A Closer Look at Payment Posting in Medical Billing

by | December 7, 2022 | 12:12 pm
Payment Posting in Medical Billing

Medical billing is a complicated process. It usually involves carefully reviewing many documents and assessing patients’ eligibility for insurance. Payment posting, or cash posting, is one of the processes within medical billing. This process is ultimately used to decide whether the DME or HME provider will get paid.

Payment posting gives HME and DME providers a clearer idea about daily earnings. It provides insights into how the business performs financially and whether there are delays in the billing process.

Payment posting may also refer to the process of recording payment details in the medical billing software. This allows business owners and operators to understand any gaps in revenue.

Payment Posting in Medical Billing

How is Payment Posting Carried Out?

Payment posting can be carried out by reviewing the insurance details and consumer finances of HME or DME providers. The actual process of payment posting can be carried out in two ways:

  • Manual, where relevant information is entered into forms manually.
  • Automated, where software is used to fill in the information digitally, while a person reviews it for accuracy prior to posting.

What is the Significance of Payment Posting to Medical Billing?

  • Driving Accuracy in the Revenue Cycle of the HME/DME Provider

Given the high volume of transactions that may occur daily, HME and DME providers must record these transactions accurately. Payment posting can help track the documentation process to ensure there are no potential problems with the payer that can negatively impact a. payment. The chances of an error occurring are high: errors in recording payment details can eventually lead to incorrect Accounts Receivable and other erroneous reporting for HME/DME providers.

  • Improving Revenue Cycle

Payment posting can help providers understand the issues negatively affecting the business revenue cycle. It can also help identify parts of the revenue cycle that need correction or even optimization to boost incoming revenue.

Challenges Surrounding Payment Posting

  • Payment posting requires consistent and regular staff training, especially for employees of HME/DME providers who work in medical billing.
  • From reviewing relevant documents for insurance to researching medical authorization for equipment, staff members need to be trained to quickly spot information errors in medical documents.
  • Additionally, staff must help customers correct these errors, so the HME/DME provider can be paid the correct sum on time.
  • Medical billing, including the payment posting process, is complex and typically requires thorough and intensive research. This can cause staff members to put in long work hours and risk burnout.
  • For HME and DME providers, an overworked staff or burnt-out employees can lead to errors and mistakes in claim applications.
  • If staff burnout leads to quitting or attrition, this can lead to further losses for HME and DME providers. The costs associated with hiring, training, and retaining staff can all add up and increase business expenses.

Reducing the burden on staff can help the business streamline medical billing and payment posting better; HME and DME providers can do this by outsourcing medical billing. There are multiple benefits to outsourcing medical billing services:

  • Providers of outsourced medical billing possess the experience and expertise to carry out these services.
  • Outsourcing firms are well-equipped both to understand the subject and possess the resources to undertake the actual process.
  • A well-equipped outsourcing partner can help streamline the medical billing process while helping HME and DME providers with claim filing, claim delays and denials, and revenue cycle management (RCM).

Next Steps