The Secret to Never Missing Patient Payments and Insurance Collections
Maximize your Insurance Collections for Your Chiropractic Practice! Chiropractic insurance collections is a hot topic. Chiropractic Practices rely on separate reports and manual processes for follow up on patient payments and insurance claims. If you look at a report that lists hundreds of your outstanding insurance claims, how do you tell which claims need follow-up and more importantly, what information do they need from you to be corrected and resubmitted? Imagine never using a report to find out what an insurance claim is missing. Imagine a tool that tells you exactly what to do to correct the claim, and then resubmits it for you with a click of a button. Imagine the increased revenue for your Chiropractic Practice. Imagine the time savings that you can now spend with your patients. Well, imagine no more. The tool is called The Genesis Provider Workbench and you can learn about it in this 22 minute webinar.
Revenue | Getting Started with Billing Software
Prepare for Launch! Getting Started with Billing Software. Dr. Wilson and Luisa make final preparations to dive into their Genesis adventure together As Ben sipped his coffee and checked his email, Luisa peeked her head into the doorway and asked, “Are you ready, Dr. Wilson?” Ben smiled and said, “I’m not sure, but let’s go ahead anyway.” Luisa dialed the phone number for Charlie, their Genesis coach. After a couple of rings, Charlie picked up on the other end. “Good morning,” he said cheerfully. “So today’s the big day!” “Hello Charlie,” laughed Ben. “It sure is. And I think we’re finally ready.” “Then let’s get started – we’re going to talk about the features of Genesis that will be most useful for your practice and offer that final bit of reassurance that you’re doing the right thing,” Charlie said. “They don’t call me the King of Practice Success Coaching for nothing!” “OK Charlie, we’re ready,” said Ben. “Let’s go through this one last time.” “Let’s start with the ‘why’ of the Billing Stats Report, and relate it to some of the challenges you may be experiencing in your practice,” Charlie said. “You’re doing pretty well financially but have you ever experienced any sudden drop-offs in revenue that you couldn’t easily explain?” Luisa and Ben looked at each other and could remember several occasions when that was the case. Just a few months ago they had seen a significant and disturbing reduction in revenue and it had taken weeks of going through billing records, manually, to learn that Pam had been writing the wrong billing code on a number of Ben’s patient files. Every single one of those claims was delayed or denied outright. They were still trying to get some of the accounts sorted out. “Yes, we’ve found it very difficult to troubleshoot issues with reimbursements,” admitted Luisa. “And it’s not always the insurance companies’ fault – getting even one number wrong in the coding or forgetting to include important documentation can really impact our success in collecting what we’re owed.” “Exactly, it’s about achieving billing compliance AND payer compliance,” Charlie said. “But it’s important to recognize that the insurance companies are not going to give you a step-by-step reporting on the progress of your claims – it’s better for them if you’re not able to stay on top of the process.” “I’m sure I’ve mentioned to you before that the chance of getting paid on a claim decreases by 1 percent with each passing day,” he continued. “That 1 percent adds up really quickly when you’re talking about an entire practice’s worth of patients and numerous claims.” Ben and Luisa both had to swallow hard at the thought of the tens of thousands of dollars they had lost due to reimbursement issues. “It really is amazing the detail you can get,” Charlie said. “The reports are customizable to your particular needs and will tell you where problems are – whether on your end or the insurance company. Perhaps there are two codes on a claim that don’t quite go together, or a clinician forgot to include some demographic information in the claim … or maybe an insurance company is consistently underpaying certain CPT codes, or pushing the boundaries of its accounts receivable window. You can’t fix problems until you know what they are!” “That’s true,” said Ben. “I definitely don’t envy Luisa – she’s been an incredible investigator when it comes to solving cash flow mysteries but the time she has needed to dedicate to these investigations has definitely taken crucial time away from other office management needs.” “If the roots of billing problems were easy to find, we’d be able to deal with them quickly and decisively,” said Luisa. “You know how I love to have a plan!” Ben nodded and smiled. “And it’s not just insurance companies,” Charlie said. “You can stay on top of private payers, as well, and make sure that your patients are on track with visits and billing.” “That would be really helpful,” said Luisa. “We’ve had several patients who were significantly behind and once we figured out where their accounts stood, it was a real financial hardship for them to try and catch up all at once.” “But it’s not all about reimbursements – what’s great about Genesis is that it provides you with a checklist for all of your performance indicators, such as unbilled visits, patient visits, no shows, unfinished claims, or any other success measures you’d like to track,” said Charlie. “Another great feature is the radar chart, which allows you to see certain areas within your practice where attention may be needed,” he continued. “You can set parameters, such as new patient numbers, so that you will know if you’re not meeting your goals. Once you’ve set the desired parameters for a number of performance indicators within your practice, then you won’t need to refer to the Billing Statistics Report – unless the radar indicates there is a problem with performance. Between the radar and the Billing Statistics Report, you are going to be firmly in control of your practice’s financial health and performance.” “This is incredible,” mused Ben. “Being able to focus on building this practice instead of worrying about when reimbursement checks are going to arrive? I really didn’t think it was possible.” “I know you’re still probably a little intimidated about getting started but let me offer this final testimonial: In the past three years, my clients have seen average revenue growth of over 186 percent, patient visit growth of over 141 percent, and an 86 percent increase in patient visit compliance,” Charlie said. “Your patients will have more buy-in with regard to their own health care, you will have less administrative work to slog through, you will collect more money and – best of all – you will be able to spend more time with your patients.” “Well, that’s what we’re all here for,” said Ben. “Let’s do this!” Is Genesis the solution Ben’s
Revenue | Automating Billing Reports
Where Should We Go Tonight? Can Dr. Ben make the commitment to automate his billing reports and take control of his office finances? Ben and Carmen were having a familiar conversation: what should we do about dinner? They had both returned home from busy days at work, both were a little frazzled and hungry and – as usual – the refrigerator was lacking in appetizing options. “I’ve heard that the new Indian buffet is very good,” said Carmen. “But it’s downtown and it’s almost 6:30, so there might be a bit of a wait.” Ben thought about that. “That sounds delicious and we should definitely get there at some point, but I’m too hungry for a long wait. Why don’t we just go grab some Chinese at our usual place – there’s never a wait there.” “You know, Ben, we’re never thrilled with our meals there and we’ve tried everything on the menu,” Carmen said. “There’s a pretty good reason why there’s never a wait there.” They looked at each other testily for a moment – hunger and a lack of accord might become a threat to their nice evening out. Just then Jonathan came running out of the living room and hugged Ben, happy to see his father. “Daddy, you’ve got to see my new art book – I drew all of the pictures myself!” “Of course, Jonathan, I’d love to see it,” Ben said. “Listen, Carmen, I’m going to look at Jonathan’s artwork and then we can go try that new restaurant downtown. It sounds like fun.” He went into the living room with Jonathan and sat down on the couch with him. He wondered why he was so irritable this evening as he turned the pages of the book. Ben’s thoughts kept returning to earlier in the week, when Luisa explained the difficulty she was having keeping track of the office finances. Too often they were surprised to learn that some patients had accounts that were past due. And between varying accounts receivable windows and some insurance companies that were dragging out the reimbursement process due to even minor errors in data entry, it was making confident budgeting impossible. Ben pondered how difficult it was for him to keep track of crucial patient information until he put a system in place. Between his voice recorder, written notes and meticulously organized files on his computer, he felt confident in his mastery of the most important details for each patient. But then he thought about how many areas of office management that Luisa was expected to stay abreast of: office supplies, scheduling, working with outside vendors, insurance reimbursements… her plate was truly full, even with Pam’s able assistance. And considering that third parties don’t always respond when and how you want them to, the level of complexity and the time it takes to handle each task can be multiplied exponentially. Carmen – who had a business degree and always seemed to be several steps ahead of Ben in understanding the ins and outs of finance – and he had talked about the program that could automate many of the functions of his office and Ben had been serious about actually following through and implementing it. But there always seemed to be a crisis to attend to… trying to collect from patients who owe balances beyond a certain date, trying to figure out where long-overdue insurance reimbursements were. Ben knew when he started his practice that it wouldn’t only be about attending to patients – he knew there would be crucial administrative work that would have to be handled by his staff. Luisa had certainly had shown she understood the benefits of having data to inform business decisions. But customization is key when reviewing large amounts of detailed data and it didn’t seem like Luisa was tapping the full potential of the system when it came to the billing reports. Ben knew that there were reports that could be broken down in a number of different ways and could be endlessly customized so that they could stay on top of potential problems. Well, maybe we should take some time to figure it out together, Ben thought. Without getting these reports done – and done right – we really have no idea how well our office is functioning. This sounds like something we should talk about on Monday. But first he wanted to enjoy a nice dinner with Carmen and Jonathan. He appreciated how Carmen listening to him talk about the various issues in his office, and she often responded with some great feedback. That business degree had served both of them well over the years. When Ben had finished looking at Jonathan’s artwork and congratulating him on being the next Rembrandt, he found Carmen in the hallway, ready to go – her purse in one hand and a small lunchbox in the other. “What’s in the lunchbox, Carmen?” Ben asked. “Well, since you’ve agreed to my pick of restaurants, I wanted to reciprocate by packing some snacks for the drive so you won’t be starving while we wait for a table,” Carmen said with a smile. “I’ve got some fruit, cheese and crackers, and your favorite – cashews.” Ben took Jonathan’s hand and smiled at Carmen, who never failed to make even the most hectic and frustrating day better. “We’d better get going,” he said. “Maybe we can be on the lookout for a new Chinese place on our way there.” Both were laughing on their way out the door. Can Dr. Ben make the commitment to automate his billing reports and take control of his office finances? Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.
Is the Infinite Banking System the Answer?
by Garrett B. Gunderson Some of the most frequent questions we get at Freedom FastTrack have to do with infinite banking. The financial strategy, which leverages the living benefits of cash value life insurance, was created by Nelson Nash and is detailed in his book Becoming Your Own Banker. Other popular books on the subject include Bank on Yourself by Pamela Yellen, The Banking Effect by Dan Thompson, Prescription for Wealth by Tom McFie, and Live Your Life Insurance by Kim Butler. I would characterize my attitude toward infinite banking as “cautiously positive.” I’ve personally interviewed Nelson Nash twice by flying him to Utah. I’ve ran hundreds of infinite banking calculations using financial software and consulting financial software developer Todd Langford. I’ve even used the concept in my own life. The problem with the strategy is that most people who do it or want to do it ignore the larger context of their full financial blueprint. It is frequently sold as a magic bullet. It tends to be a classic case of, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” The truth is that it’s just one strategy and technique surrounding one product. And as you frequently hear me preach, strategies are only as useful and profitable as the people executing them. Infinite banking is a one-trick pony that can be useful in certain circumstances for certain people, but it’s not for everyone and it doesn’t solve every financial problem. To echo another theme I stress, if you’re asking whether or not you should use the strategy, the obvious answer is that you shouldn’t because you’re not educated enough yet. When you know enough about the strategy, you’ll know whether or not it’s appropriate for you, and how to execute it to fit within your particular financial blueprint and meet your specific needs. So let me give a brief overview of the strategy, then I’ll reveal its blind spots and pitfalls and explain how to use it appropriately. What is Infinite Banking? In concept, the strategy is simple: You use your whole life insurance cash value essentially as a line of credit. Instead of paying banks interest when you finance cars or other purchases, you pay that money back into your policy and essentially to yourself. This is done by funding dividend-paying, equity-building permanent life insurance. Once your policy is funded enough to make a major purchase, you utilize your cash value, take out a policy loan to make the purchase, then make “payments”—with interest—back to your own life insurance policy. The cash value of permanent life insurance is referred to as a “living benefit,” because you can access it throughout your life. Whereas term life insurance provides a death benefit only, permanent life insurance offers living benefits, such as the cash value, tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals (under specific guidelines), liquidity, dividends (on certain policies), and liability protection (in most states). The strategy is smart, to be sure. Consider a five-year, $20,000 auto loan at 7 percent interest. On that loan your monthly payment would be $396.02. At the end of five years, you’ll have paid $3,761.44 in interest alone. Why not recapture that interest to build your own wealth, rather than padding bankers’ accounts? By the time you pay off the car, instead of just having a dramatically-depreciated asset, you’ll have the car, eventually you can build a way to have your $20,000 restored, and you can even have an additional $3,761 (not fully considering the interest that the insurance company may charge you on the borrowed money). So what could possibly be wrong with the strategy? Problem #1: Insurance Protection Comes First The trick to making infinite banking work as quickly and effectively as possible is typically getting a low amount of insurance coverage (face value, or death benefit), then max out your premiums (also known as over-funding the policy). Remember that the goal is to build up your cash value. The focus is on the living benefits, not the death benefit. But fully protecting your human life value with the proper death benefit amount should take precedence over any living benefit. Infinite banking makes the cash value the main benefit of permanent life insurance and overshadows the importance of the death benefit. Before you even consider infinite banking, you first need to maximize your insurance protection. That is the primary and most important purpose of life insurance. Living benefits are nice, and in most cases I highly recommend permanent life insurance with living benefits over term insurance. But they should be viewed in their proper context as supplemental benefits, not the primary benefit. In fact, before you even consider the type of insurance you should buy, you first need to understand how much death benefit to have. Your amount of life insurance to protect your economic value (replacement of income) is the primary consideration to drive all decisions regarding the type you purchase. This is why I don’t always advocate whole life insurance 100 percent of the time. I’ve seen too many cases where insurance salesmen sold permanent policies people couldn’t afford, and who then lost their policies because they couldn’t fund them. Just as it’s a problem to get too little insurance coverage, it’s also damaging to get too much whole life insurance. Focusing on death benefit first avoids problems like this. Some people may purchase convertible term insurance now to get the proper amount, then convert it to permanent insurance as their cash flow situation improves. (HINT: make sure your term insurance is convertible and with a company that has whole life insurance). This is another way to say that a person’s comprehensive financial blueprint should govern financial decisions, which leads me to my next point. Problem #2: Lack of Context Infinite banking, if right for you, should be just one piece of a much larger puzzle. It shouldn’t be the one thing you implement at the expense of other important things in your life. Your complete financial blueprint
