Patient eligibility verification or insurance verification refers to checking a patient’s active coverage with the insurer and verifying the eligibility of his or her insurance claims. Podiatrists need to verify each patient’s eligibility and benefits to ensure they will receive payment for services rendered. As handling insurance is one of the most difficult tasks for podiatry front offices, wound care insurance verification services provided by an experienced medical billing company would be of great support. Submitting claims without proper verification of eligibility is one of the major reasons for claim denials in many specialties. It is crucial that the coverage is verified for both new and existing patients.
The right time to discuss payment and insurance coverage is when the patient calls for appointment. This will save the physician’s as well as the patient’s time. It is also ideal to get the form filled by the patient, which is designed specifically to collect insurance details as well as statements regarding payment responsibility. Professional podiatry billing companies check patient eligibility and benefits at the insurance carrier’s website or by calling up the carrier.
Once the payment is discussed, patients can make more informed decisions regarding the practice’s recommended treatment. Knowing ahead of time what insurance will and will not cover is advantageous for the podiatry practice staff as well.
Verifying patient’s insurance provides diverse benefits such as
- Submit clean claims
- Prevent claim denials
- Avoid delays in payment
- Accelerate the reimbursement process
- Improve cash collection
- Minimize bad debt
- Increase patient satisfaction
- Save podiatrist’s valuable time
Some plans may have income restrictions as well. Checking patients’ insurance benefits in advance of their visit will also help the patients realize their payment responsibilities. When it comes to insurance claims processing, even a simple error can result in claim rejection or denial. Often insurance details that need to be verified include effective dates of insurance coverage, co-pay amount for services, payable benefits, co-insurance, deductible amount, status of patient’s insurance policy, pre-authorizations, referrals, mailing address and DME reimbursement.
Eligibility verification process in most companies includes collecting medical billing schedules from healthcare practices, verifying complete patient eligibility on all primary and secondary payers, confirming authorization for treatment and contacting patients for any necessary information. And the final step will be updating the billing system with the verified details. Podiatry practices can avoid tedious in-house verification processes with the support of professional medical billing companies. Make sure that the company you partner with provides the services of skilled verification specialists who are knowledgeable in all facets of insurance processing and podiatric procedures. An experienced hand in podiatry billing, Hippocratic Solutions provides insurance verification service, which can finally end the routine of lengthy claims processing and paper chasing.
