Payment Posting of ERAs

Posted by Ecareindia on August 26th, 2013

The modernization of the healthcare medical claims processing has brought in so many changes to the existing workflow and medical billing and coding patterns. Payment postings no exception in that list. Traditionally, payment explanations were sent out in the form of paper EOBs (Explanation of Benefits) by the Payers. However, the advent of Electronic Remittance Technology has moved medical claims processing a step forward. With what is called EFTs, Payers can now easily deliver their payments to Healthcare Providers and Facilities in the electronic form. In the same manner, they use ERAs (Electronic Remittance Advice) to deliver payment explanations, thus replacing the traditional EOBs. To learn more about ERAs , see below:

Benefits:

• Automated Posting Convenience: The key advantage of ERAs is that they enable Healthcare Facilities, Providers and US medical billing companies to post claim payments into their systems automatically. Therefore, the staff members who perform manual posting can devote their time on other medical billing and coding functions.
• Save Time: Since payment postings are done electronically, the time consumed in manual posting method is saved to a wider extent. The time thus saved can be used valuably for other medical billing processes, which require extra care to details.
• Save Money: Manual posting calls for recruitment of professionals who are adept in posting payments on to the system without errors. In case they lack the skill sets, then training has to be conducted to impart payment posting skills. However, with ERAs, one can save recruitment and training costs. It has been estimated in a research that about $35 billion can be saved on paper annually if ERAs or used in place of EOBs.
• Avoid Manual Errors: In the manual posting method, employees are likely to commit errors even though they stay 100% focused. Such errors have increased the account error rate to approximately 25%. However, ERAs have an average error rate that is less than 2%. 
• Faster Turnaround Time: Since everything from medical claims processing to payment posting is done electronically, the turnaround time subject to payment processing is made faster than ever.
• Go Green: ERAs have really contributed a great deal to the ‘Go Green’ concept. It has been found through a research that approximately 2.5 billion pieces of paper can be saved annually if Healthcare Payers, Providers, Facilities and US medical billing companies completely replace EOBs by ERAs.

Do Not Overlook: Though ERAs have a wide array of benefits, Providers and US medical billing companies should never fail to consider their disadvantage. Errors are likely to occur even in automatic payment posting which is indicated as an invalid posting by the system.  In those instances, it can be adjusted or balanced only by manual intervention. Besides US medical billing companies can outsource a part of their billing services to offshore companies for better results.

About e-Care India:

e-Care India is one of the renowned medical billing companies in India that promises the above mentioned benefits with total customer satisfaction. With 13 years of experience in the industry, e-Care’s offshore medical billing delivery centers have been providing end-to-end medical billing services seamlessly to its clients. To know more about e-Care and its services, log on to www.ecareindia.com