Prevent claim denials in Oncology medical billing

Before we understand how different factors would be affecting the Oncology medical billing we need to understand different changes for the Last year and how they have affected us. Medical billing is seeing a new string of changes in regulating the medical billing and coding of the procedures and diagnostic.  In last year, different medical challenges were faced by various specialties with the foremost one being the shift of Medicare towards quality-based programs.

This included an Ambulatory surgical center facing the flank from the insurance company and patients. One of the major changes we saw was an increase in medical billing denials from private insurance companies which let too long appeals from the doctors. The number of AR days has increased from an average of 20 days to 24.5 days- this includes the payment from both the insurance company and individuals.

MACRA Changes

Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act saw a unique mechanism to be put for the quality check and improve the medical care. This led to an incentive-based payment system by forming an advanced alternative payment model. The model was set to structure different MIPS quality measures which will help to provide better medical care towards the patient population with efficiency and quality care.

MACRA was one of the first to put in rules which laid the foundation of incentivized payment on the quality of patient care and outcomes. Many doctors have even guessed that this would start when we would be seeing the phase-out of fee for service.

Entry of New Codes

Medicare implemented a 3 tier evaluation code and 1 new reevaluation code this was laid out last year with the CPT manual. All the new codes have been evaluated and added to the list of always. This also brings a lot of stress on different evaluation and improvement techniques for the coding of the bills.

Post-Acute Reform

Post-Acute reform is important to improve the Medicare Post-acute-acre transformation act this continues to serve the purpose of moving forward and implementing different quality measures and data collection requirements.

Oncology Medical Billing Facing an Uphill Task

None of this is astounding. In numerous regards, it is an outcome of the expanding costs and the powerful money-related edges related to oncology practice.

For instance, the rate of securing private oncology hones by healing facility frameworks is higher than for most different subspecialties. In spite of the fact that this may, to a limited extent, reflect expanded rivalry for patients, the high incomes produced by oncology rehearses are probably going to be another driver of this pattern.

Increasing expenses are at the core of the expanding weight of earlier approval, disavowals, and distributed audits, which are presently a normal piece of oncology rehearse. The effect of these issues for oncologists and for patients is winding up more obvious.

How to Prevent Oncology Practice Billing Denials?

Patient Care and Billing management have to be different things when it comes to cancer care. The complexity of each patient and the need for a billing company is imperatively felt during such a stage.

Here are Five Things You Should Analyze in Your Oncology Billing:

  1. Payers
  2. Competition
  3. Staffing
  4. Clinical Research
  5. Electronic Health Records

Oncology medical billing is difficult and what makes it more difficult is regulation and coding. Payers and competition hold the first and second spots because they tend to have more effect on revenue generation. Payers form a wheel of your practice and complete the stones on the road. Staffing cost is one of the reasons why most oncologists today prefer to start with a hospital or group. Clinical Research and EHR are part of your billing and development process through a part of this can be outsourced to a medical billing company.

Ready to Outsource Oncology Medical Billing?

We at Medical Billers and Coders (MBC) simplify the billing process for Oncology with a streamlined revenue cycle management process. You can get in touch with us at 888-357-3226 or email us at info@medicalbillersandcoders.com.

FAQs

1. What were the major changes in medical billing last year?

Last year, medical billing faced a shift toward quality-based programs with increased denials from private insurance companies, leading to longer accounts receivable (AR) days, now averaging 24.5 days.

2. What is MACRA, and how has it impacted medical billing?

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) introduced quality-based payment systems, with incentives for improved patient care outcomes. This has moved towards phase-out of traditional fee-for-service billing.

3. How have new codes impacted oncology medical billing?

New evaluation and reevaluation codes were introduced in the CPT manual, creating added complexity for billing and coding, requiring updated coding strategies and techniques.

4. Why is oncology medical billing becoming more challenging?

Oncology billing is increasingly difficult due to rising treatment costs, complex billing regulations, and high levels of denials. These challenges are exacerbated by the need for prior authorization, claim rejections, and audits.

5. How can oncology practices prevent billing denials?

Oncology practices can reduce billing denials by closely analyzing payers, competition, staffing, clinical research, and using Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems effectively. Outsourcing to specialized billing companies can help streamline this process.

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