Working for Yourself
A degree in medical coding and billing allows for creating a home-based business. The idea of being your own boss can be very empowering, but as with any new business endeavor, there are things you must consider before striking out on your own. Learn what all is involved in starting a medical billing home business.
Do Your Homework
Before starting a medical billing home business, it is important to learn about the needs of doctors and medical facilities in your area. By doing your research before starting your business, you can better gauge your chances for success as an entrepreneur. Questions to ask doctors and faculties include:
- Do you handle your medical billing in-house NOTE: I RECOMMENDED DELETING THE STORY THIS LINKS TO or through an outside company?
- Are there specific software programs that you use or would recommend?
- What is your daily patient volume?
- If you use an outside billing company, does it handle only submitting insurance claims or does it also deal with all aspects of your accounting?
There are many offers available for people starting a medical billing home business that sound too good to be true. The Bureau of Consumer Protection offers some valuable advice on how to tell if a medical billing business is a real deal or a scam. For instance, you might want to contact one of the following groups, which should be able to tell you if there are any complaints against the company you are researching:
- Your State Attorney General’s office
- The Consumer Protection Agency
- The Better Business Bureau in your area
Additionally, before signing any agreement with a medical billing provider, consult with an attorney and have him or her review the paperwork.
Consider a Specialty
There is an incredible range of options in the medical industry – everything from family practitioners and psychologists to nursing homes use medical billing. If you are considering starting your own medical billing home business, it may be helpful to pick an area to focus on. Do you already have a background in one area of healthcare? Then you might want to opt to pursue doctors in that field. Any awareness and experience you can bring to the table will not only help you land that initial client, but also help as you establish your business.
If you do not have any background in a particular area of health care, you can still pursue a medical billing home business. It would be wise to consider picking a particular area to concentrate your medical coding and billing business on. By doing so, you eliminate the need to know a larger volume of billing codes. Doctors with more limited, single specialty practices would be:
- Cardiologists
- Cardiologists
- Chiropractors
- Dentists
- Psychiatrists
The type of health care area you decide to specialize in can also determine the volume of work you will be doing in your medical billing home business. Doctors who generate smaller co-pays must see a higher volume of business than a doctor who has a higher co-pay or fee due to his area of focus. As a result, the health-care providers who cost less may actually have more work for you than a doctor whose cost per visit is higher. If you are seeking a higher volume of work, this would be great. However, if you are just starting out, such a large amount of billing and coding initially may be overwhelming.
Required Expenses
To your advantage, starting a medical billing home business is a relatively inexpensive one to get off the ground. Since your home is your office, you can bypass the need to pay rent for a lease. You will, however need, some basic supplies, such as:
- Clearinghouse (a company that electronically receives and transmits medical billing claims)
- Computer with an Internet connection
- Phone, printer, and fax machine
- Medical billing software
- Medical insurance forms
- Reference materials (ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS Expert 2000 coding books)
Picking Billing Software
Assuming you already have a computer, one of the largest expenses involved in starting your own medical billing home business probably will be the billing software you select. There is a range of options, and of course a range of prices. To determine which software package is right for you and your business, ask yourself these questions:
- Do you want basic software or a package that includes lead generators and other assistance?
- How many years has the software package and/or developer been in existence?
- What references can the developer of the software package provide?
- When consulting those references, is the program easy to use, and is the technical support convenient to use and readily available?
Create a Work Environment
A pitfall for many people starting a medical billing home business is the fact that they are working from their home. It is imperative to create a work environment that works for you. This may mean designating a room that is devoted to your medical billing and coding and is away from any household distractions such as chores or family. Working from home requires, in a way, even more discipline than working in a traditional office. Give yourself time to make the adjustment if you are new to the experience.
Earning an Income
For anyone starting a medical billing home business, there are three main ways of charging the health care providers you are partnering with:
- A percentage of the money they collect from their billings
- A per-claim fee
- An hourly fee
Whichever way you choose to go with will depend on the health care provider you are working with, as well as the type of medical coding and billing function you are providing to the office.
Growing Your Business
While you may think that working at your own medical billing home business won’t require you to interact much with the outside world, the opposite is, in fact, true. The only way to successfully grow a medical billing business is through marketing yourself and what you offer. Referrals can be an excellent way to expand your business. If you have existing clients, ask them if they know of any other doctors or providers who are looking for a medical biller. Starting from scratch? Don’t be afraid to utilize the contacts you already have, such as your family’s doctors. While it might be awkward to directly ask them for their business, a better route would be to mention that you have started your own medical billing home business and see if they have any tips or referrals they would be willing to share.
About our expert. Jan Jacobs has worked in medical offices since the early 1980's. Ms. Jacobs has worked for M.D.'s and D.O.'s in primary care and specialty care. She is employed as a senior medical biller and has been at her current job for nearly 10 years, where she uses three different billing systems.
