Focused Billing and Collections
Maximizing Revenue for Physician Practices

“A clean claim is a paid claim”— is the core belief that drives Focused Billing and Collections (FBC), a medical coding and billing company with a singular focus on getting physician offices compensated for their services.

FBC is the vision of Stephanie Schaffer, a medical billing and coding expert with a deep-rooted passion for supporting medical practices struggling with rising deductibles and low health insurance paid claim rates.

Schaffer and her team of experienced billers and collections professionals are much-needed allies for physicians to run profitable clinics and practices. Go-getters from the start, the dedicated FBC team proactively aids clients in navigating the dynamic medical billing industry and guides them in accurately filing claims and getting reimbursed.

FBC stands apart in the billing industry by prioritizing quality over quantity, serving each client with undivided attention. It provides comprehensive support and personalized guidance to generate greater ROI through higher paid claim rates. The goal is to help healthcare providers focus on their core task of delivering quality care while maintaining a profitable practice.

“We’re always looking for the best way to help physician offices maximize their revenue within the scope of their medical practice. We constantly strive to ensure they get paid for treating patients,” says Schaffer, owner and founder of FBC.

Committed to Medical Practice Success

FBC’s approach to catering to client billing needs centers on a strong commitment to helping medical practices succeed. It addresses a multitude of issues clients face every day when dealing with billing.

Medical offices often lose out on revenues, faced with a barrage of ever-changing guidelines, codes, regulations, and state laws governing health insurance reimbursements. The primary roadblocks that prevent them from maximizing their claims collections are limited knowledge of the current medical billing landscape and insurer coverage policies. Lack of in-house billing and coding expertise and insufficient documentation of the provided medical services give rise to inaccuracies in claim filing.

FBC overcomes these obstacles by ensuring error-free submissions that comply with the latest guidelines and rules, aided by the right documentation and use of proper Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for reporting diagnoses. This helps eliminate claim denials and increase monthly claim collections.

For those facing complex billing issues, FBC provides crucial ongoing support, such as correcting errors and following up on filed claims. Its team works on aging clients’ billing reports every 30, 60, and 90 days. It reviews outstanding claims, contacts insurance companies, and sends statements to patients to expedite payment processing.

The company also structures client offices for success by helping them streamline operational procedures while promoting compliance with coding and billing guidelines.Employing precise and proper billing practices brings organization, making them less error-prone when sending out claims, which further enables processing and correct payment.

Another key to accurate claims filing is being aware of a patient’s exact medical coverage. FBC makes sure physicians are continuously informed of patient health insurance benefits, including knowledge of the right deductibles coinsurance or co-pay details. Staying updated on their medical coverage helps physicians determine the exact procedures covered under the insurance plans, enabling them to accurately collect from insurers. This also ensures patients are not incorrectly charged, helping them avoid unexpected expenses due to billing inaccuracies.

Apart from providing billing and collection support, FBC educates clients on medical coding and billing guidelines. It monitors bulletins and individual insurance policies to adapt to any changes that may affect them, such as the addition or deletion of medical codes and alterations in policies. This helps clients navigate any changes in laws or regulations that may impact their practice, enabling compliance.

The Pillars of Profitable Practice

Medical practices may have inexperienced staff that is unaware of the need for authorizations for certain claims filing services. This usually leads to billing complications, as some claims might go unpaid or incorrectly charged to patients.

Lack of experienced billing staff proved detrimental for a client whose monthly revenue had plummeted from $40,000 to $2,600. A thorough investigation revealed that an inexperienced biller, previously their front desk employee, was not aware of a CPT code change for the years 2022 and 2023. The biller continued to use the outdated CPT code in the billing software, resulting in frequent claim denials. Once FBC updated the codes, the client recouped the lost revenue and saw an increase in earnings due to accurate claim submissions.

FBC stresses the need to employ experienced professionals who understand insurance companies, their guidelines and coding details. This enables physician offices to be more proactive about verifying patient benefits while sending out claims with the correct diagnosis codes, authorizations and CPT codes to minimize claim reprocessing and prevent revenue loss.

When it comes to transforming physician offices into revenue-generating entities, the importance of precise documentation for the claims process cannot be understated. FBC guides them on using correct diagnosis codes and maintaining proper documentation to secure the right payment. It encourages healthcare providers to thoroughly document each medical consultation, ideally on the same day or immediately after a patient visit.

This assures the documentation accurately reflect the provided treatment.

This emphasis on documentation played a crucial role in resolving alleged discrepancies during the audit of an office’s medical notes. Acting as a liaison between the office, its lawyers and the insurance company, FBC compiled the necessary documentation to respond to the audit. The insurance company reviewed the documentation and confirmed an absence of discrepancies. The audit was dropped, and the client’s claims were paid in full

With numerous success stories, FBC has garnered a robust clientele list in its four years of operation. The referrals it receives from clients are a major driving force behind its growth, and speak volumes about the trust they have in its ability to provide exceptional value.

A Winning Team for a Red Carpet Experience

Orchestrating client success in medical claims filing endeavors is FBC’s accomplished team in the woman-owned and -run business. Schaffer takes immense pride in the team, empowering them and ensuring their overall well-being by creating a friendly, non-corporate, family-like atmosphere. Her drive to support them both personally and professionally has fostered a culture of dedication and loyalty that leads to outstanding performance.

Passionate about the medical billing industry, the team brings a warm and attentive approach to client interactions. To deliver personalized services, individual billers are assigned to each client, with whom they communicate through weekly or daily interactions, responding to inquiries even outside regular working hours.

“We always give a red carpet experience to clients, ensuring they feel listened to and assured that we are doing everything in our power to help them in their medical offices,” says Schaffer.

Going beyond traditional billing services, the team attends regular weekly training sessions and meetings to enhance expertise in various areas of medical billing, including new developments, implementation, credentialing and coding. It also engages in continuous learning and professional development through webinars and training sessions to stay updated on the ever-changing guidelines, policies and procedures in the industry.

Throughout these endeavors, the team remains steadfast in its goal to empower clients with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed in their practices.

On the Road to a Glowing Future

Exciting plans populate Schaffer’s vision for the future as she commits to growing FBC with purpose. She aims to establish a billing school to help individuals develop skills and find successful careers in medical billing. Eyes set on becoming a notable force in the medical billing industry, she envisions expanding into consulting services to assist healthcare providers in streamlining their office operations to achieve greater clarity and success in claim reimbursements.

A winning trifecta of quality, clean claims and customer service, Focused Billing and Collections is the realization of its founder’s dream to build a company that removes all barriers between a physician’s fierce drive to deliver quality patient care and getting adequately compensated for their services.