Helpful Tips for How Hiring a Biller Can Lead to Less Headaches

Starting a mental health private practice was one of the hardest endeavors that I have ever gone on. Sure, I was on leadership teams doing full time agency work. Sure, I was enrolled in a full time Doctoral program studying Social Work with a focus on Clinical Leadership. In my head, starting a private practice would be a breeze. I might add, after getting over my initial fears, starting a private practice was a breeze. However, billing insurance for my private practice was a nightmare.

The confidence that has driven me my entire life, when accepting new challenges, wavered. Yes, I was extremely busy. I worked full time at a federally qualified medical center and spent my nights as a full time doctoral student.

Despite being a bad ass therapist and an amazing clinical supervisor, I struggled with my billing. Often times, spending hours on hold or chasing down insurance claims. When people ask me what would I do differently, I say, with pride, “I would’ve hired a biller.”

Hiring a biller would’ve saved me the time that I didn't have. I could’ve focused on doing what I loved, which was clinical work. I met my husband about a year into running my business and in year two, he started building foundations for my business so my business could thrive. His structure and detail-oriented work ethic helped revitalize my business and gave me room to expand into a group practice. I now got to focus on what I love which is CLINICAL WORK.

TheraPay was created for that struggling solo or group private practice owner. When people ask me, “What are reasons as to why I would hire a biller?” I respond with my own list of questions:

1. Do you want your time back?

You can be on the phone for hours (I am not exaggerating) with an insurance company. With that being said:

2. Will you have the time to verify your clients' benefits so when they come to you, they won't have a $100 bill without notice?

This could be one of the main reasons why your clients don’t return. I have found that when clients know this information up front, it helps behind the scenes in regards to receiving a payment.

I know you may say, well I will let them verify their own benefits. This isn’t a bad suggestion. The only piece of information I would give you to ponder upon is: What if they misunderstand or don't ask the correct questions? Verifying insurance is difficult, even to an experienced caller, let alone to an average person that may not know what to ask.

3. So far, we have established that you may be on the phone for hours waiting for someone to answer. Will you have the time to chase down denials and understand why their insurance was denied?

4. Do you have the time to call the insurance provider, if they made a mistake on a claim, and appeal the insurance decision on the claim?

5. Do you have the time to run a report and call various insurance companies to understand why the claim has been accepted even though no money was paid?

6. Do you have the time to clean accounts and make sure that basic bookkeeping is done regarding your appointments?

If the answer is no, to at least one of these questions, my suggestion would be to hire a biller. If you are looking for a biller, TheraPay would be happy to support you and your business.