What are the steps and cost of starting your own medical billing and coding business from home?
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Wiki Work from home/owning your own business
- Thread starter mendez3477@yahoo.com
- Start date
Pam Warren
True Blue
1. Have at least 10 years' of multispecialty experience in both coding and billing, and a slate of potential customers willing to go with a new business, from a medical specialty that you feel comfortable with.
2. Know the MACs, payers and federal/state laws regarding the type of coding/billing you're going to do, because if you make a 'mistake', you and your clients will both be liable. And your client may sue you for damages incurred.
3. Have a business plan and consider forming an LLC
4. Know how to write and interpret business reports for your clients.
5, Make sure you understand what you are going to get paid for.. by the job, a % of AR, or something else
6. Make sure your contracts define very clearly what you will do (and won't do) for your clients.
7. Invest in top-notch billing and coding software, with sufficient firewalls, storage and imaging capacity to be HIPAA compliant, and does this include business software for receivables, refunds, patient payments, etc.?
8. Have a contingency plan if things go south--6 months' expenses in reserve is the standard.
9. Hire an accountant, an attorney, and make sure you have liability insurance (see #2)
10. Plan to work around the clock at first, and you need to be OK with marketing yourself and finding your own clients.
11. Figure out how you're going to maintain your CEUs (on your dime), keep up with the bi-weekly Medicare changes and implement coding, software and healthcare business changes each year.
12. How will you access other organization's EHRs? Or will you work from a charge sheet and not validate the codes? Big decision here.
Hope this helps. Personally.....I work from home for a large multi-hospital health system. I would never want to work for myself--I'm a pain in the butt.
2. Know the MACs, payers and federal/state laws regarding the type of coding/billing you're going to do, because if you make a 'mistake', you and your clients will both be liable. And your client may sue you for damages incurred.
3. Have a business plan and consider forming an LLC
4. Know how to write and interpret business reports for your clients.
5, Make sure you understand what you are going to get paid for.. by the job, a % of AR, or something else
6. Make sure your contracts define very clearly what you will do (and won't do) for your clients.
7. Invest in top-notch billing and coding software, with sufficient firewalls, storage and imaging capacity to be HIPAA compliant, and does this include business software for receivables, refunds, patient payments, etc.?
8. Have a contingency plan if things go south--6 months' expenses in reserve is the standard.
9. Hire an accountant, an attorney, and make sure you have liability insurance (see #2)
10. Plan to work around the clock at first, and you need to be OK with marketing yourself and finding your own clients.
11. Figure out how you're going to maintain your CEUs (on your dime), keep up with the bi-weekly Medicare changes and implement coding, software and healthcare business changes each year.
12. How will you access other organization's EHRs? Or will you work from a charge sheet and not validate the codes? Big decision here.
Hope this helps. Personally.....I work from home for a large multi-hospital health system. I would never want to work for myself--I'm a pain in the butt.
Thank you for the information regarding my question.1. Have at least 10 years' of multispecialty experience in both coding and billing, and a slate of potential customers willing to go with a new business, from a medical specialty that you feel comfortable with.
2. Know the MACs, payers and federal/state laws regarding the type of coding/billing you're going to do, because if you make a 'mistake', you and your clients will both be liable. And your client may sue you for damages incurred.
3. Have a business plan and consider forming an LLC
4. Know how to write and interpret business reports for your clients.
5, Make sure you understand what you are going to get paid for.. by the job, a % of AR, or something else
6. Make sure your contracts define very clearly what you will do (and won't do) for your clients.
7. Invest in top-notch billing and coding software, with sufficient firewalls, storage and imaging capacity to be HIPAA compliant, and does this include business software for receivables, refunds, patient payments, etc.?
8. Have a contingency plan if things go south--6 months' expenses in reserve is the standard.
9. Hire an accountant, an attorney, and make sure you have liability insurance (see #2)
10. Plan to work around the clock at first, and you need to be OK with marketing yourself and finding your own clients.
11. Figure out how you're going to maintain your CEUs (on your dime), keep up with the bi-weekly Medicare changes and implement coding, software and healthcare business changes each year.
12. How will you access other organization's EHRs? Or will you work from a charge sheet and not validate the codes? Big decision here.
Hope this helps. Personally.....I work from home for a large multi-hospital health system. I would never want to work for myself--I'm a pain in the butt.