Tips on Working the Insurance Aging Report
When was the last time someone in your office checked your insurance aging report?
Hopefully you’re not cringing right now!
The insurance aging report is a critical part of your office’s collection process, but one of the most unworked lists. If you are not pulling this report on a regular basis, you are risking missing out on a lot of money that insurance companies could owe your office.
Below are some tips on how to successfully work on your insurance aging report.
Who Should Work on the Insurance Aging Report?
Having one staff member to work on this report will simplify this process. This will allow this person to work the list at a time that works best for them. They will also be able to let other team members know when they are setting aside that time and focus solely on the process.
Have this team member make a schedule of how often to pull and work the report. If they can do this weekly, that is great; if not, then at least every two weeks. Monthly works; however, the list can grow rapidly if you are only pulling it every thirty days, and it will take more time to work than if you generate the report on a more regular basis.
It is important that the team member makes notes in a common space for all employees to easily access in case someone else needs to work the report, or in the event a patient has a question about their claim.
Make Online Logins
In this time of technology, most insurance companies are moving their EOB and claims process to an online portal.
Have your team member make logins for these companies that allow you the ability to check claims online, to avoid them being tied up on the phone. Keep the details of the logins for other team members to use as well, if needed for eligibility and benefits.
Make sure the passwords and security questions are updated as needed.
Take it One Insurance at a Time
Each dental management software will pull the aging report differently; however, when the report is pulled, try to group the claims by separate insurance companies.
This will allow your team member to call Delta Dental or Metlife once for the two, three or seven claims you have outstanding. This keeps them from going back and forth on multiple phone calls to the same company.
Refiling/Reworking Claims
Once your team has contacted the insurance company and identified why the claim is still outstanding, start keeping track of the problems that are holding up the claim’s processing time. This can help you avoid problems in the future and potentially allow you to fix them on the front end.
Some reasons claims are not paid immediately include:
- Payer IDs are wrong
- Incorrect X-rays are sent
- Perio charts aren’t sent often
However, the insurance company just needs more information. Make sure if there is any information your team member needs to update in your dental management software, it is fixed immediately to avoid future problems.
The Benefits of Aging Reports
While working this aging report is not the most exciting part of the day, it is important for your office. Keeping insurance payments current helps offices run smoothly.
Having this report caught up on a regular basis will reduce stress on the front office and help team members understand what insurance companies need from us in order to get our claims paid in a timely manner, help reduce past due accounts and run more efficiently!
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