Med billing from home
Posted By: Angela on 2005-09-08
In Reply to:
Does anyone know of any medical billing companies that hire (work from home) billers?
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MT vs Coding/billing At Home?
I am trying to decide between medical transcription and billing/coding. I am a SAHM and cannot work outside the house, I have small children at home and they won't be in school for another several years. So I must have an at home job. I haven't taken any courses yet, so I am trying to decide which road would be best. I know with MT that MTec and Andrews are really good schools and you can work from home after their program. Not sure of good schools for billing or coding, maybe Career Institute (I think that is the name). Are there other good schools?? Can you find an at home job with either job route?? Any help would be wonderful!! Thanks!
What are the best at home medical billing courses out there?
Have a friend who is interested in training to become a medical biller/coder from home and I really have no idea where to tell her to start. Can anyone help?
Tell your friend she is not likely to get medical billing job from home
I would venture to say 99.9% of medical offices use a computer system for their billing which has HCFA formatting and electronic submission built right in. It is pretty easy to do coding in the office setting too. In good conscience, could not recommend investing money in training for either field...
billing
Most hospitals pay vendors monthly as it comes from different account than their payroll. You can spell out every 2 weeks in your contract, but don't be surprised if they change it. Same with late fees -- many hospitals won't allow for them. In my contracts I have it as payment is due within 10 calendar days of invoice date. (be careful using just 'days' versus calendar days -- can really stretch it out with weekends and holidays if you don't). Be prepared for occasional late payments as your invoice often goes through MANY hands before payment is made. Your actual client usually has nothing to do with accounts payable department. For the most part, unless you are lucky enough to have an actual person to contact in accounting, they really don't care how big/small you are or what your cashflow problems are -- you're just another vendor. Usually once you are in their system, things go pretty smoothly.
IC billing....sm
When I turn my bill in I now have to list each and every patient, whether it was a chart note, the number of lines and the amount charged. Let me tell you that is one long list. Does anyone else have to do that? This was just started in an office I have worked for for ten years! Thx for any input.
IC billing
I have to do that on a ledger but now what I do is keep the spreadsheet open on my computer and as soon as I finish typing the report, I enter the info. Isn't that bad. The office wants to do a cross check on the patients to be sure the doc dictated that particular patient and if not, they can tell the doc.
IC Billing
I use Abacus. I make a folder on my C-drive for each doc and when finished with the report, I save it to that particular folder. At billing time, I simply click on C-drive then "invoice" and all that info prints up. I have a template with all my particulars like my name, SS#, etc., copy and paste the info in my template and there you go. It literally takes me a couple of minutes to pull an invoice at billing time.
chiropractors and billing
I used to go to a well known chiropractor and my visits were only 40.00 because I did not have insurance and paid out of pocket. My doctor told me that if after 6 visits to a chiropractor you are not a lot better than don't go, waste of time and money. I had to stop going as I could not afford it. If she is the office person, then I would nicely call her and ask her how many visits he has been to their office for, because you got a bill and want to make sure it is correct, as you are paying out of pocket. Maybe if you don't accuse her of anything, she won't take it so personal. Good luck, you are in a very tough situation. Sometimes chiropractors do help a lot, especially neck, back and sports injuries.
Well, if that's how she's billing the client SM
then that's how you should be billing her (just characters and spaces). I'm sorry you're going to be losing money. I'd be unhappy too. Maybe you can work on your shortcuts/macros more so that you are typing less for the same amount. No real words of wisdom for you...sorry.
Billing/payment
On my larger accounts I close out on the 25th to 28th, since I keep daily line counts in an Excel program, I print that out, do my bill in Quick Books, get the bill to clients by 28th to 29th, I give a 1% discount on my larger accounts if they pay within 48 hours and they do so I have my checks always by the 1st. I have two smaller accounts that I bill on the 15th so I have cash flow throughout the month. I have never been stiffed, they have never been late, they never question my line counts and always write thank you on the invoice. This works for me. I know everyone says don't give away 1% as a discount but it works for me so I do it.
re billing - am I being a total *ash*?
I have plenty of clients, no shortage of work. Recently I started picking up some extra legal transcription from a company who is swamped & always begging for help. It's not something I've had much opportunity to do and it's fun to do something different. But they're totally out of the technological loop. I bill all my clients by an Excel spreadsheet attached to an email, and I have a master spreadsheet set up that keeps track of all my invoices for me. They are the only ones who can't open it. I know they can because someone who used to work there could, but now they have a new person and no one there can open it. Of course they can probably right click and "open with" some kind of viewer, but why is it my problem to teach them that? (here's where the "am I being a total a$$ question comes in!) I'm tired of their clueless clerk emailing me five times every time I send her an invoice asking me to resend it and having to respond "If you can't open it, it's not going to help to resend it." Sure I can mail it, but why should I when I have plenty of other clients? Do you think I'd be an a$$ for unceremoniously dumping them? would you do it in a quieter way and leave the door open for further work?
They are so technologically out of the loop, it's not even funny. I asked them for an electronic copy of one of their style guides for easy searching, and they said they don't do that and they "don't keep" things. They just have one hard copy they are xeroxing over and over. I knew it was somewhere, it had obviously been typed it on a computer. It's a .pdf file on the web! Someone had downloaded it directly from the court's web site. They are supposed to provide me with the names of judges and attorneys on the tapes but they don't and I have to struggle to hear names and spell them phonetically or designate unidentified voices somehow so I can tell them apart and then go back and globally replace them when I hear the name or I'm sure of the spelling. This adds countless time to transcribing their cases AND THEY HAVE THAT INFORMATION. I've asked them for lists or links for judge's/attorney names so I can at least search when they don't give them to me. No dice. I have since found good links on the web, of course.
I'm worried about getting in deeper with them, I'm not overly familiar with legal work and I'm just going to keep coming up against their not being able to provide me with the tools I need. Every time I have to find something for myself it's costing me money, obviously, being paid on production. They annoy me and I seem to have a very low threshold for that. But it's valuable experience and they are desperate, the owner won't be happy. But she's as clueless as her staff.
billing and coding
Does anyone know how much money is to be made with billing and coding?
Med. coding and billing
Hi, I am currently a transcriber. (leaving the field because as you all know this field is getting too ridiculous). I am planning to attend a billing and coding school locally. I was wondering if the hours vary for coding/billing or are the working hours typical 9-5 or 8-4, etc. TIA
WHAT is "verifiable billing" ... (sm)
... and what are "ambiguous line counts" (mentioned by someone who has a web site related to verifiable billing which I cannot for the life of me figure out).
I charge X amount for a 65-character line. I take characters w/spaces, divide by 65 and voila, there's my line count. How much more "verifiable" can that get?
Can someone explain to me what this means in case the person who mentions this doesn't ever reply to my question?
Question about IC billing
Hi, I am new to the IC area of MT, having always worked for services before now. I have a friend who wants me to type letters for her practice. Is it usual to charge for the address and reference lines along with the body of the letter? Makes quite a big difference in the line count. Thanks!
billing vs coding sm
I'm posting here because hardly anyone visits the billers & coders board. Could someone tell me the difference between medical billing and medical coding? I have the impression that the biller just inputs data already coded, etc. for insurance and the coder actually assigns the codes thus needs more indepth knowledge. Would being a medical biller help in becoming a medical coder? Has anyone done either or both? What is the pay range for each? Thanks. 
Any advice on switching to med billing from being an MT?
I just can't seem to make any money working at home with the kids talking to me constantly with transcipriton so I am thinking about switching to something I don't have to listen to. Maybe medical billing. Any advice anyone?
Thanks
MTs switched to billing/coding?
Curious whether there are any MTs out there, or anyone who knows info, on going into billing and coding...
I'm considering training for that in my spare time now, so that I have the opportunity later, if I decide to pursue that. Are there a fair amount of work-at-home positions in billing and coding? After my newbie days, I've never had trouble finding MT work with good companies, so I wondered if billing was as widespread, at home. I haven't found nearly as much info out there on at-home billing, other than get-rich-quick scheming. Anyone know if the pay is on a similar scale? Opportunity for PT and FT, like MT? Similarities and differences (not on the actual job, but work issues like benefits, flexibility, etc.)
Thanks for any help!
There's medical coding and billing.
nn
I didn't find anything about billing, just
header info, when job was dictated and when it was transcribed, who typed it, stuff like that, but nothing about billing or discrepancy in line counts....
I used to do billing for ophthamologist about 10 years ago though; sm
we charged $1800 per eye with a $500 facility fee. That included anesthesiologist fees, outpatient procedure, free standing surgical center in tx. You can always deal a bargain when paying cash up front so call and ask them their cash discount up front fee. everyone has one.
Billing questions for MTSOs..SM
I've had this account for about four months now. They are very slow payers. I originally was going to bill them once a month, but then decided to do bi-monthly. I still haven't gotten payment from the 11/30 invoice, so I inqured today and the office manager said they are changing their billing process and I need to submit a monthly invoice. I also wonder how long she would have went without paying the 11/30 invoice if I hadn't of called.
I figured they want a monthly invoice to make things a little easier on their end like they want to pay all their bills once a month. I called her to verify what day she would like to be billed on/by and she said it doesn't matter. I just need to put a due date on the bill, as she is making a folder with all their bills and paying the bills by their due dates. I told her my bill is due upon receipt and she said that is fine just put the due date as the next day, which makes no sense to me because they have never paid sooner than three weeks.
Does this make sense? It sounds to me like maybe the office is having money troubles and didn't want to pay my last invoice. I remember an MTSO here saying that she gives her clients a percentage break if they pay within so many days. Does this work? All I want is my money and fast. I have bills to pay too.
I appreciate any ideas or thoughts regarding this subject. Thanks!
PS - I personally know the MT who had this account before me and they never paid late. She always received the check within a couple days after receipt of her bill. I just don't get it.
letter billing, plse sm
I was wondering how some of you bill for letters and envelopes. I charge by the gross line for chart notes but wanted some ideas about letters. They are relatively short letters on the whole, like a paragraph or so. Do you charge gross line, charge for the blank lines, do a flat fee, charge for envelopes? Thanks for any input.
Why would billing/coding not be offshored?
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Transcription versus Billing
Before doing MT at home, I worked in an office for over 10 years, many doing fulll-time billing.
The office job I had certainly paid more (and it was guaranteed despite productivity).
I am now employed at home dut to family situations.
I guess my answer would be that you have to determine what is most improtant to you. If it is flexibility you desire, go for MT. There are very few billing/coding jobs based at home.
Should you choose to pursue billing, immediately get certified. Many places are now laying off employees who are not certified, depsite years of experienc.
I have done both. If you have any questions, feel free to email. I will let you know what books etc required and the CPC sites.
Many have helped and encouraged me on this site. I would be happy to return the favor.
Billing once a month is not a biggie BUT
do it on a Net 10 or Net 15. Never a Net 30. You could end up doing 2 months work for free eventually. No account is worth that.
medical billing or coding newbie
alliedschools.com
Has anyone tried either their medical billing or coding training courses??
Did you like it, would you recommend it?? I'm tired of working at a restaurant and would like to learn a career but I just want make sure that I am learning from a school that will actually lead me somewhere(specially that it cost 1600 dollars)
So please let me know what you think about them and if there is other schools that you will recomment over them!
Thanks
Maybe they should have thought about that before their billing problems surfaced. Do you think that
helped their business sis.
Bytes versus characters? Does anyone do their billing this way? sm
If billing by bytes do you divide this by say 65 (standard line), same as for characters? Thanks so much.
I was on balanced billing once and found out I was paying a lot more that way! nm
x
billing on clinical psych narratives
I am an IC and am being asked to give a quote on transcribing some narrative/office notes, etc for a clinical psychologists office. In detail, it is a 1" margin around the page and there are headings on a template that you fill in either one word phrases or paragraphs. It did not look that difficult. I would have to pick up tapes, e-mail reports back on a daily basis an so I believe that gas and time doing so needs to be counted in. I am needing some advice on how to propose either by the line (gross or otherwise) or page (either full or half etc). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Besides, most coding is billing work. Any better possibilities? NM
nm
Considering past billing problems, why cheat anyone out of even 2 cents? nm
;
Does anyone know of a website, like this one, that deals with Medical Coding/Billing..sm
My husband is curious and wanting to get into Medical Billing/Coding and work from home like I do with transcription. Does anyone know of a website, like this one, that offers so many jobs from home and information regarding coding and/or billing? Thanks. Also, if anyone has input on this please let us know. Would love to find out which course is the best, etc....thanks!
needing info on billing/invoice programs
Can anyone give me a good program to invest in that would allow me to keep a line count and also provide invoices? Also, is there a recommended HIPAA approved transferring site to transfer files through the net? Thanks a bunch!
I will quit also...I'm hoping to get into doing something else, such as medical billing/.coding
n
I do MTing, as well as billing. Although I have worked for the same doctors for years, I subcontrac
for $18 an hour. I'm looking to stop though and stick with transcription. If you think the medical transcription world is not so great these days, then try billing. I'm so sick of dealing with PPO networks, HMOs, Medicare, Medicaid and all the crap, rules and regulations that come with it. It gives me migraines and my job is never done. At least with transcription, you do your reports, upload them and it's over. With billing, I am constantly fighting with insurance companies who want to rip you off at every turn. When I finally get sick of all MT-ing, then my next money is a travel agent. Something fun!!!!
My kids have suffered greatly from me working at home with them home. SM
I have been working at home as an MT since my two kids were born. They are now 4 and 5. In the first few years, I had no help whatsoever. Their father was a bum who didnt work or take care of them while I worked. Your children get neglected while you work basically. And babies and young children desperately need your attention while they are home with you.
My kids have so many behavioral problems right now because of their neglect. I would try to set them up with things to occupy themselves, like coloring or a movie, etc.
I finally put them in day care and things have improved, but there are still a lot of issues because of the damage that was done. They still try to seek attention by doing bad things and they dont listen to me because they are so used to me letting them get away with a lot of stuff because I was too busy typing to discipline them in their early years.
If I could do it all over again, I would definitely have put them into day care from the very beginning.
My advice would be to seek PT care for your baby. Maybe you can do some work around her schedule a little when she is home, like when she takes a nap, and then bang out a bunch of work while she is in day care.
I enjoy being alone at home, but I've got one home sick from school already.
One on one with a kid is nice, too.
This summer has been absolutely crazy. I haven't had a moment to myself for three months because all of my kids were home traipsing their friends through the house and yard. My husband switched his work schedule, too, so he's around more than usual. However, I like not having to do two loads of dishes and four loads of laundry a day. There are no toys or clutter dragged out everywhere. I can clean the house first thing in the morning, and it stays clean until everyone gets home at night.
I even got to relax with a cup of coffee and watch TV for half an hour this morning, something I liked for a change instead of cartoons or kids' movies. I signed up for an online class that I've been wanting to take. I can exercise without being interrupted. Yesterday, I went to the mall and spent all my saved up gift cards. I got some clothes, books, bath stuff, and a new coffee mug. My work gets done a lot faster, too. Call me nuts, but I've never had the luxury of being alone in the house for 14 years. It's kinda nice. I love my family with all my heart, but I love having a few hours to myself each week, too.
Except now the cat and dogs have been acting weird since the kids went back to school. They must think that I need someone or something to clean up after and correct behavior on. They're getting into everything and racing around the house behind me.
my take is that she worked inhouse, not at home, and now wants to find out how to work at home. nm
x
Forget "per line." Your take-home pay should be taking home SM
roughly what it was before. If it is not, is it because your current pay rate for editing (which in many companies keeps changing as the VR system is developed) is too low or is it because your talents and skills are more for speed typing than speed editing?
If the first, discuss it with higherups, and go get a new job if you don't get the response you need. My last MTSO was secretly refiguring how production was counted to pay us less. I can accept hard reality, it was the secrecy that burned. Sometimes, though, it's just that the learning curves of individual editors and that of the system aren't in sync, and you end up temporarily making less.
If the second, though, recognize it as soon as possible and change to straight transcription work, in your company or a new one, for as long as you can find it.
As for why we aren't paid more for a higher skill, that's just the way the labor supply ball bounces. Best wishes.
Oddly enough, if I don't use my bank card as a credit card in the billing cycle, I get charged fo
x
I think she means she has wireless TO her home, not IN her home..nm
x
hospital at-home -vs- national at home
I have an interview today with a hospital...work in-house for 3 months, then go home, paid on production. I don't know as of yet what they pay production, so my question is to anyone who works for a hospital at home AND has also worked for a national at home...
Which would be the best to choose? The hospital offers great benefits, but the national I work for now also has benefits, not as good as the hospital, though. Any input would be most appreciated!
Ditto for me. Have done both outside the home and in the home. We all have
bad days, but I sure would not want to trade working at home for anything. Just being here for my kids is worth every bad day!
Does anyone use VR at home? nm
---
yes, I use VR at home
nm
At home may be possible
My husband has sleep apnea (although, since he lost some weight, he no longer has it). Depending on where you live, you may be able to be tested at home. We live in a populated area, and my husband was tested at home. A technician came to our home, showed him how to hook up the wires, and then picked up the machine the next day. He did, indeed, show sleep apnea (interrupted breathing spells many times a night), and was prescribed a sleep apnea machine. The machine is not a big deal, except maybe getting tangled up in the cords. Good luck!!
I have XP Home.
It is Works 2005 that came with my new Dell computer. I had Word that came with another version of Works that I had on older computer with XP. I don't think Word came with the first version of Works that I bought for an even older computer. I bought it separate for a Windows 98 OS, so maybe Works programs are different.
Help! I'm new with the home job!
I quit my job at a local hospital approximately 2 months ago to help care for some ill family members. I took a job with a home company and started out by having nothing but technical problems for the first few weeks, so I was unable to make any money. Once the technical difficulties were fixed, then there wasn't enough work! I finally gave up and quit the company after two full months and am getting ready to start another company in a few weeks. At my hospital job, I was making close to $15 an hour and unfortunately it doesn't seem like I can make even close to that with any home company unless I have been doing for 30 years! Any suggestions from anyone out there on what to do? I am still working "oncall" at my hospital position and can work as much as I want out of my home and be paid HOURLY rather than by the line, but this won't last long. How can I be compensated well and still have the flexibility of working out of my home?
MT from home
I understand how you feel, however if you were in my shoes and wanted to get back in the business, but this time from home, some info would help. I'm still keeping my other job, however I really enjoyed transcribing when I did it long ago and would like to be home a little more. Please, if you can refer me to anyone that can guide me to begin this venture, I'd appreciate it.
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