The Midland Group will submit, process, and collect all third-party liability claims necessary to collect as much revenue as possible for the hospital and to reduce the patient’s personal financial burden. Our trained medical billing professionals can help you optimize your billing system to increase revenue and improve the patient experience. Book your free assessment today to see how you can maximize all potential revenue surrounding all types of liability claims.​

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