Significant Changes in the Medical Billing Due to Obamacare

Billing / ICD-10, Electronic Medical Records, MDS of Kansas, Uncategorized

Written by

Donella Aubuchon
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It’s now been over four years since the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare”, officially went into effect in the United States. However, we are just now learning the wide-ranging impacts the legislation has had on the healthcare industry, and in particular on medical billing in hospitals and doctor’s offices throughout the country. While we still don’t know the scope of changes that are yet to occur, there are some undeniable trends that seem to be making their way down the pipeline, particularly as we prepare for the oft-mentioned “employee mandate”, which, if all goes according to the (often revised) plan, goes into effect in 2015.     Article from M-Scribe

Medical Billing Will Increasingly Become Outsourced 
Medical billing has never been a particularly popular activity in doctor’s offices and in hospitals. Now, with the increasing number of medical coding requirements resulting from the Affordable Care Act, medical professionals are continuing the trend of outsourcing this work to companies that specialize in it. According to a report in Seeking Alpha, large outsourcing companies such as Firstsource Solutions and WNS are increasing their domestic US presence to accommodate a growing number of medical professionals who are choosing to outsource medical billing to them. 
By 2015, more doctors and hospitals are projected to outsource their medical billing than ever before, in large part thanks to Obamacare and growing administrative costs. The other less discussed (but no less important) consideration is that outsourcing medical billing reduces liability on the hospital or doctor’s office. 

AzaleaHealth is a well recognized Billing and Revenue Cycle Management company.  Medical billing services includes a full range of accounts receivable functions including: electronic claims submission, reimbursement accounting, denials management, patient invoicing, collections, detailed billing reports, physician contracting and credentialing. Azalea also provides clearinghouse setup services including Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA)Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).  Azalea helps to reduce your storage and filing issues from paper EOBs and speeds up insurance payments by having reimbursements deposited directly to your bank account.

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The Number of Medical Billing Professionals Will Grow Dramatically 

While outsourcing is certain to increase in 2015, The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the medical billing industry as a whole will increase in 2015 as well. In fact, it is estimated that the industry will grow by about 22% between 2012 and 2022. While some of this increase is in fact due to regulatory and administrative burdens resulting from the Affordable Care Act, many experts also believe that the changes from the ACA will actually reduce administrative issues, increase efficiency, and ultimately grow the medical billing industry at a slower rate than it otherwise would have in the absence of the Affordable Care Act. 
The other key reason why the medical billing profession is expected to grow is the simple fact that, under the Affordable Care Act, more people will have access to healthcare, which means more medical coding and medical billing will be required. While increased access to healthcare for the overall population (and particularly the poor) is a worthy goal, it comes at the very real cost of increased administrative and regulatory issues, at least in the short-term. 

Precertification and Eligibility Verification Will Continue to be Cumbersome 
While it’s true that one of the original promises of the Affordable Care Act was reduced difficulty for hospitals and doctor’s offices that needed to pre-certify or verify eligibility of a patient for a particular procedure, reality has proven itself to be more complicated. Early reports indicate that, at best, this process is as slow and cumbersome as it has always been, while critics claim that it is in fact less efficient than before the ACA was passed into law. Part of the problem stems from the fact that many insurance companies and medical offices still aren’t even sure how to properly code procedures and medical services; a problem that, while severe, should hopefully improve gradually in 2015 and onward if all goes well. 

Obamacare is causing significant changes in the medical billing industry. Hopefully the negative aspects will diminish over time, while the promised benefits of the law start to take hold. 

Article from M-Scribe

Medical Document Services of Kansas, LLC (MDS) is a Wichita, Kansas healthcare document service specializing in Medical Billing and RCM, Medical Transcription, and AzaleaHealth EHR.   We provide efficient, accurate, affordable quality services for hospitals, clinics, and facilities of all sizes. Call Significant Changes in the Medical Billing Due to Obamacare - call skype logo866-777-7264 today, or visit our website for more information.  We have education programs in Medical Scribe Specialists and Healthcare Documentation Specialists. #medicaltranscription #azaleahealthEHR #revenuecyclemanagement