Oct 28, 2021 | EZClaim, Medical Billing Software Blog
If you’re thinking of investing in medical billing software, there’s no better person to give you the answers you need than Chelsea Graven, a revenue cycle director for Alert Medical Alarms. With over ten years in the medical billing industry, she’s been in numerous roles including billing and claims submissions. A longtime customer and champion of EZClaim since 2013, Chelsea has referred the software to many other partners because she knows firsthand not only how simple it is to use, but how effective the software is.
Recently, we found time to interview Chelsea about her start in the industry, why she continues to recommend EZClaim, and her advice on anyone starting out in medical billing.
EZCLAIM: Working with EZClaim’s medical billing software platform, what role does their software impact your work?
GRAVEN: “The company I currently work for was originally either submitting paper claims or billing through portals. EZClaim has allowed us to transition to electronic billing and it cuts the amount of time we spend in provider portals or filling out those forms. I would say seventy-five percent of the workload has been cut using EZClaim. Previously, it took one person three weeks to bill 6,000 claims. Now, we are billing 7,000 claims in a matter of minutes just by submitting and using the features within EZClaim, such as the recurring claim option.”
EZCLAIM: If you were going to share something with your colleagues about EZClaim, what would it be?
GRAVEN: “How spot on the name ‘EZClaim’ is. It’s exactly what it’s called, EASY. Other software programs do not accommodate the simple recurring billing that we need. EZClaim is the only software I have used that does that and makes it easy. Of all the billing software platforms I have used, EZClaim is the simplest to use and the most user-friendly.”
EZCLAIM: What would you say are some strengths needed to be an effective medical biller?
GRAVEN: “Analyzing, troubleshooting, and resolving. There is a lot of that involved. You must be able to troubleshoot and independently find resolutions in order to be effective at billing. I think EzClaim has customized reporting capabilities that allow the companies to better follow current trends that they are seeing in claims, denials, and payments. Tracking the trends is what will lead to the troubleshooting, analyzing, and resolving of any issues, having customizable reporting makes all the difference to successful billers. You can’t fix something if you don’t know it’s wrong, EzClaim reporting brings all of that to the biller, so you don’t have to go looking for problems/solutions on top of your daily billing processes.”
EZCLAIM: Do you have any advice for anyone who is starting out in the medical billing industry?
GRAVEN: “EZClaim is my go-to for anyone who is doing medical billing and is wanting to learn and get into the industry because it is the simplest software to use. EZClaim makes it easy to grasp the electronic billing end-to-end process without feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of the software. I would say for anyone starting out the first thing I would do is find an electronic billing solution and a clearinghouse.”
EZCLAIM: Why did you get into the medical billing industry?
GRAVEN: “I actually fell into this industry by default. I was working on private pay collections for a company and at the time the state of Illinois in 2010 transitioned to manage care programs, and no one was really prepared for that. I was then asked to take on the role of billing manager. It grew so large that doing HCFA 1500 forms was not efficient, so I started looking for electronic billing solutions. What I enjoy most about the billing industry is closing the claims entirely. Getting that amount to zero dollars. Most people wouldn’t say it’s the money coming in, but for me, it’s the gratification for the end-to-end process of the revenue cycle. It’s all about getting the receivables closed.”
EZCLAIM: Final thoughts?
GRAVEN: “With EZClaim, the value is beyond just the software. Yes, it’s easy to work with, but the IT team and all the people involved make the experience favorable.”
[ The above answers were paraphrased as closely as possible to the original answers given by Chelsea Graven on October 22nd, 2021. ]
ABOUT EZCLAIM:
As a medical billing expert, EZClaim can help the medical practice improve its revenues since it is a medical billing and scheduling software company. EZClaim provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, EZClaim helps improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, email them, or call them today at 877.650.0904.
Feb 9, 2021 | Claims, Electronic Billing, Features, Medical Billing Customer Service, Medical Billing Software Blog
Are you working in the medical billing industry as a biller or an owner of a billing company? If so, the KEY medical billing insights and best practices that came out of our interview with Maura Jansen (VP of Operations) and Jennifer Withington (Director of Revenue) at Missing Piece Billing & Consulting Solutions will be VERY VALUABLE for you to consider.
Jennifer, an expert in understanding the problem-solving techniques and the investigative nature of medical billing, offers insights that both educate and inspire. Maura, an executive member of the billing community, also added an important perspective about EZClaim’s medical billing software. The following are some highlights from our interview.
EZCLAIM: When did you get into the industry?
JENNIFER: “I worked in group homes for the waiver side of group aid and then I went to Missing Piece. Missing Piece primarily deals with ABA providers and provides early intervention rendered to children. For me, the move from waivers with adults to professional billing, indirectly assisting children, was attractive and I took to the billing side of things.”
EZCLAIM: What does that mean when you say you took to the billing side of things?
JENNIFER: “Insurance doesn’t make a lot of sense when you first start. So, I took to the investigative side of making sense of medical billing claims. Figuring out what the payer’s rules are, reading their manuals, and figuring out the technical jargon with the purpose of preventing claim denials was attractive. I liked the puzzle of it.”
EZCLAIM: Are there things that you value in your work that offer meaning to what you do?
JENNIFER: “It’s really when I know that if I do not intercede with the insurance company and get this paid the patient is going to be responsible for the balance. So, to help, I have taken things to the department of insurance, or I have gone ahead and filed that third letter of appeal and really taken the time to research it. Because I don’t want a parent who is already struggling with having a child with more needs than maybe the other children would have, I don’t want them struggling with a $25,000 bill. ABA is extremely expensive because it works. And so, if insurance doesn’t pay it then the only other funder is the parent. And my goal is that parents should not have to pay any more than they absolutely have to.”
EZCLAIM: What are some of the strengths that make you good at what you do?
JENNIFER: “I am a good problem solver. I am good at taking a large problem and breaking it into smaller problems and knocking each one down until I solve the bigger issue. At the end of the day, that’s really what accounts receivable is.”
EZCLAIM: What would be an example of your problem solving on a day-to-day basis?
JENNIFER: “So you always start with the denial and then you have to work back to the billing. For example, if I have a claim denied for services rendered from an out-of-network service provider, but we know we are in-network then my first problem is, are we actually in-network? Then, you go onto the next link which is did the payer recognize you as in-network? It becomes like a decision tree, if you get a ‘yes’ then you are probably done, and you get the claim processed. If it is ‘no’, then you have to start digging with the payers contacting reps, make calls, and supply them with documents to get down to why they don’t have your provider listed within the network. Once you solve that problem, then the claim should be able to be processed. It is either going to pay or deny. Then depending on which one it is, you apply the same technique.”
EZCLAIM: What would you offer someone who is considering entering the field?
JENNIFER: “You should be good at processing and reading information because to get a claim paid you to have to know the rules of engagement. You need to be familiar with how to read a contract, how to read technical information about billing, and have to have a glossary of information about what you are billing. Those are the building blocks to get to know what you are doing.”
EZCLAIM: You work with EZClaim’s medical billing software platform, what role does their software providers and how does that impact your work?
JENNIFER: “EZClaim really serves to eliminate these denials before they happen, which is the ultimate goal of any accounts receivable or billing. EZClaim has edits that we use. It alerts us if the system thinks the claim is a duplicate, for example. It also helps in the set-up of the claim. We load all the fee schedules in EZClaim’s procedure code library and that lets us monitor the charge rate, make sure all the points of billing are on the claim (i.e. correct code, modifier, and charge). They also make sure that the authorization is appended to the claim. And then after we have actually done the work of getting a claim in the system, we use EZClaim reports to audit our own billing. So, we use the EZClaim service report. It makes it easier for us and our providers to see what has been billed and make sure that the billing is correct.”
EZCLAIM: If you were going to share something with your colleagues in the field, what would you share about the software that makes your life easier?
JENNIFER: “Number one, it is not the software itself, it’s the EZClaim staff. Their customer service is far beyond what a normal billing software company provides. If I have a problem, or if I have a report, or if I have a data point that isn’t in any report, they are available and they are there for me. And if they don’t have a solution for the problem, they will provide me with a workaround. So, that is very valuable. That is why Missing Piece works so well with EZClaim because customer service is number one for us, too. They don’t just want to answer your question, they want to help you understand your question.”
“The other thing that I find valuable is that their reporting modules are just a lot more robust than the other billing software companies that I have dealt with.”
EZCLAIM: Maura, do you have any thoughts from an administrative level that you can offer on EZClaim?
MAURA: “Well, when we hire a new person we know that, even if this person has very little experience in the healthcare field, it’s going to be a quick and easy process for them to learn EZClaim… EZClaim has also made it kind of a joy to work with. We really value them as a partner. We love the service they provide, and we value them as a platform.”
ABOUT EZCLAIM:
EZClaim can also help you with medical billing insights since it is a medical billing and scheduling software company. It provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, they help improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, email them, or call them today at 877.650.0904.
