ICD-10 TIPS
How to preserve cash flow after ICD-10
deadline
Many healthcare professionals are predicting
financial hardships for medical practices once ICD-10 implementation starts.
No, this isn't about the American Medical
Association (AMA). But there are fears that healthcare payers won't be prepared
to process ICD-10 claims in a timely manner. Some experts advise healthcare providers
to secure lines of credit or have enough cash reserves to keep the practice
running for six months.
That's not feasible for many medical
practices — especially after they pay to upgrade equipment and train staff.
There are some things they can do to ease financial pressure after Oct. 1:
• Money spent on training and education is an
investment in medical coding productivity and accuracy. That means more medical
claims going out the door and fewer coming back because of coding errors.
• Clear out reimbursement backlogs now. That
means extra money before you need it.
• Boost productivity now. This will make the
medical practice finances healthier and provide some cushion when productivity
drops after Oct. 1.
• Testing with healthcare payers will give providers
an idea of how reimbursements will go. It's better to find out now if there is
any shift in reimbursement policies.
• Measure denials, rejections and the time a
claim takes to pay so you know if there is a problem after Oct. 1.
• Yes it is federal law that all HIPAA
covered entities must use ICD-10 codes after Oct. 1. But what are you going to
do if a healthcare payer asks for ICD-9 claims? Be ready to send ICD-9 claims
just in case.
• Get friendly with someone at your major
health plans. You want someone to take your calls when every medical practice,
hospital and clearinghouse is asking for the status on overdue reimbursements.
This won't be easy. But you have time to get
ready and prepare some sort of survival strategy.
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