How to overcome SNF billing challenges and boost revenue?

Skilled nursing facilities need efficient billing practices in order to get timely payments. Be it in-house or outsourced, they need a skilled team of billers and coders who will focus on submitting denial free claims and work towards ensuring a subsequent increase in revenue.

There are various intricacies involved in the billing process of skilled nursing facilities. If the billers and coders are not experienced, then it will impact the bottom line of the practice. In order to experience uninterrupted cash flow and reduce denials, it is important to understand the common SNF billing challenges and ways to overcome them:

• Inaccuracy of codes is one of the most common challenges due to which most skilled nursing facilities claims get rejected by payers.
• At times, billers and coders have insufficient knowledge about the items that are covered by Medicare A and B and this leads to reduced or delayed payments.
• Skilled nursing facilities usually operate on thin margins in the face of inadequate Medicaid reimbursement. At the same time, they also have to contend with a decline in private-pay population numbers.
• Most skilled nursing facilities bill Medicare Part A and B but there are some that operate under state-specific Medicaid ambit. Since each state in the US has its own Medicaid program, skilled nursing facilities have to invariably bill under their state-specific Medicaid rules. This region-specific compliance also impacts billing to a great extent.

Boosting Revenue with a Medical Billing Partner

Outsourcing of medical billing and coding services is one of the most effective ways for skilled nursing facilities to overcome the above-mentioned challenges. By letting a reliable third party handle this task, facilities can improve revenue by reducing claim rejection. They will also get ample time to focus on offering quality nursing services.

A reputed medical billing company works with professionals who have extensive knowledge of billing and coding intricacies for skilled nursing facilities. They take care of everything from identification of patient eligibility for reimbursement to separation of items covered under Medicare A and B in an accurate manner.

Besides helping facilities get timely payments, medical billing companies also conduct a thorough study of their revenue cycle for spotting areas that are responsible for revenue leakage. They take necessary measures to reduce outdated processes in order to help the facilities function in a streamlined manner.