The Medical Billing Handbook » (1st Edition)

Merry Schiff, C.H.R.S.
Certified Healthcare Reimbursement Specialist Founder and Executive Director NEBA

Merry Schiff is a Certified Healthcare Reimbursement Specialist and is the Founder and Executive Director of the National Electronic Billers Alliance (NEBA). She has been in the medical billing business for over 40 years. Early in her career, there were no electronic claims, few medical insurance companies, dental insurance did not exist, and no one had heard of the words "managed care." Over the years, the medical billing field has grown and changed exponentially.

As a medical reimbursement specialist, Merry has been installing computer systems for medical and dental providers since 1978. For two years in the mid-1980s, she was IBM's only authorized installer for its medical software. She has helped design several medical claims packages and has been selling and training in this specific market for many years.

Many people were entering into the medical billing business, and once they had completed their training, they were lost as to how to make the transition to a successful business. Ongoing support was lacking and people did not succeed. NEBA was founded by Merry in 1996 to assist people who were entering the medical billing industry or who were currently working in the field. NEBA offers certification examinations for both medical billers and HIPAA, and offers the business expertise to those who are starting up their own businesses and need help establishing business and financial goals.

Written by the founder and Executive Director of the National Electronic Billers Association (NEBA), the largest medical billing organization in the country, this book is a comprehensive and authoritative overview of medical billing as a business.

This resource is a comprehensive overview to medical billing- what you need to know and how to get started when building your own medical billing business. Topics include: how to use medical billing software, gaining medical offices as accounts, maintaining relationships with your accounts, and much more.

Anyone interested in going in to their own business as a medical biller.

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1. Guide to Medical Insurance
2. ICD-9-CM Coding
3. E/M Guidelines
4. Medicare Billing Guide
5. Collecting Medical Claims Information
6. Processing Claims Manually and Electronically
7. Credit Policies, Billing Procedures, and Making Collections
8. Ancillary Services
9. HIPAA and Privacy Regulations
10. Setting Up Your Own Business
11. Marketing Your Medical Claims-Billing Service

APPENDIX A: Abbreviations, Acronyms, Combining Forms; Prefixes and Suffixes APPENDIX B: The Billing Expert Says APPENDIX C: Insurance Departments APPENDIX D: Collection Letters APPENDIX E: Web Sites APPENDIX F: Miscellaneous Forms APPENDIX G: Glossary APPENDIX H: Answer Key to End-of-Chapter Questions APPENDIX I: Coding Exercises

INDEX