FAQ
Billing company – hire, fire, or oversee?
The vendor says things are fine. The bank does not always agree. These answers are for the owner caught between the two.
Short scenes. Plain answers. Pick the worry that sounds like your week.
The billing company says we are fine. Why does the bank still feel quiet?
The vendor packet landed Tuesday. It says everything is fine. You still wait before approving the supply order.
A clean packet can still miss work that has not become a deposit. Visits can be done while charges, claims, or payments wait. We would put the bank next to visits billed and deposits, then ask which step is late.
What should I ask before I sign with a billing company?
The proposal looks polished. The fee is clear. The hard questions are still in the margins.
Ask what they need from your team, what they will handle, and what happens to claims if you leave. Ask who tells you about missing notes, rejected claims, and unpaid balances. Get those answers and the exit terms in writing before you sign.
Should I bring billing back in-house?
The vendor fee went up. You start wondering if one person in the practice could take billing back tomorrow.
Maybe. Bringing billing back in-house only helps if someone inside can own the work every day. Before you switch, look at who will send claims, work unpaid ones, post payments, and cover absences. If those jobs have no clear owner, the problem will follow the work back inside.
How do I leave a billing company without losing money still in flight?
The notice is signed. Claims are still open. Nobody can tell you who handles the dollars already moving.
Do not start with the new company. Start with every open claim, unpaid balance, appeal, and payment that has not been posted. Put in writing who works each item, when records move, and who answers payer questions after the last day. We would rather see a careful overlap than a clean break that leaves money unattended.
Who still owns cash when billing is outsourced?
You ask the vendor for a cash forecast. They send a report. You still cannot say what should land next.
The practice still does. A vendor can do the work, but someone on your side has to know what was billed, what was paid, and what is waiting. We keep that read inside the practice, even when the hands are outside.
The billing company dropped us. What do I do now?
The notice arrives with a short deadline. The next deposit is still your problem.
Save the notice and pull records before choosing a replacement. Find open claims, unpaid patient balances, appeals, rejected claims, and deposits still being matched. Then pick help for the work in front of you, not just a fast promise.
Why does cash drop when we switch billing companies?
The new company is on the account. The schedule is full. Deposits dip anyway.
The work did not stop, but handoffs can. Claims may wait for missing records, payments can sit unposted, and two teams can each think the other is handling the next step. List open work before the switch and check it against deposits after. A dip is less mysterious when each dollar has a person watching it.
Should I hire another biller first?
The current biller is buried. Another hire feels like the fastest relief.
First ask whether you are short on hands or feeding the same avoidable rework. Look at unbilled visits, rejected claims, and unpaid claims that need attention. If the work is too much for the people you have, hire. If the same issue keeps sending work back, fix that first.
What reports do I actually need from a billing company?
The monthly report arrives. It has plenty of pages. You still do not know what needs attention today.
Ask for four plain lists: visits not billed, claims not accepted, claims unpaid past their expected date, and payments received but not posted. Add deposits to the same page. We would rather have a short list you can act on than a long report that hides the next call.
My key biller quit. What do I do first?
The key biller sends a short text and is gone. The inbox has appeals, payer questions, and work nobody else can explain.
Protect access and unfinished work before you hire or outsource. Find payer logins, open appeals, rejected claims, deposits waiting to post, and the tasks only that person knew. We would make a simple handoff list, then decide whether the next person should be inside or outside.