Is your skilled nursing facility struggling with aged accounts receivable even in the last quarter of the year? The services were provided, and the patient’s health outcomes were as expected, yet there is a substantial portion of your revenue that is stuck in AR buckets. You’re not the only one struggling with poor revenue generation due to crooked SNF billing and inadequate AR management. Who doesn’t want to reclaim the revenue before year-end, especially when it is a piece of cake with the right strategies in your hand?
Industry data shows that almost 30% of the revenue is trapped in old AR buckets which leads to financial strain at the end of the year. No facility can afford that much revenue loss. And you must investigate whether your current SNF billing practices are actively contributing to the problem.
What is the Significance of Efficient SNF Billing in AR Recovery in the Final Quarter?
Accurate billing and coding are essential for the financial and operational health of your facility. However, claims can get denied, delayed, or left unattended without a well-defined billing process. An efficient SNF billing process would eliminate the errors within the process which will increase your clean claim rates and thus reduce the days in the AR bucket.
As your AR ages beyond 90-120 days, the chance of recovery withers significantly. As AR days pass 120 days, there is barely a chance of revenue recovery. In fact, industry reports suggest that only 10-12% of that stuck revenue can be recovered, which makes the final quarter critical where every claim counts.
Days in AR: The Cornerstone to Old AR Recovery in SNF Billing
One of the most crucial key performance indicators for any facility is days in AR. This metric quickly tells you about the turnaround time of the reimbursement. An accurate SNF billing process keeps the AR days under 50 and ensures smooth cash flow within your practice. By tracking this KPI regularly, you will be able to understand the operational and financial performance of your practice.
How to Optimize Your SNF Billing Services ?
Right time. Right areas. Right strategy. These are three things you need to improve your SNF billing and coding processes and optimize revenue. You need to identify these warning signs to get the right time to revamp your billing and coding process-
- Disrupted cash flow
- Decreased revenue
- Employee burnout
- High employee turnover
To revamp the revenue cycle and enhance the AR management process, you must understand the areas that need improvement. For this, constant tracking and monitoring of SNF billing services in your practice is essential. Consider regular audits and monitoring of every step in the revenue cycle management to maintain accuracy and efficiency.
Some simple yet effective strategies can unsnarl billing complexities and free up revenue from old AR buckets, even at the end of the year. Review coding and documentation: Numerous codes and a huge amount of paperwork make things difficult for the providers.
However, staying updated with the current coding guidelines and payors’ documentation requirements for claim submission helps you submit clean claims initially. Before submission of the payors’ requirements, you must review the codes and documents to ensure accurate reimbursements. This will reduce the chances of denials and thus aging AR.
Automate billing process:
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is transforming the realm of medical billing and implementing the same in your SNF billing solutions can do wonders. From automating repetitive tasks like insurance verification, and patient information verification, claim submission becomes easier with RPA.
Establish a denial management system:
Develop a dedicated team for denial management purposes and make sure denials are promptly addressed and claims are resubmitted within the payors’ timeline. Gain data insights: Regularly tracking your AR days and spotting bottlenecks within the process can improve your buckets and help you with revenue optimization.
For many facilities, managing the SNF billing services internally is a true hardship with skill shortages and a competitive market. On the contrary outsourcing to an SNF billing company can make things easier for you.
These companies can make a significant impact on your billing and coding processes and improve revenue simultaneously with their process expertise and extensive knowledge. To conclude, tackling old AR buckets in the final quarter with a skewed billing process is always unrewarding. Partnering with an outsourced SNF billing company can maximize your revenue recovery in the final quarter.
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