We have found that the goodwill of those we serve and partner with  is the foundation of our success. It’s a real pleasure at this holiday time to say “Thank You” as we wish you a full year of happiness and prosperity!

As 2010 comes to an end we find ourselves reflecting on the past year and on those who have helped to shape our business in a most significant way. We value our relationship with you and look forward to working with you and making even more amazing things happen in the year to come.

We like to leave you with a positive thought as we fight on in 2011!

“Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!”

Warmest regards,

Bill & Susan Baylis and the MAS Team!

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1. Make sure to collect a patient’s copay prior to their visit–this may seem obvious or perhaps “no big deal”, however, some insurer’s payment is the copay alone and no further reimbursement will be made. Failure to secure this cash upfront could mean that you will not see another dime for this visit.
2. Check to make sure a patient is truly eligible with their insurer. Some patients may not even be aware that their coverage has been canceled, others may try to be seen without insurance. It is too late to collect payment once the patient is out of the office.
3. Check to see if an authorization is necessary for this patient’s visit. Insurers are routinely making policy changes that you may not have realized; all it takes is a quick phone call to be certain.
4. Get a copy of the patient’s insurance card, front and back. This is your insurance to make sure there weren’t any keystroke errors during intake, or, to be certain that there isn’t a different phone number for a patient’s particular policy.
5. Check prior visits to be certain there are no outstanding balances due. Perhaps the patient owes coinsurance or a deductible has been applied to your visit. A patient is more likely to pay their bill when they are standing in front of you, as opposed to when they receive a bill in the mail.

You might think that these steps are all obvious, however, I assure you they are not. Furthermore, one may not realize these are necessary steps, unless you are familiar with the billing process. Your front-end staff is not only there as a smiling face to greet patients, they should also be looked upon as a conduit between the patient and the biller. If steps taken during intake are done haphazardly, your bottomline will be affected. Share these with all members of your staff, so that you can feel confident that you are maximizing your collections.

It’s also important for you to keep an eye on unpaid claims and make sure that your medical billing is as profitable as it should be. If you’re not sure where to start, I suggest using the MAS Profitability Calculator to make sure your office isn’t losing money. Just sign up for the your complimentary copy of the MAS Profitability Calculator from the home page of the MAS site now*.

*We respect your privacy and will NEVER rent or sell your personal information… Ever!

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The provisions now effective are:

• Expansion of the dependent age up to 26 years. Until now, dependents were no longer covered by their parents’ or guardians’ insurance after 19 years of age, or if in college, after 23 years.

• No annual or lifetime dollar limits to amount of money spent on health services.

• No denying coverage to children under 19 years of age for preexisting conditions.

• Coverage for all preventative services with no co-pays.

This is according to Kelly McGivern, president and chief executive officer of the Ohio Association of Health Plans, who also said the new rules are expected to increase costs of insurance premiums 5 percent

Are you confused? “I have been in healthcare for 25 years and I am just not sure what it all means.”  But I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and working through it.

See our popular blog: (first posted August 8, 2010) below as a reminder of what we might be on for.

When it comes to wading the waters of the “New Health Care System“, to quote Chief  Brody from the movies JAWS “You’re gonna need a bigger boat!”

Check out Congressman Brady’s New Health Care Chart below. If there was ever a time to hire a Medical Billing company like Medical Account Solutions, it’s right about now!

I’m sure you’ll agree that when you’re face to face with a big shark,  it’s no time to go ” Rogue”. Don’t try to do it alone. MAS stands ready to help you navigate your way to firm footing in these uncertain waters.

Let MAS handle the details so your health care organization can stay afloat, because if you don’t move quickly,  this “shark” will swallow you whole.

Congressman Brady Introduces “Your New Health Care System” Chart

July, 28, 2010 — nicedeb

“

A little sunshine goes a long way”.

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60 minutes ran a story Sunday night Aug. 6, 2010 (originally published on Nov. 22, 2009). The Cost of Dying: End-of-Life Care .  It started with the statement “Every medical study ever conducted has concluded that 100 percent of all Americans will eventually die.  This comes as no great surprise, but the amount of money being spent at the very end of people’s lives probably will.” They also reported, that last year, Medicare paid $55 billion just for doctor and hospital bills during the last two months of patients’ lives. That’s more than the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, or the Department of Education.

This piece created a lot of emotions for me.  I don’t think it was an accident that I related to this story, considering that I have been working with colleagues who are experts in the field of eldercare and life coaching.

When I first decided to add this story to my blog;  it seemed like an easy angle to write about our role in the debate as medical billers.  (If you have any thoughts on what role we play, please comment.) After reporter Steve Kroft asked Dr. Elliott Fisher, a researcher at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy “How do so many people end up in the hospital?” and Fisher replied “It’s the path of least resistance”.  I realized I was about to take the same path with this blog–so here goes the harder way.

Perhaps we as a country need to take a step back and as hard as this is to say “decide how we want to die”.

Most Americans don’t like to focus on morbid thing like this, but I have to agree with the point of view held by Dr. Byock who leads a team that treats and counsels patients with advanced illnesses: “This is a hard time in human life. But it’s just a part of life. Collectively, as a culture, we really have to acknowledge that we’re mortal,” Dr. Byock said. “Get over it. And start looking at what a healthy, morally robust way for people to die looks like.”

Dale Carnegie once said “Prepare for the worst that can possibly happen” then “calmly try to improve upon the worst.”

I think that we should put some thought today into how we what to die, to maintain some control of our last days. I have  deeper understanding of how working with my end-of-life colleagues could help us live a better life. Attorney Craig Andreoli an estate planning expert, Stephanie Ethe long term insurance specialist and Jean Summit-Riker life coach can help us plan and ask ourselves the hard questions now so that we’re better prepared for death.

Jean Summit-Riker said “Life is a journey we all travel, but the choice to take the path to peace and happiness is yours alone.”  I think this is our chance to collectively leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren and show them that it is important to prepare for death and that is possible to do it gracefully.

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The post highlights a study by a team from Massachusetts General Hospital and its physician’s organization. They examined the time and costs associated with the third-party billing system used in the U.S and calculated that they could save billions by just  streamlining  typical administrative inefficiencies.

The analysis, published in Health Affairs and funded by the Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, looked at a large, multi-specialty group of doctors that uses the typical fee-for-service model. They looked at what might reduce some of the administrative burden – specifically, the time spent by physicians and office staff doing paperwork and going back and forth with payers.

“Achieving these savings would not require restructuring the basic market-system tenets of our complex health care system through, for example, mandating a single-payer approach,” the researchers write.

Medical billing companies like MAS have been on the front line of streamlining costs since the 1970’s and is a major reason why our industry has taken off since. Over the years. many doctor groups and hospital have taken advantage of our expertise to increase cash flow, including niche billing skills delivered by MAS,  such as Workers’ Compensation and No-Fault or Ambulance / Emergency Transport Billing.

Another trend that MAS has seen is for clients to use our billing company on a project basis, as with our Third-Party Follow-Up and Trial Balance Cash Improvement programs.  Our team literally becomes an extension of the client’s back office, benefiting them by keeping their office focused on the day to day’s most pressing needs.

What also works well is a contingency billing scale in which healthcare organizations take advantage of a sliding pay schedule that adjusts with need and patient volume. This becomes a win-win when hospital and physician organizations protect bottom line costs while still having a trained staff  available when they need them the most.

There is no doubt the battle in streamlining costs in healthcare is a challenging one. When I read a report like this one I get energized and it reminds me that success can be ours!  By working together and relying on the various industry segments to do their part,  MAS believes that our healthcare industry can save billions. The model is there for us to follow. We look forward to doing our part to streamlining costs– one doctor office, one clinic, one doctor group and one hospital at a time.

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Nothing is perfect, but if you were to talk to a friend or family member overseas about their universal healthcare system, you realize that we have what people in other countries wish they had!

Of the various clients I have been blessed to have throughout the years, I particularly enjoy doing work for large, inner-city hospitals.   Often times, these clients have a large mental health, obstetrical and renal failure population, among others.  When I see this type of billing, I think of the lives behind it–the mentally ill patients who are able to lead a better life due to the help they receive, the babies who are born healthy because of pre-natal care and the dialysis patients who are buying more time with their families until a kidney becomes available.

Their lives literally depend upon the fiscal stability of their community hospital!  I feel a sense of accomplishment when I get their claims paid because I know that I am helping to keep these hospitals fiscally sound so they can be there for those patients who need them the most!

Recently, we witnessed the closing of a fine institution who served New York City for so many years, that they treated survivors of the Titanic!!  St. Vincent’s Hospital was a beloved fixture in the lower Manhattan community that serviced families from the cradle to the grave.  Its closing left a hole in the healthcare system of New York City that cannot be fixed.  It makes me terribly sad to think there have patients who have suffered, and perhaps even lost their lives, due to the shutdown of this hospital.  Would things have been different if they had properly utilized all available resources?

Numbers don’t lie.  According to a 2006 Newsweek article, there are approximately $60 billion in unpaid medical bills per year! Our work, of supplementing an over-burdened hospital staff, helps to keep hospitals functioning in our communities so they can continue to serve the patients who walk through their doors everyday!

I have watched the struggles of New York’s inner-city hospitals now for many years and have grown increasingly frustrated as they resist outsourcing their medical billing to an agency, such as MAS.  Surely they can do it themselves, why do they need to pay an outside company to do what their internal staff can?  Perhaps because, according to the CDC, in 2006 there were 119.2 million emergency department visits alone.

Yes, we want to be leaders in the medical billing industry but my company and I focus on the bigger picture. We know that our efforts and collections help to secure and  maintain our cutting-edge American healthcare system.  With this in mind, I believe our contributions at MAS could just be a “higher calling”!

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