Many providers wonder how much more electronic claims will cost them per month?  Well, first of all, there are many packages available to providers.  Here are a couple of ways to figure your savings:

1.  How many patients do you see per day?  If you see 10 patients or more per day, you are already spending more on just paper claims than you would be spending on an entire electronic package including ALL the transactions.  Full Electronic Package

2.  If you are seeing less that 10 patients per day, there are smaller packages available such as $39 per 100 claims per month and $25 for ERA. (Electronic Remittance Advice)

3.  If you Google electronic claims, there are many free options available.  Or, some insurance companies such as Medicare give you free or low cost software.  To figure your cost on these packages, you need to be aware that you must reenter your claims into their system.  Estimate that an average biller can enter 10 claims per hour and the actual cost can be easily computed.  This would be a viable option for practices seeing only two patients per day.  Any more that and the cost to input outweighs the $39 per month package.

4.  By now, everyone should be aware that states are passing laws to require electronic transaction.  (claims, eligibility, ERA, claims status, and prior authorizations)  Here's information on the Minnesota law starting in 2009.
Minnesota Electronic Rules

5.  Finally, remember that it can take 4-6 weeks to enroll to transmit electronically.  If you are one of the providers that is on a timeline because of state regulations or payer/contract regulations; get started now to keep your money flowing.


Happy Billing!

Bonnie J. Flom