Last editedMar 20233 min read
Medical billing can be complicated at best and tedious at worst. The full process involves a series of clearing steps with medical practices waiting weeks – if not longer – to receive payment for their services. This takes a serious toll on cash flow, making it difficult to pay your own bills. Fortunately, affordable medical billing solutions help cut down on payment processing costs to improve your financial position.
How to compare the costs of medical billing solutions
It’s estimated that medical billing services comprise between 3% and 9% of a practice’s monthly revenue. This depends on numerous factors including the specialty, region, and size of your practice. As you start comparing the costs of affordable medical billing solutions, you’ll need to take several types of fees into account:
Start-up software costs
Contract fees
IT maintenance and support
Electronic claims fees
Per-transaction fees
Cancellation fees
When you start comparing your online payment processing options, consider the following points:
How easy is it to use?
Is it cloud based?
How long will it take to implement?
Is it HIPAA and EHR compliant?
What level of support is included?
What are the start-up and ongoing costs?
What are the most important features of a medical billing service?
Wondering how a credit card processor works for medical billing, or what you need to keep in mind when choosing which software solution to invest in? In addition to the cost of each affordable medical billing solution, keep an eye out for these useful features.
Charge entry and coding
Many service providers handle the process of charge entry and coding for you. This means you save on the time and cost of manual coding.
Claims scrubbing
Scrubbing insurance claims means that you’re less likely to experience rejections from insurance companies. Errors are flagged and automatically corrected. That in turn saves the time it would take to follow up on payment claims.
Denied claims management
Of course, even with the best scrubbing process some claims will still be denied. A good medical billing solution will manage the resubmission process on your behalf, with some even prioritizing denied claims.
Third party software integrations
The best affordable medical billing solutions integrate with their medical software, granting access to EMR and PMS systems for greater efficiency. You should also look for systems that integrate your existing accounting and customer management software for maximum efficiency.
What are the advantages of medical billing solutions?
Using the features mentioned above and others, the best medical billing software helps streamline your workflow through automation. Free up-front office staff to focus on customer care and additional administrative tasks, rather than burdening them with manual billing processes.
The other major benefit of automated billing is accuracy. By reducing claim errors, you’ll save the time and money it would cost to correct and resubmit each claim. This in turn leads to faster payments, and improved cash flow.
Five affordable medical billing solutions
Some medical billing software is more expensive than others. If you’re looking for an affordable solution, try the following.
1. Nue MD
This basic medical billing software lets you file claims in larger batches. Subscribers can give access to unlimited locations and users for wide flexibility. Pricing starts at just $149 for the most basic package.
2. Total MD
Another affordable medical billing solution is Total MD, which gives you a choice of hosted or server-based software. This makes it a scalable option for growing practices, with tiered pricing starting at $175 per month.
3. Practice Suite
Practice Suite is a fully online solution that comes with the bonus of a free HIPAA office starter pack. The starter program is free, processing up to 25 claims, email reminders, and patient statements each month.
4. My Client Plus
Mental health practices might want to opt for My Client Plus, a HIPAA-compliant, hosted solution with plenty of free integrations. It starts at a very low $20 per month, making it one of the most affordable options on the market today.
5. Kareo
Our final pick is Kareo, which integrates with most existing medical technologies for swift, easy set-up. Like others on the list, it offers tiered pricing plans starting at $75 per month for non-physicians. The top tier includes unlimited claims filing, both electronically and on paper.
How can GoCardless help?
In addition to the affordable medical software mentioned above, GoCardless offers an ideal billing solution for practices large and small. Automate the invoicing process using ACH debit. Suitable for both recurring and one-off medical invoice payments, GoCardless puts you in control over bill collection. It’s easy to get your patients set up, saving time and stress. Our Success+ tool also helps reduce payment failure with intelligent retries at the optimal time.
We can help
GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.
