Practice Management Alert

Question: I have mounds of claims to follow up on. How should I go about deciding which ones to tackle first, and which ones can wait?

South Carolina Subscriber

Answer: "It's hard to prioritize follow-up activities, because when it comes down to it, you want to be paid for everything," responds Lucia Yang with Windsong Radiology Group in Williamsville, NY. Therefore, your best bet is to keep from having to make decisions about which claims take priority to begin with, she says.
 
To stay on top of the follow-up game, go ahead and send provider inquiries immediately upon receiving a denial, Yang suggests. "If you put them aside and do them only once a week, or once every other week, you may have forgotten what the problem is, and need to go back and take the time to review the accounts," she points out.
 
Once an appeal reaches the 30-day point and you've still heard nothing, follow up on it, Yang suggests. Send the carrier a copy of the original appeal as your second request. If you don't hear anything from that, let the carrier know that if it fails to respond, you'll file a formal complaint, she offers.
 When your mail comes, immediately open anything in response to inquiries on denied claims, Yang counsels. "The best way to keep on top of things is to respond as quickly as possible to the insurance carrier," she reports. And time is of the essence in medical billing, because if you drag your heels, you could wind up outside the timely filing limits and then you're out of luck.