However, this perspective overlooks the critical role payment posting plays in revenue cycle management and overall profitability. Accurate posting is essential and when errors occur, the financial impact can be significant.
Why Is Accurate Payment Posting Crucial?
The importance of accurate payment posting may seem obvious but consider the real-world impact of a single posting error—such as a $100.10 contractual adjustment mistakenly entered as $10,010:
- Credit Balances: A $10,010 credit balance is now on the patient's account, meaning the practice may never collect the patient’s share of the cost, which could be substantial under high-deductible health plans.
- Misleading Financial Reports: Credit balances artificially lower accounts receivable figures, making the practice’s receivables look $10,010 better than they actually are, potentially hiding other billing issues.
- Patient Confusion: An inaccurate statement sent to a patient, while potentially less concerning than an overcharge, still gives the impression that your billing department isn’t careful with financial details—a perception no practice wants to foster.
Payment posting also serves as a frontline defense against issues with payers. Diligent posters can catch patterns in denials for medical necessity, non-covered services or missing authorizations and escalate those problems to the coding and billing team for resolution.
Integrating Payment Posting into Revenue Cycle Management
Whether your payment posting is managed in-house or outsourced, it should be a key part of your overall revenue cycle management. This includes:
- Posting and reconciling data from both paper EOBs and ERAs and ensuring electronic deposits match totals.
- Identifying line-item denials (e.g., for medical necessity or missing authorization) and reporting trends to management to prevent recurring billing errors.
- Spotting issues like missed deductible or copayment collections when processing insurance remittances.
- Accurately shifting balances to patient responsibility and ensuring timely patient billing.
- Handling write-offs and adjustments, investigating unusual contractual adjustments and escalating potential issues to management.
- Ensuring timely rework and resubmission of denials.
- Processing claims for secondary payers and handling any remaining balances.
When payment posting is done correctly, the benefits are clear—improved cash flow, better collections and fewer billing problems, leading to more accurate patient statements and a smoother revenue cycle overall. It’s a win for both your practice and your patients.