Medical Billing professionals at The Firm Services The FIRM provides professional claims billing services for individual providers, clinics and facilities. We service all disciplines of practice, i.e., medical, dental, diagnostic testing, chiropractic, physical therapy, optometry/ophthalmology, mental health, chemical dependency, and durable medical equipment. We offer specialty services such as consultation, collections and appeals, contracting and credentialing, verification and preauthorization and personal injury settlement negotiating. We offer form development and revision services, office reorganization and personnel training. Outsourcing your billing is advantageous and cost effective, consider the following key points: Minimal set up fee Cost of forms, paper, envelopes, postage, and ink for paper claims Cost and hassle for electronic claims submission Personnel costs to perform billing and fight denials Delays in billing and reimbursements: illness, vacation, unexpected absences, and termination of in-house staff Cost of ongoing training and education for billing personnel (claim and procedure changes), changes in codes, deletion of codes and other billing issues Unlimited, free support to answer questions and guide you The FIRM gives your billing undivided attention. The number one complaint from providers regardless of specialty concerning in house billing, is the billing persons’ constant interruptions, i.e., telephone, chart retrieval, assistance with patients, running off-site errands, filing, copying, faxing, etc. Practice analysis reports provided monthly, additional reports available upon request Remote access to your practices Credentialing Services:  Credentialing for all carriers including all necessary follow up and tracking to completion of process.FIRM CREDENTIALING Medical-Billing-Compliance-Checklist Professional and affordable credentialing to allow you to focus on patient care Reduce your billing issues due to improper credentialing. Changes in your practice or business status effect your reimbursement. The FIRM can identify problem areas and know how to properly execute those changes [...]

Congress Is Poised To Change Medicare Payment Policy. What Does That Mean For Patients And Doctors? Topics: Politics, Medicare, Delivery of Care, Health Costs By Mary Agnes Carey KHN Staff Writer Jan 16, 2014   After years of legislative wrangling and last-minute patches, expectations are high among physician groups, lawmakers and Medicare beneficiaries that Congress could act this year to permanently replace the current Medicare physician payment formula. While committees in both chambers have approved their own "doc fix" proposals, the approaches have yet to be reconciled, and none have identified how they would pay for a repeal. Below are some frequently asked questions and answers about the formula – known as the "sustainable growth rate" – and how Congress may change it. Q: What is the sustainable growth rate? A: Known as the SGR, the formula was created as part of a 1997 deficit reduction law designed to rein in federal health  by linking physician payment to an economic growth target. For the first few years after it was created, Medicare expenditures did not exceed the target and doctors received modest pay increases. But in 2002, doctors reacted with fury when they came in for a 4.8 percent pay cut. Every year since Congress has staved off the scheduled cuts. But each deferral just increased the size – and price tag – of the fix needed the next time. Q: What is Congress doing to scrap the SGR and what would they replace it with? A: Two committees in the House – the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means panels – and the Senate Finance Committee have passed bills that would repeal the SGR and replace it with a system of rewarding physicians based [...]

Docs, Hospitals Cope With 'Trickle' Of Newly Insured Patients -- But Questions Continue About The Actual Number   Jan 16, 2014 As the Wall Street Journal reports that one of the biggest issues right now is making sure these newly insured people have insurance cards, other news outlets detail reports and questions about the number of enrollees. The Wall Street Journal: Two Weeks Into Health Law’s Rollout, Few Problems, Few Patients Two weeks into the full rollout of the Affordable Care Act, hospitals and doctors say they are coping with the trickle of new patients relatively smoothly, but one of the biggest issues is making sure enrollees get insurance cards. The 2010 health law represented the biggest expansion of insurance coverage in a generation. Nonetheless, the number of people signing up so far for private coverage or Medicaid under the law is still a tiny fraction of all Americans with health insurance, partly because computer snafus hindered early enrollment (Corbett Dooren and Beck, 1/16). The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker: Warning: Ignore Claims That 3.9 Million People Signed Up For Medicaid Because Of Obamacare There is much less to the Medicaid figure than meets the eye. (The exchange figure has been updated recently, to 2.2 million, but not the Medicaid figure.) Indeed, there has been vast confusion about what this figure means, especially in the news media. The Fact Checker cited the 3.9 million figure in a few recent columns, but prodded by an interesting analysis by Sean Trende at Real Clear Politics, we decided to take a closer look (Kessler, 1/16). Kaiser Health News: Capsules: State Snapshots Of Obamacare Enrollment Numbers Enrollment in the health law’s marketplaces surged in December, and the administration’s report on the [...]

Key Features of the Affordable Care Act You will soon have access to health coverage, even if you have a pre-existing condition. And premium tax credits and other financial assistance will help you pay for health insurance if you are eligible. Below are some things you should know about the Affordable Care Act. If you want to get more detailed information about the new health care law, read about each of the provisions. The Health Insurance Marketplace offers a new way to shop and enroll in a health plan. Preventive services will have no out-of-pocket costs. Essential health benefits will be included in most health insurance plans. You can keep your adult children on your health insurance plan up to the age of 26. You choose your doctor. Emergency access is guaranteed. Health coverage is easier to understand. You can appeal if coverage is denied.