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Medical Billers, Coders & Transcriptionists

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According to recent economic and job trends, the healthcare industry accounts for approximately one sixth of our national economy.  The first people who come to mind are most likely doctors and nurses, but the healthcare industry employs many others who handle the mountains of paperwork that result from this data-intensive field.

Enter the segment of Medical Billing, Coding & Transcription Services.  This market segment continues to expand, and if we look closer, it is easy to see why.

Hospitals, clinics, and doctors offices, like every other area of business, have ‘felt the pinch’ and are trying to maximize their profitability.  Outsourcing billing and coding services is an increasingly appealing method to reduce costs for many reasons:

• Reduces interaction with the actual insurance carrier (no more back & forth over claims or denials)
• No need to purchase or update expensive software in-house
• Eliminates the hassle of retraining employees in this high-turnover segment (a properly trained staff is vital to the survival of a practice as they control payment flow)
• Doctors are just that… DOCTORS, not bill collectors (keeps them focused on their core competency)

Clearly the demand for these industry professionals is very high, but what are the risks of outsourcing this element of the process?  The services provided have a potentially large impact on the overall medical care given, even if it is not part of any diagnostic or patient care.  While insurance coverage is not an industry requirement, there are significant bodily injury exposures that merit professional coverage.

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REMEMBER:

They may not be required to carry medical malpractice but there are still exposures!

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SO why buy it?  Due to the nature of this profession, there are two likely scenarios where coverage is vital –simple human error and stolen data.

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Consider how many people have the same (or similar) names.  John E. Smith might get incorrectly coded for John A. Smith.  With medical billers handling hundreds of files each day, the opportunity for human error is quite large.  This translates into a large change opportunity for a loss.

In the other scenario, security could be breached if a biller works from home, or prefers to move about with a laptop utilizing various wireless networks.  Lost or stolen computers can lead to a hacker attack or compromised data.  In the event of stolen or compromised personal information, many states have “notification laws.”  The costs to carry out these notifications add up rather quickly, as individual notifications must be sent to each patient in the system at the doctor’s expense, even if they contract the services to a medical biller.

Do you think the doctor will pay for this expense?  Of course not!  This is a perfect example of a subrogation situation.  The doctor will not only sue the biller for reimbursement of the notification, but also any future losses from identity theft and loss of business.

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Let us help you cover your clients!  We will make it happen!

Contact Chris Boylan, Professional Liability Renewal Underwriter, for applications, claims samples, specimen forms, general questions, or sell sheets.

Chris@stuckey.com or 1-800-828-3452 x 35

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