Everything about insurance billing today is electronic. Electronic medical records, electronic claims submissions, electronic funds transfers, etc. It can all get a little overwhelming.
Not only do insurance companies want you to submit your claims electronically, but they want to reimburse you by transferring your funds to you electronically and stop sending you paper eobs in the mail.
EFT, or electronic funds transfer, is now being mandated by some carriers such as Upstate Medicare in New York. EFT is when the insurance carrier transfers funds (or your checks) directly into your bank account instead of sending you a paper check.
Electronic remittances is when you receive your eobs via the internet instead of on paper. In some cases you can still receive paper eobs even if you have your funds transferred electronically.
In any case it is important that you understand the difference between EFT and electronic remittances. Insurance companies will be contacting providers trying to get them to enroll in both of these services.
Both EFT and electronic remittances are big money savers for insurance carriers. It cuts costs in paper, postage, printing, employee wages, and much more.
EFT and electronic remittances can also be a savings for the provider as well. When funds are transferred electronically, they usually are deposited into the bank account a day or two before the check would have arrived. There is no chance of the check being lost or stolen if it is electronically transferred.
When you receive your eobs electronically you can store them on your hard drive and not have to store the paper copy in a file cabinet. This can cut down on space needed for filing. With Medicare eobs you can print out the eob for the secondaries for each individual patient. This saves you from having to block off the other patients information and photocopying the eob.
Technology just keeps on going and we have no choice but to go along with it. The best way to deal with it is to understand what each choice offers. My advice is to educate yourself on what's out there and make it work for you.
Both EFT and electronic remittances are big money savers for insurance carriers. It cuts costs in paper, postage, printing, employee wages, and much more.
EFT and electronic remittances can also be a savings for the provider as well. When funds are transferred electronically, they usually are deposited into the bank account a day or two before the check would have arrived. There is no chance of the check being lost or stolen if it is electronically transferred.
When you receive your eobs electronically you can store them on your hard drive and not have to store the paper copy in a file cabinet. This can cut down on space needed for filing. With Medicare eobs you can print out the eob for the secondaries for each individual patient. This saves you from having to block off the other patients information and photocopying the eob.
Technology just keeps on going and we have no choice but to go along with it. The best way to deal with it is to understand what each choice offers. My advice is to educate yourself on what's out there and make it work for you.
2 comments:
Is there a list of all carriers that office EFT at this point. I would like to file all of them that way. What a time saver!
I'm not aware of any master list. And companies are adding this feature everyday. I would just contact your major carriers and see if they offer it.
Michele
Post a Comment