Every mental health practice needs to know how to bill insurance companies. Coverage for mental health services keeps expanding and providers are increasingly depending on payments from insurers. Effective billing is the foundation of any practice that is looking to offer quality services to clients and experience growth. Learning how to bill insurance companies is important to the sustainability and success of your organization.

How to Bill Insurance Companies:

Credentials and Insurance

Credentialing is the process of a therapist or practice joining an insurance company’s provider panel. This is required in order for your practice to bill an insurance company directly. The credentialing process is important for minimizing billing frustrations and avoiding dependence on less reliable methods of payment. Providers should start by listing out which insurers they want to earn credentials with and begin the application process with each individual payer.

Verify Coverage

There is a chance your client has more than one insurance provider or no provider at all. It is important to verify their coverage prior to each visit. This will secure your payment from the provider or give you a chance to explain the payment responsibility to the client.

Filing Claims

Filing claims can be complicated if you’re just learning how to bill insurance companies. Providers need to familiarize themselves with CPT codes that apply to their organization, code each claim accurately, submit them on time and with the right information, and more. This component of learning how to bill insurance companies is constantly changing.

Payment Schedules

Each insurance company has a different payment schedule and deadlines for submitting claims. Submitting a claim too late can result in a lapse in payment. When learning how to bill insurance companies your need to make yourself an expert on claim management or work with someone who is. Adhering to payment schedules can improve your bottom line.

Make Sure You Have High-Functioning Technology

The good news is that quality technology already exists for mental health providers learning how to bill insurance companies. Quality software can help providers easily bill electronically to primary and secondary insurances. These tools can also help you track the status of a claim, track payments, generate invoices, track authorizations, and accept credit card payments. The right technology can make all of the difference to a provider who is figuring out how to bill insurance companies.

Outsource Mental Health Billing:

Outsourcing medical billing services is also essential for mental health organizations that want to optimize their insurance billing. A qualified vendor can help you submit clean claims, submit claims on time, track them through the process, and manage denials should they happen. A quality billing partner

might be what your practice needs to avoid added administrative burden while still optimizing its bottom line.

Each one of these steps will improve the revenue of a practice that is learning how to bill insurance companies. With the right vendor of mental health billing services and technology, your practice can optimize its payments and reimbursements.