What is a Claim?

A claim is a request made to the insurance company, by the billing office on behalf of the insured person or the physician, for reimbursement of services rendered by the physician. A claim is sent out on standardized forms that contain information regarding the patient, his insurance coverage, the physician, the diagnosis and the treatment. A claim is either mailed or electronically transmitted to an insurance company.

In a small family practice or suburban clinic this task may be simple and assigned to the medical assistant or nurse but in bigger practices and clinics this is the medical biller's job! When a physician treats a patient, the doctor’s office must file an insurance claim to get paid. This claim is usually filed on paper and sent by mail. These paper claims are notoriously slow, often taking 60-90 days or more for the doctor to get paid.

Now, these claims can be processed electronically, saving healthcare provider’s time and money. With electronic claims processing, payment time is drastically reduced to just 7 to 21 days on average. This dramatic improvement in cash flow is exactly why medical billing is in such demand. Physicians are constantly seeking remedies to their medical billing difficulties.