Mental health billing can be frustrating to navigate when compared to other medical billing. From the preauthorizations, unique range of services offered, and accounting needed, it may seem like you’re at more of a disadvantage than practitioners in other fields. If your business seems to face extra difficulty getting claims honored, know that this is not uncommon in behavioral health billing. Consulting for mental health providers is often an integral part of keeping a behavioral healthcare-based business running as smoothly as possible.
Don’t hesitate to call RevWerx today at 833.309.0138 for more information about our outsourced billing options and consulting for mental health providers.
Complications of Mental Health Billing
There are fewer drawbacks in medical billing vs. behavioral health billing because medical billing is generally more straightforward. Additionally, in most cases, medical practitioners have experts that are handling their billing for them. Counselors and other mental health professionals also provide distinctly different services than other types of healthcare professionals. Rather than typical medical procedures, you’ll spend the majority of your time dedicated to helping your patients in therapy sessions. Major insurance providers attempt to control how long these sessions will last and how often they can occur. It can prove quite challenging to balance the delivery of patient care with the business demands of the practice.
The differences between standard medical billing and mental health billing are even more apparent since many behavioral health offices often opt for in-house medical billing for their practice. Mental health counselors usually process their bills to cut down on the operating costs of their private practice. Healthcare billing codes, regulations, and billing practices are subject to change for each insurance company without notice. If the behavioral health clinic is busy with treatment, things get overlooked, and many mistakes and lapses in coverage can occur. This can often cause insurance claims to be rejected at a higher rate.
How Mental Health Consulting Can Help Your Behavioral Health Practice
Only 85 percent of claims for behavioral healthcare practices are approved. Hiring an outside billing and mental health consultant can significantly boost your treatment facility by allowing you to concentrate on the essential aspect of your practice–the highest quality care for your patients. Outside help will prevent unnecessary waiting for claims to be processed due to a lack of awareness or a simple error involving code changes or changes in billing practices. Experts who understand frequently changing codes and rules in behavioral healthcare will reduce unnecessary worries about liability issues. There are many steps to keep in mind when staying on top of billing for your practice. Just a few of these include:
- Always using required billing formats for the client’s insurance company
- Filing a claim within the time frame allowed by the specific insurance plan.
- Application of the appropriate codes that match the treatment
- Making sure fees billed are within the limit of the client’s insurance policy
- Putting the correct policy number on the bill claim
- Getting pre-approval for treatments that require it
- Submitting claims to the valid address
These are just a few tips that will keep your billing process running smoothly for you and your patients. With a busy practice, especially in behavioral health, in-house staff often has trouble keeping up with the organizational demands behavioral health billing requires, especially if they have other job duties. A dedicated third-party billing consultant with specific knowledge of the mental and behavioral health sphere can alleviate these concerns.
Let RevWerx Help Your Practice Get On Top of Behavioral Health Billing
As a therapist, the diverse needs of your patients are consuming, and they must take top priority. However, your business still needs to run. You don’t have to pile on the additional stress of dealing with billing codes, regulations, liability concerns, and complicated and difficult insurance companies. Let RevWerx help your patients receive top-quality mental healthcare by boosting their approval rates and helping your practice to thrive. Call RevWerx today at 833.309.0138.
