It seems payers these days are finding more and more reasons not to pay clinics in full for submitted claims. From non-covered services to ineligible diagnosis, these reasons for denied claims are varied and differ from payer to payer. What one payer will allow, another requires prior authorization. Administrators and managers must assure their staff know how to read, understand, track and correct denials. Staff must be able to read and clarify an explanation of benefits (EOB) and electronic remittance advice (ERA).
Denial management is the act of managing the claim denials for a practice by determining their cause, correcting them, and putting plans into place to reduce their number. Staff must have the initiative and problem-solving skills to best handle these duties. Managers and administrators should encourage team members to question denials and find new workflows to assure they do not occur. Reporting denials reasons and trends to other teams within the clinic – reception, clinical, providers – will also help with this.