What are the problems faced by US providers or physicians?

Constantly US physicians face the problems of insurance coding & payment reimbursement on their insurance claims. Optimizing reimbursement is like trying to piece together a puzzle with a lot of pieces. Not only is there a lot of complexity, but change is continuously occurring. There are a number of important factors, few are outlined below.

1. Providers are using invalid, obsolete or deleted codes while submitting claims to respective insurance carriers.
2. The code and fees may be okay, but providers may be losing charge information, missing super bill fees or billing insurance carriers wrongly or irregularly.
3. The practice is not well-informed about current coding and billing issues.
4. The practice doesn't have and/or doesn't follow written policies and procedures which support the billing, coding and collections processes.
5. Not participating in Medicare may allow providers to bill higher fees to patients, but this may not be in the best interests of their practices.
6. Poor understanding of how insurance carriers work and ineffective strategies and systems for dealing with them.
7. The practice is not using forms and documents which are current.

In general, the basic tools needed by health care providers for optimizing reimbursement are:
1. A thorough understanding of the billing process and related terminology.
2. Procedure coding and diagnostic expertise.
3. A well-designed super bill.
4. A fee schedule based on relative values.
5. Current and accurate forms and documents.
6. Current reference materials (such as code books).
7. Written policies and procedures covering billing guidelines.