Home Health Software for MBI - Is Your Home Health Care Software Ready?

Posted by Amos Fred on November 15th, 2019

Health care agencies need to comply with the Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs) for Medicare transactions. Is your firm already caught up and ready? Or are you just starting to check out your options? Make sure you get this done before the transition period ends. You need to start submitting claims with MBIs by January 1, 2020. That goes for transactions such as billing, eligibility, status, as well as claim status.

What is MBI?

MBI stands for Medicare Beneficiary Identifier. These numbers will replace health insurance claims based on the social security number. The MBI contains unique characters, randomly generated to ensure better privacy protection of Medicare recipients. Make sure your agency is ready to accept MBIs. Failure to do so will lead to considerable loss of revenue.

Update Your Software

Make sure you have updated the software that your home health care agency uses. Reach out to your software vendor and ask if the updates have already been made to the software. Can your system already accept and utilize MBIs on claims? Don’t stop there. Take the time to check if the MBI flows into all your OASIS documents. Is the information on your HIS assessments and 485s?

Verify Patient Addresses

Prevent any processing problems or delays. Go over the addresses of your patients. If the addresses that you have on file are different from the ones on the Medicare cards, contact your patients. Remind them to update their addresses as soon as possible.

Talk to Your Patients

Don’t assume that your patients already know about the change. It would help and even ensure smoother future transactions when you educate your patients about the changes that the new cards will bring. Remind them that they will receive new Medicare cards. They should notify you when they receive theirs to enable your staff to collect the MBI from the patient. The transition will bring in confused patients. It’s ideal to start preparing them for the changes as soon as possible. The sooner your patients get used to the new cards, the easier it is for you and your staff.

Talk to Your Staff

Aside from talking to your patients, don’t neglect to educate your staff. They should be aware of the change and how to use your software with the MBI. That way, they won’t be blindsided when a patient comes in and asks for help. They won’t have any problem taking charge of the situation. With adequate knowledge, members of your team can be proactive and reach out to patients to gather the MBI. You can also make things easier by designing a process to make the collection process much more efficient.

Get a Better Software

If your software isn’t up-to-date, think about switching to a better one. Check out the slew of options for home health software on the market to determine the best choices for your agency. Working with the right software will ensure compliance with the regulatory changes and a stress-free transition period for your staff and patients.